We are humans too...

“I don’t know what you mean ms?” one of the inmates said during a lengthy discussion on an excerpt from a poem another prison had read aloud. “What don’t you understand?” the two teachers in the front of the room said in unison. “Juxtaposition… what does that mean?” The other tutor and I went through a brief discussion explaining what the work juxtaposition meant. After the inmate began to nod in agreement the discussion continued. As the conversation continued to evolve it merged from a discussion about literal analysis to a discussion about life experiences. I listened as experiences bounced one mouth to the next and it began to seem hard for the teachers to keep the class under control.

At the end of the class one of the other tutors, Joe, older white haired man, came to speak to the inmates about a topic Victoria and I had been too scared to talk to them about ourselves.

With 20 minutes to go he re-directed the. As he makes his way to the front of the class, the laughter and smiles on the inmate’s faces turn to concern. For a brief moment I saw all the pain and torment in their faces. Joe moved to the front of the room. He began to explain that he had been informed by the female’s teachers that there had been some inappropriate comments between the inmates and the teachers. He explained that in order for this program (The GED Program) to continue, there are certain rules that need to be followed. If those rules are not followed – this program would be in jeopardy.

“You have to understand that this facility is set up to dehumanize us. They tell you to be scared of us, because they want you to be scared. They tell you to not sit on the same side of the table as us because they tell you we will touch you, and try to harm you…” A prisoner said.

“Look at the poster on the wall over there?” another prisoner chimed in. In unison we all turned our heads and looked. Prisoners are human too – is what the sign read. “They tell you that we aren’t human, but they are the ones that spit in our face, they yell at us for wanting a drink of water or to take a piss. They have the power and they know they have the power, and because they have it they use it without hesitation. Now that we have an opportunity to learn, think, and talk in class… they want to take that away from us as well; it’s cruel.”

The conversation continued on until the end of the class. I was astonished at the depth of the conversation.

I left that day learning one thing: verbal brutality can sting as much as physical brutality, but neither should be accepted.