That’s the thing, though: you truly cannot rely on that, even more so than the outside world. Once you get there, you realize how much “supposed to be” is just words. You’re supposed to be safe at a country music festival or a church, too. But occasionally, you’re not safe in those situations and it’s through absolutely no fault of your own.

So, you have to protect yourself. In jail, this means fighting when needed. In other situations, it’s just being aware and ready to protect yourself.

DOs certainly respond if a fight takes place (it’s a chance to put some fools in the hole), but it’s the same concept as police response time. If you adopt that otherwise-correct attitude and treat it as more than just words, you won’t be ready for the inevitable. If you take care of things, you will be left alone; there’s some truth in that Hollywood trope about jail. The only person you can rely upon in jail is yourself, and that’s actually a lesson I’m glad I experienced, because it gave me different perspective on day to day life.

Is this right? Not saying it is. I do know I’d much rather be in jail here than, say, Thailand or Peru. Every time they hit a Peruvian jail they confiscate five or six guns.

Funny you say that, by the way, because Joe Arpaio ran my jail. :)