The older I get and the more I experience I more I think that people are stupid. I will be the first to admit that I am a person that let's his mouth and his emotions get the best of him. My mouth-before-brain style has cost me a few things in my life, but that is usually when I am in a situation where I am too comfortable and forget to turn the grey matter on.
Visiting someone in a jail is not something that I think would allow anyone to get comfortable. If you follow the rules you are stripped down to a set of keys to a place where all your jewelry including a watch, all you valuables including your wallet, and everything but that key and a valid ID are. That could be your car, your house, wherever. So just that amount of thinking plus being where you are I would imagine would turn on the laziest of minds. But I guess not.
When I and my wife first began visiting him I was amazed that we were the only people that came for anyone in there. Now I have a sister that says that if this was her son he would need to wait till he was out to see her. I really wonder if she could do that if speculation became reality but that is what she claims. So when about a month ago or so we started getting other visitors I began to see a brand of stupidity unrivaled by any I had seen before.
I get if a police officer in doing his job may in some way
"hassle you" or enforce rules on you that you see as not needed in your regular everyday life. I mean you are just walking down the street or driving somewhere and you get stopped for something you or I or anyone might see as dumb. You are thinking you are innocent and minding your own buisness so why is this guy bothering me or telling me to take of headphones or whatever. That is understandable at times.
But you are walking into a jail. You are coming to see someone that at the very least did something or was someplace or is suspected of being someone that did something that was criminal. This is not the " I was just walking down the street minding my own buisness" part of life.
So yes they can tell you to take off jewelry and make you wait and all that. They are the bosses. And even moreover, they are the people that not only guard the person you care enough to come to see but also they decide if you get to see him or her. They can say no!
They also can be extra nice and do extra things to make this all go better.
That is why incidents like today make me shake my head.
The way it works where my son is that they put out a clipboard with a sign in sheet at the door. You sign in, say who you want to see and wait. At the beginning of visiting hours they get the board, see who they need to get, and clear you in. Very simple procedure and it works well usually.
So today I went over as I had the day off to get a few errands done. I walked over, signed in and saw I was the third person that did. So they get the sheet from outside the door, and as they do one of the people waiting sticks her head in the door. Now I need to tell you that a monsoon could be happening outside and I would not touch that door till they told me to walk in, but she felt free to stick her head in.
I need to back up and tell you that in the 15 minutes or so I was there waiting this woman was could be heard on her cell to a friend complaining in her loud voice that they were making us wait(maybe 5 minutes at best) "because these asshole f**king crackers can!"
and hello to you too!
So she was I am sure not pleasant when she stuck her head in to ask, as I would find out later, if she could use the bathroom. Her attitude was even more confirmed when she closed the door and walked away, only to be followed out by the guard that had come for the list asking if her heard her correct and she just called him an ass. She answered not that question but one I think she thought he asked by responding "Because you are an ass!" She was politely told she could go home as she was not getting in to visit that day. While she left she was not happy.
Meanwhile I and the other visitor waited. He was turned away based on a technical issue and was polite, asked questions on how to fix it and when he was done I asked his friend's name so I could tell me son to tell his friend he was here and tried to get in. I get that while it is a pale consolation prize to a visit, I understand how the fact that someone even tried to visit would be something. You know someone outside cares enough to come even if you do not get to see them.
I did my usual yes sir/no sir/three bags full stance that while I am friendly, I compare it to how people acted when seeing The Soup Nazi on Seinfeld. And I will say it pays off.
How?
Well a one hour visit became over 2 hours because they forgot I was there and forgot to come get my son. It was good because now that his deal is in I am more able to ask a few things, get details as much as I want to know and fugure out what the heck happened taht got him in there. I will not go into details and I know this sounds like I am making excuses but the more I hear from him and his lawyer about what happened, the more I am seeing that while he did commit the act, he was set up by people he thought were friends because teenagers do not get the price that is paid for certain acts....getting someone in trouble for laughs can cost them for their lives. But enough on that, and again, he did it and should have known better is the bottom line no matter what the facts.
But back to the point of this post...
There is one weird thing that comes out of all this, an experience that on top of all the others is a new one....
I am the first to admit I am a loudmouth and an ass at times, so when I keep hearing that I(and my wife)am the nicest person they deal with it is shcking to my ears.
Not sure how to take that much of a compliment...LOL
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