Staying out of trouble is easier said then done sometimes especially with so many bad influences all around in this prison environment. it feel like every one is in a bad mood in the morning and will try to spread their own misery onto you as a way of alleviating their own pain. staying positive sometimes means staying away from people in general and you may end up looking antisocial. but the reason for doing so is something they cannot understand. you have to look out for number one which is yourself because there are those who will pray on the weak minded not only to get things for free but also to make themselves feel self-empowered or self important about themselves. I constantly have to watch who approaches me and pay close attention to the things they say and whether I find what they have to say as beneficial to my existence or not. I find that more and more I see things clearly to a point that i can distinguish between someone making friendly conversation or just trying to con me out of something in a round about way. unfortunately for them, I am intelligent enough to catch the con because sad to say I used to be them. I know all the tricks.
That being said even though I would be a good mediator for prison politics I know it is best to stay well away from that area of prison. even if it is to stop something very bad from happening I’ve seen the best intentions backfire through misunderstanding or from people who simply refuse to admit being in the wrong to the point of violence. I try to tell well meaning inmates to stay out of politics especially when I see them making really bad calls that can get them into an even worse situation that they tried to prevent. I have enough on my plate staying out of trouble and I can only go so far helping them with advice. but if they cannot see the train that is barreling towards them I can only step out of the way so I don’t get run over with them.
