On today's episode of all things contained within - Phone-drama at the Grey-bar Hotel!

Another gang fight over access to the phones! 

It's times like these that I understand just how animalistic men can become and how easily we can not only succumb to this arcane behavior but the easier justification we can as quickly relent. I see how astonishingly uncaring men can be with a marked lack of empathy, especially when it comes to violence, but also find no surprise when thinking about the popularity of spectator sports such as boxing, martial arts and MMA fights. I guess being in here is no different except here I have ring-side seats and the unfortunate opportunity at times to have been the main event...

The majority of prison violence is centered around one of a few main things. The phones are by far the predominant catalyst. It wasn't always that way. Not so long ago, maybe seven years, calls were expensive. $7.00 for a local call. This kept most guys from making calls. Around that time a class-action lawsuit was won on behalf of prisoners and inmates across the nation. The cost of calls dropped to around $1.00 - a huge difference. This changed the dynamics of prison politics in a way that I've never seen. Before the price drop, an algorithm was adopted to translate how many phones were needed to accommodate the number of inmates. The ratio was loosely calculated to 10 inmates per phone. In my current pod there are 8 phones. This ratio was ok when calls were $7.00 each. With the price drop to $1.00 the algorithm is now outdated. To squelch the violence associated with inadequate phone supply, the number of available phones would need to double. 

I personally can't understand why the extra phones have not been installed. Administration knows the phones are the focal point for the majority of inmate discord which turns into violence. One would think GTL (current phone provider) would want as many phones as possible. Why wouldn't they? More phones = more revenue, right? The additional phones would also reduce the number of stabbings, mod fights, gang fights and your random fist fight over a lack of patience when having to wait to use the phone.

Unfortunately, the following scenario usually occurs: each gang has their own phone ie., Crypt phone, Blood phone, Muslim phone, A.B. phone, MS13 phone and so one. I'm lucky in that being the tattoo guy i'm usually on everyone's good side and thus get to use any of the phones. That's not to say I haven't had my share of run-ins - more than I care to divulge. An incident occured last night over this very subject. A random fist-fight between two fairly good sized dudes. Me being me - having a front row seat - decided to sit on a table nearby and watch. I swear it was the worst fight I've seen in a while which made it entertaining (remember the lack of alternate choices here). Both guys were completely winded after about 30 seconds to the point they could barely hold their heads up. At that point they hugged up and fell to the floor. This reminded me of the stop drop and roll drills I was involved in as a kid. By the time the even more out of shape guards arrived - more gassed than the combatants - pepper spray, rubber bullets and the handy K9 attack dog broke up the wrestling match and the show was over.

This happens so much that I have become desensitized to the point that I can fully understand how people can live in a war zone and seem unaffected. It truly amazes me how adaptive the human mind and conscience can become.

Stay tuned for more from the vaults of things you never knew about life behind the barbed wire...