I recently received a letter from my friend "David L." He is a Christian who lives in the State of Indiana...
For many years, David has been deeply involved with prison ministry work on a volunteer basis. So, in addition to raising a family and having to earn a living, he goes into the local maximum-security prison in his area to tell the inmates about Jesus Christ.
Because of his devotion to this kind of Christian work, he told me in his letter, that he's been "certified" by the Indiana Department of Corrections as a volunteer chaplain. Prior to his appointment, David had been going into the New Castle facility at set times in order to conduct worship services, or visit with, counsel, or pray for any man who asked him to. Now, however, with his new position, he is able to enter the prison anytime. He could spend as many hours as he wants behind the steel doors, and he's even been given permission to use the paid chaplain's office when he needs to.
Yet, it was only during this past summer, David wrote, when "as many as 500 men" gathered together at the prison's ball field for an outdoor evangelistic service, that he realized so many of the prisoners were members of gangs, with an especially large number belonging to the "Aryan Brotherhood."
David explained that all the gang members were "clearly visible" because of their respective tattoos. He also said that the Aryan group were not wearing their shirts. And he was shocked to see so many with "elaborate Adolf Hitler portraits" being "proudly displayed" on their backs.
As a man who's been incarcerated for almost thirty years, I have seen firsthand how gangs do their recruiting, and then end up holding each other, in my opinion, in physical and psychological captivity. Thus, I was saddened to learn about the men at New Castle who've given their lives and souls to one of the gangs which proliferate there, as they do in many correctional facilities throughout the United States.
I believe that men (and women, too) join gangs because of the rebellion that can be found in every human heart. It is a way for them to snub their noses at the authorities. It is also a means of expressing anger towards both society and its judicial system.
Furthermore, any individual who comes to prison loses some of his rights as a citizen and, to a greater degree, his personal power. Being a prisoner means you now have an identification number and not just a name. Being numbered is in itself a method of dehumanization. And then comes being yelled at by prison guards, and sometimes being ordered to do menial and meaningless tasks, or having to follow what are often mindless orders.
An inmate can be ordered at any time to submit to a search for contraband. Sometimes you could be strip-searched to a point where you must stand naked before one or more guards. Likewise, your cell or living quarters could also be searched at any moment. The guards will go through your clothing and bedding, and all your personal items, to include family photos and letters from home. And these items could be confiscated for any reason, and there isn't much you could do about it.
Being in a gang, therefore, gives a man a certain sense of power and status. Although, I think, this is an illusion on his part because, with one exception, he'll get treated by the staff the same as any other inmate. The exception would be if a prison guard is a member of this same gang, which does happen. The guard may then give breaks to the inmate. And, more than likely, the guard is also being used as a "mule" by the gang's leaders to bring illegal items like drugs, alcohol or weapons into the prison from the outside.
Generally, however, if a man is not a member of a gang, he may be fearful of offending those who are. I've also heard, through the prison's grapevine, and from men who've done time in other states, that a number of these facilities are almost completely gang controlled. These institutions of "rehabilitation" now border on anarchy because of it. Like cancer cells, gangs extend their deadly tentacles. Their reach, depending upon the size and influence of a particular gang, could extend far beyond the walls of any given prison.
If, for example, a man is a member of a gang he may take comfort thinking that, if he has a problem with another man who's not affiliated with a gang, or is in a different gang, that his "homeboys" will take his back and help him, or even hurt the other party for him. Yet I also know, from listening to many stories of guys who are presently in a gang, or who have left one, that there's a lot of betrayal and double-crossing that goes on. Thus, one's trust in his group can be a false one. He could find himself in a jam, and he could end up standing alone and unprotected.
In addition, membership in a gang could be something or a substitute to having a family. Many men who are incarcerated never enjoyed a good and healthy relationship with one or both parents, or with other family members.
They've hailed from dysfunctional homes and from an environment of poverty, pain and strife. Their homes were places filled with anger and alcohol or drug abuse. And as a result, deep within the souls of these men is an innate longing, still unsatisfied, to belong to a loving family. The gang, therefore, becomes their family, and they bond together with other wounded who, I believe, that deep within each one of them, is an unhappy child.
It's a sad and tragic mix. Men, who are already in prison and have lost many of their freedoms, must now abide not only by the rules set forth by the prison's management, but also by the rules of the gang.
These gang members will now be watched constantly by both the correction officers and each other. As the bonding between gang members is generally weak, and because beneath the surface there is a lot of distrust amongst themselves, they will monitor and spy on their co-members all the time.
In my view, these men have become actors fulfilling an imaginary "macho man" role, yet, destroying themselves and others in the process. And as a result, they feel trapped. Most, I believe, would leave the gang if they could. They can, of course. But it is risky.
