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

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61–70 of 255 posts

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

#61
post #60

Hmm. He makes no mention of what crime he was convicted of, and expresses no remorse, either. Although he does seem to be feeling regret (which I think is an appropriate function of prison), he sees himself as being a victim -- no other victim is referred to. It seems he's proud of his murdering, home-invading comrades. This is certainly a testament to the failure of prisons (at least in his case). The education he n…

You literally don't know shit about him or his situation. I honestly feel bad for you; there's no point in being hostile about somebody's character based on a short synopsis of somebody else's jail time.

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

#62
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's helpful in most contexts outside of white/middle class privilege. But I don't really understand your question?

In your opinion, why do you believe that reporting crimes is a "white/middle class privilege" decision?

Because the outcome can be different on the person filing a claim. I am sure that in the majority of the world a daughter of rich businessmen/politician/high ranking police officer will get a lot different treatment and have her taken seriously by the the police while reporting sexual assault than some poor girl from the ghettos or working poor background. (I really really hope that I am wrong in that assumption)

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

#63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you disable pinchzoom?

I can't reply to elwell's comment directly, but Slate has not been a part of Microsoft since 2004.

Usually if you hit the "link" button above their comment, it will take you to a comment box.

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

#64

I help teach a nonviolent communication program at a nearby prison, and the technological restrictions placed on the prisoners are pretty shocking to me. They are allowed an electric typewriter with 7K of memory (down from 16K.) The only audio media they are allowed are cassette tapes. DVDs are forbidden, apparently because a shard from one could conceivably be used as a weapon. A co-ordinator of a college program fo…

> I can't imagine them having the education for any kind of gainful employment when they get out.

Has this ever been the goal of the justice system in the United States? It seems to me that the primary function is purely punitive and expends very little effort to rehabilitate anyone.

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

#65
post #60

Hmm. He makes no mention of what crime he was convicted of, and expresses no remorse, either. Although he does seem to be feeling regret (which I think is an appropriate function of prison), he sees himself as being a victim -- no other victim is referred to. It seems he's proud of his murdering, home-invading comrades. This is certainly a testament to the failure of prisons (at least in his case). The education he n…

I'd rather be in prison than in a room full of people like you.

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

#66
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's helpful in most contexts outside of white/middle class privilege. But I don't really understand your question?

In your opinion, why do you believe that reporting crimes is a "white/middle class privilege" decision?

Because when anyone else reports a crime, bad things tend to happen [at a statistically higher rate]. Everyone suffers, including you. Or maybe nothing happens at all because first responders don't get there fast enough, or they choose not to do anything once they arrive. Or maybe they do the right thing, and you (or your family) suffer when the guy you called the cops on comes back and kicks your ass, or breaks your sister's leg.

Last on the list of possible outcomes is that the cops stop the "bad guy" and everyone is hunky dory.

Contrast that to the white/middle class historical experience of police being generally helpful and protective. Middle class white people call the police (predominately other middle class white people), and good things happen. Then they wonder why everyone doesn't just call the police when they need some help. That's privilege.

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

#67
post #9
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can append "?share" to the Quora URL to read it without having to log in.

Interesting, thanks. I wonder if Quora does this to scam on SEO

No question about it. There's no difference between Quora and Experts-Exchange when it comes to SEO deception.

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

#68
post #61
post #60

Hmm. He makes no mention of what crime he was convicted of, and expresses no remorse, either. Although he does seem to be feeling regret (which I think is an appropriate function of prison), he sees himself as being a victim -- no other victim is referred to. It seems he's proud of his murdering, home-invading comrades. This is certainly a testament to the failure of prisons (at least in his case). The education he n…

You literally don't know shit about him or his situation. I honestly feel bad for you; there's no point in being hostile about somebody's character based on a short synopsis of somebody else's jail time.

Yeah. "Feel bad for me because I'm in prison. Never mind how I got here. I can write the DDL for a simple database. I'm a hero! NO DISUSSION ALLOWED".

Simple world you live in, it is.

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

#69

I am a developer/hacker who spent 6 months in prison about a decade ago. They had a room of old broken computers that were donated and I offered to fix them up in exchange for increased library privileges. Normally inmates could only visit the library once a week and check out two books, but I read about 4 books a day during my time there. I fixed up the computers and supported them once they got a teacher, read my b…

You pretty much have to resign yourself to the fact that you'll work at 50% of the salary as your peers

Have you considered working for an early-stage startup? It seems like your expected value may be higher, because even though your salary will still be low, you'll be vesting stock.

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

#70
post #60

Hmm. He makes no mention of what crime he was convicted of, and expresses no remorse, either. Although he does seem to be feeling regret (which I think is an appropriate function of prison), he sees himself as being a victim -- no other victim is referred to. It seems he's proud of his murdering, home-invading comrades. This is certainly a testament to the failure of prisons (at least in his case). The education he n…

Seems like the only one needing education to be a decent human being is you.
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