Interesting facts happening all around us during the first week of this New Year 2025.
The wildfires in California have taken a toll on so many people, materially and immaterially. I saw footage of some of my favourite areas, Santa Monica and Malibu. We have the fondest memories of Santa Monica Beach and its huge Ferris wheel, saltwater taffy that I tasted there for the first time in my life. And believe me, on my travels around the world, I have tasted some wonderful foods, fruits, vegetables, so my palate is used to quite a bit. But that taffy is something else, the perfect blend of salt, sweet, and everything in between.
Another interesting fact is, that the President-elect, who will be taking office in little over a week, will do so as a convicted felon, awaiting sentencing, although the Constitution will prevent him from being sentenced to prison time.
Juxtaposed to this, is what happens to all the “John and Jane Does” who may have been found guilty of the same crime, and will face sentencing to prison time? How can that be accounted for and what does this mean for a nation?
As of New Year’s day, many prisons have been on lockdown due to a plethora of reasons, however the main one being staffing issues. Incarcerated individuals could not get to their video visits, planned phone calls or get the visitation which was scheduled ahead of time. Just imagine, family members spending money, time, effort to visit their loved ones and then have to be circling the vicinity of the prison, waiting for the incarcerated loved ones to be called to Visitation, which never happens during those lockdown days. How soul-crushing that is. But on both sides of the razor-wired fences, highly disappointed, sad individuals have to “suck it up” and let it go by. I see in our units that the people who are expecting a visit, have butterflies weeks before, uniforms are ironed, hair and make-up done to a degree fit for the Oscars, and then the waiting begins. Asking the officers on duty, they make the calls, indecisive replies are given, until it is way past lunchtime and the realisation of calling it a day has to be accepted, much to everyone’s disappointment.
This is so wrong in every possible way and causes emotional devastation. How wrong is it to play with people’s emotions like that.
My family, for example, has to travel from Europe, at least 14 hours on connecting flights, and then drive to this location for another 3.5 hours. That is 17.5 hours of travel at least, thousands of dollars to be spent and then arrive at a closed gate, having to go back without seeing me after so many years.
All this can be prevented so easily and at the very, very least be compensated. If a prison can waste so many resources and as a consequence makes the incarcerated population pay for everything, there should be a remedy for missed visits, beyond the incarcerated population’s fault.