Many a man whom I have spoken to has quietly admitted that gang membership is farce. It is like being in a cult. And perhaps it is only with divine intervention that a man could walk away from such a living hell, and live to tell about it.
D.B.
Because of his devotion to this kind of Christian work, he told me in his letter, that he's been "certified" by the Indiana Department of Corrections as a volunteer chaplain. Prior to his appointment, David had been going into the New Castle facility at set times in order to conduct worship services, or visit with, counsel, or pray for any man who asked him to. Now, however, with his new position, he is able to enter the prison anytime. He could spend as many hours as he wants behind the steel doors, and he's even been given permission to use the paid chaplain's office when he needs to.
Yet, it was only during this past summer, David wrote, when "as many as 500 men" gathered together at the prison's ball field for an outdoor evangelistic service, that he realized so many of the prisoners were members of gangs, with an especially large number belonging to the "Aryan Brotherhood."
David explained that all the gang members were "clearly visible" because of their respective tattoos. He also said that the Aryan group were not wearing their shirts. And he was shocked to see so many with "elaborate Adolf Hitler portraits" being "proudly displayed" on their backs.
As a man who's been incarcerated for almost thirty years, I have seen firsthand how gangs do their recruiting, and then end up holding each other, in my opinion, in physical and psychological captivity. Thus, I was saddened to learn about the men at New Castle who've given their lives and souls to one of the gangs which proliferate there, as they do in many correctional facilities throughout the United States.
I believe that men (and women, too) join gangs because of the rebellion that can be found in every human heart. It is a way for them to snub their noses at the authorities. It is also a means of expressing anger towards both society and its judicial system.
Furthermore, any individual who comes to prison loses some of his rights as a citizen and, to a greater degree, his personal power. Being a prisoner means you now have an identification number and not just a name. Being numbered is in itself a method of dehumanization. And then comes being yelled at by prison guards, and sometimes being ordered to do menial and meaningless tasks, or having to follow what are often mindless orders.
An inmate can be ordered at any time to submit to a search for contraband. Sometimes you could be strip-searched to a point where you must stand naked before one or more guards. Likewise, your cell or living quarters could also be searched at any moment. The guards will go through your clothing and bedding, and all your personal items, to include family photos and letters from home. And these items could be confiscated for any reason, and there isn't much you could do about it.
Being in a gang, therefore, gives a man a certain sense of power and status. Although, I think, this is an illusion on his part because, with one exception, he'll get treated by the staff the same as any other inmate. The exception would be if a prison guard is a member of this same gang, which does happen. The guard may then give breaks to the inmate. And, more than likely, the guard is also being used as a "mule" by the gang's leaders to bring illegal items like drugs, alcohol or weapons into the prison from the outside.
Generally, however, if a man is not a member of a gang, he may be fearful of offending those who are. I've also heard, through the prison's grapevine, and from men who've done time in other states, that a number of these facilities are almost completely gang controlled. These institutions of "rehabilitation" now border on anarchy because of it. Like cancer cells, gangs extend their deadly tentacles. Their reach, depending upon the size and influence of a particular gang, could extend far beyond the walls of any given prison.
If, for example, a man is a member of a gang he may take comfort thinking that, if he has a problem with another man who's not affiliated with a gang, or is in a different gang, that his "homeboys" will take his back and help him, or even hurt the other party for him. Yet I also know, from listening to many stories of guys who are presently in a gang, or who have left one, that there's a lot of betrayal and double-crossing that goes on. Thus, one's trust in his group can be a false one. He could find himself in a jam, and he could end up standing alone and unprotected.
In addition, membership in a gang could be something or a substitute to having a family. Many men who are incarcerated never enjoyed a good and healthy relationship with one or both parents, or with other family members.
They've hailed from dysfunctional homes and from an environment of poverty, pain and strife. Their homes were places filled with anger and alcohol or drug abuse. And as a result, deep within the souls of these men is an innate longing, still unsatisfied, to belong to a loving family. The gang, therefore, becomes their family, and they bond together with other wounded who, I believe, that deep within each one of them, is an unhappy child.
It's a sad and tragic mix. Men, who are already in prison and have lost many of their freedoms, must now abide not only by the rules set forth by the prison's management, but also by the rules of the gang.
These gang members will now be watched constantly by both the correction officers and each other. As the bonding between gang members is generally weak, and because beneath the surface there is a lot of distrust amongst themselves, they will monitor and spy on their co-members all the time.
In my view, these men have become actors fulfilling an imaginary "macho man" role, yet, destroying themselves and others in the process. And as a result, they feel trapped. Most, I believe, would leave the gang if they could. They can, of course. But it is risky.
Many a man whom I have spoken to has quietly admitted that gang membership is farce. It is like being in a cult. And perhaps it is only with divine intervention that a man could walk away from such a living hell, and live to tell about it.
D.B.
