Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

quora.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 255 posts

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#11

Post by pmichaud »

mjolk wrote: post #8

"I learned that you should go straight to the person you're upset with rather than go to authorities." This is bullshit and dumb advice. If someone steals my bike and I find out who it is, I'm not going to go to his apartment and beat him to death in the middle of the day (smart money on confronting a scumbag not leading to a productive conversation). Fuck that. The reason we have "authorities" is because we have peo…

Yeah, but there are second order effects. You've heard the terms "tattletale" and "snitch". They developed in reaction to a police force that is seen as outsiders, and as violent and arbitrary. If you invoke the "authorities," you're punished by your peer group, because the authorities tend to make the whole group's life more difficult.

Instead of invoking "the authorities" you're left with direct confrontation, or often a makeshift internal justice system mediated by insider "elders" of some stripe.

Anyway, your position is understandable, but it also betrays a middle class privilege that most inmates don't experience.

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#12

Post by Forbo »

mjolk wrote: post #8

"I learned that you should go straight to the person you're upset with rather than go to authorities." This is bullshit and dumb advice. If someone steals my bike and I find out who it is, I'm not going to go to his apartment and beat him to death in the middle of the day (smart money on confronting a scumbag not leading to a productive conversation). Fuck that. The reason we have "authorities" is because we have peo…

That's a bit of an extreme example. Think about this in the context of an office environment. Often times it is better to work out issues with someone directly. It commands a lot more respect and often times helps to cut through red tape.

A lot of the time if you go to your boss over a problem with someone that you work with, they view you as a "tattle-tale" or somebody that is too weak to stand up for yourself.

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#13

Post by tudorconstantin »

mjolk wrote: post #8

"I learned that you should go straight to the person you're upset with rather than go to authorities." This is bullshit and dumb advice. If someone steals my bike and I find out who it is, I'm not going to go to his apartment and beat him to death in the middle of the day (smart money on confronting a scumbag not leading to a productive conversation). Fuck that. The reason we have "authorities" is because we have peo…

try and go to the guardian when you're in prison because a guy insulted you and you'll probably be seen as a snitch for the length of your sentence. Trust me, I've seen the whole Oz series (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118421/)

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#15

Post by doktrin »

mjolk wrote: post #8

"I learned that you should go straight to the person you're upset with rather than go to authorities." This is bullshit and dumb advice. If someone steals my bike and I find out who it is, I'm not going to go to his apartment and beat him to death in the middle of the day (smart money on confronting a scumbag not leading to a productive conversation). Fuck that. The reason we have "authorities" is because we have peo…

I think you're being pedantic. To the surprise of absolutely no-one, this axiom (like all axioms) can't be applied universally.

This advice was doled out in the context of earning "respect". As such, it's more applicable when working within a persistent social construct (schoolyard, office environment, family, etc) - and not random strangers who you will likely never meet again (bike thieves, DMV clerks, magazine subscription salespeople, et al).

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#16

Post by dkokelley »

mjolk wrote: post #8

"I learned that you should go straight to the person you're upset with rather than go to authorities." This is bullshit and dumb advice. If someone steals my bike and I find out who it is, I'm not going to go to his apartment and beat him to death in the middle of the day (smart money on confronting a scumbag not leading to a productive conversation). Fuck that. The reason we have "authorities" is because we have peo…

I'm just making a barely-educated guess, but I think the reasoning goes, the 'authorities' are the enemy. If in prison the currency is respect, yes you are disrespected if something of yours is stolen, but the "disproportionate response" of going to the authorities (read: the people who took your freedom) is orders of magnitude worse.

Prison isn't the most reasonable place. If the school bully steals your lunch money, your best bet is generally to stand up for yourself. After all, nobody likes a snitch.

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#17

Post by dasil003 »

mjolk wrote: post #8

"I learned that you should go straight to the person you're upset with rather than go to authorities." This is bullshit and dumb advice. If someone steals my bike and I find out who it is, I'm not going to go to his apartment and beat him to death in the middle of the day (smart money on confronting a scumbag not leading to a productive conversation). Fuck that. The reason we have "authorities" is because we have peo…

Sure that's the right choice when confronting a possibly desperate criminal, but realize this: you are hiding behind a system. If you are a white male then this is often the default choice because most systems in this country were designed by us for us. If you grew up as a black male in America then you will probably think twice about involving the authorities because past experience shows a lower base probability of it working out in your favor.

More generally, working out issues directly with other human beings is a core skill that will serve you through your whole life. Institutions and systems might be there to keep the peace, but they are big, slow and calcified to do things a certain way. As an empathetic individual you are much more empowered to work things out with other individuals by gauging their perspective and where your mutual interests lie. As the article describes, prison is a microcosm of this where you may literally live or die by your ability to navigate these waters, but make no mistake, you can use these skills every single day of your life, and geeks are often some of the worst in this area.

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#18

Post by Arnor »

mjolk wrote: post #8

"I learned that you should go straight to the person you're upset with rather than go to authorities." This is bullshit and dumb advice. If someone steals my bike and I find out who it is, I'm not going to go to his apartment and beat him to death in the middle of the day (smart money on confronting a scumbag not leading to a productive conversation). Fuck that. The reason we have "authorities" is because we have peo…

You should try to broaden your arsenal of social interactions. Sure, tattling and beating people to death have their place, but there are one or two other methods for resolving conflicts as well.

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#19

Post by rlt3 »

mjolk wrote: post #8

"I learned that you should go straight to the person you're upset with rather than go to authorities." This is bullshit and dumb advice. If someone steals my bike and I find out who it is, I'm not going to go to his apartment and beat him to death in the middle of the day (smart money on confronting a scumbag not leading to a productive conversation). Fuck that. The reason we have "authorities" is because we have peo…

Living in a society is about being able to reason with others.

Instead of trying to skirt issues and involve authorities in hopes to solve problems, it usually is better to confront the person themselves.

Your example went straight to an extreme. It doesn't have to be theft, or murder, or an assault that makes you "upset" at them. Maybe you feel wronged because they said something in public that you wanted private.

Authorities have their place, but many problems can be solved by not involving them. I'd also say that many more problems are caused because people didn't want to confront one another.

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#20

Post by Trufa »

I have a far off request. I remember reading a good long read quite some time ago.

It was of a hacker that was sent to prison, I think federal prison.

He goes into a lot of detail about how life is inside there and how you have to behave, I remember him advising to fight for your stuff even though you're going to lose since if not you'll become "their bitches" or something of the sort.

If I remember correctly (might be far off) the website was mainly black and orange.

He also mixes in his experience with drugs, I think psychedelic mushrooms or so.

I was quite a long article but quite catching, by any chance anyone remembers what I'm talking about?

I read it at least 3, 4 or 5 years ago.

Post reply on HN