September 22, 2000
Got some books people sent me today. I had to go pick them up at what they call the property room. I had to cross the yard to get there. I was surprised at some of the comments I received. Thinking back on it now, I don’t know why. What did I expect? People kept asking me what kind of books I was getting. Going to the property room here is sort of the equivalent of a night on the town for free people. But when they saw the books I got they were disappointed-even disgusted. The books were all historical, and they could not fathom why someone would want to read them. It is a fairly precise snapshot of the prevailing attitude here. If you want to learn about something that won’t further your criminal career there must be something wrong with you.
And this, so far, seems to me to be one of the reasons so many people come back to prison. Everyone longs to do the very things that got them here. I still do too. And when anyone tries to break the cycle most people here look at them like a leper. We are not the most mature group on a whole. But I guess that goes without saying.
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