Dharma for Guards?

Well, "guards" is not really correct, but it works for a subject line. I work in corrections and I now have several family members who do. I started studying Buddhism a while back and find that I'd like to communicate with others in my field. Unfortunately we seem to be hard to find. A lot of places I have looked demonize correctional people it seems. I understand we are easy to see as the enemy, and many people in my field can be inappropriate, but we are all still people, ya know?

I work with juveniles now and I have worked in community corrections with adults in the past. I think it is easy for people who don't work in the field to see those who work in the field as bad. But that is the easy thing to do I think. I entered this field after doing many other things, and I haven't experienced people in my field as being any different from any other group, except honestly the ones I have known might have a bit more real compassion than the people I have known outside this field.

It is a challenge to see such suffering every day and not get hard. I now see it as suffering, I used to see it as just wrong or screwed up people. It is hard sometimes to balance the need to see to the safety of myself, other staff members, and the kids and yet remain caring. That challenge I think is what pulls so many officers down so that they become like the stereotype.

When you go to work and you know that that person who you talk to everyday, who acts cool towards you, who seems like they are doing ok, might, if given a chance, stick a shank in your back can do weird things to your mind and your heart.

I have met parents and grandparents of kids who have had no business having kids, who barely seem to be able to dress themselves or practice basic hygiene. But when they come to visit their child I know their child is so happy to see them.

I have known kids who try so damned hard, but yet can't seem to get it together.

I know how meth smells as it percolates out of the skin of once pretty young women, I have seen bone laid bare where a girls gums have been eaten away by meth.

I have known young women who have lost control of their bladder at night and they can't even admit it to themselves. Did it happen because they finally felt safe because they were locked up? Or was it a reaction to sexual abuse? I don't now, and they can't say.

I have known young men who don't know how to react to the death of dear friends except to try to get revenge by killing another.

I have seen young men try so hard not to cry, and yet they do. They will sometimes act so tough and so hard, but once on the phone with their mothers they cry like little children.

I have known children who have never known anything but abuse and neglect who don't even know how to respond to an adult that cares.

I have seen mothers who have tried so hard to do right by their child and yet he is arrested one more time, and she must go to court again, but if she does she'll lose her job from all the other times she has had to take time off to go to court.

I have seen mothers who are homeless somehow come up with bus fare so they can come for their alloted visit with their child.

I have gotten phone calls from desperate parents looking for help for their son or daughter before they get into trouble and I don't know where to tell them to go.

I know prisoners "need" dharma, and so do "guards."

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Permalink Reply by Ekō (Joshua) Goldberg on February 3, 2008 at 11:59pm
Hi Taunya,

Thank you for your challenging comments and for being willing to take the risk of saying something you think might not be popular. I am glad that you are talking honestly about the differences in your perspective as this kind of genuine discussion is so important in each of us broadening beyond the limits of our personal experiences.

I can only speak for myself, but I know that I'm not always doing the best that can be done -- as the empty ice cream carton eaten in a rage following an unfair situation at work is testimony to :) My experience of Zen practice has been to become more aware both of the beautiful compassionate caring aspect of being human and also the very selfish, greedy, and sometimes even violent possibilities that are also there.

I am grateful that you reminded me not to assume any motivation to any of the people in the prison system. It's not that I think that the people who have been most influential in pairing prison and industry are any worse than people in other types of industry, or different than me. It's that I think they're pretty much the same, with the same kinds of selfishness, greed, anger, etc. that I have. I don't know a good way to talk about structural issues (like racism and other forms of oppression that are so embedded into the current prison system where I live) without making it sound like I'm dehumanizing the people involved.

In thinking about your post I was reminded that your initial post was about guards needing dharma just like prisoners do (just like we all do!). And I am wondering if there is anything you have found particularly useful in terms of Buddhist practice that folks who are volunteering in prisons could learn from -- the types of things you've found beneficial in your own work, and the types of programs you feel might be accessible or of interest to prison staff.

Best wishes,

Joshua
Permalink Reply by michal from israel on February 3, 2008 at 8:38am
Hi Taunya.

thank you for all you have written here. I volunteer in a prison in Israel, and recently I started a project of volunteers in other prisons as well. There are currently three groups in three different prisons, and more groups will open soon, I hope. Now I'm planing a meditation program for prison guards.

I will be very happy to learn from your ideas, because from what you wrote have already gained important insights about what it means to be a prison guard.

Thanking you in advance -
Michal
Permalink Reply by Taunya on February 8, 2008 at 10:55am
Hi Michal,

Sorry for the slow reply. Have been trying to think of a useful insight : ) I think the biggest thing is just being empathic with the guards and remembering "they" are just like "us." Last night I handed a flyer for a PDN program where I work to someone who works their. Her first response was "I need this." I'd think that approaching it from the stress reduction side would be useful. I wish I knew more.

Best,
Taunya
Permalink Reply by michal from israel on February 10, 2008 at 12:48pm
hi
taunya

thanks for your reply

all the best
muchal
Permalink Reply by Stephen Flynn on March 8, 2008 at 3:34pm
Hi,
I am a graduate student and a full time correction counselor in NY. I can appreciate your position. It is hard to listen to all the talk. Ex-offenders speak of the brutality and poor treatment, citizens speak of the inmates as garbage. It is hard to explain the reality of the prison environment. As an employee I am either a Saint or Satan. I think the reality is there is a brutality inside the walls perpetrated by both inmates and staff, it is not a nice place.

Being a graduate student I have read research, articles, and every sort of thing on prisons, development of criminal behavior, post release and the list goes on. An acquaintance of mine (also a student) gave police officers, inmates correction officers a test that measures potential for committing a crime, he found the police and inmates had the same range of scores.

This, I would think, would demonstrate a need for a dharma program for staff. I have tried and have been met with a variety of responses. Most of them in the order oh yea a great idea we'll get back to you. It is hard when you have a strong value system to not lose sight of the real reason for doing the job we do. My wife said to me not long ago that she thought it was pretty remarkable that I speak the same of the inmates as I did when I first walked in the gate. I do find it difficult from two perspectives. The first is taking all the abuse from the inmates. The second is taking the abuse from the security staff (correction officers or CO's). The inmates are angry because of what the CO's do to them and the CO's are angry because of what the inmates do to them. How can you argue their position when entire nations do the same thing. All the ifs.

I apologize for rambling but if this doesn't support the need for meditation practice for CO's then what can I say.
Permalink Reply by Kate Crisp (PDN Director) on March 30, 2008 at 11:16am
This is such an interesting dialogue all!..thank you so much for engaging in it.

and Taunya...lets talk about a program at your facility for CO's sometime?? Im sure we would be happy to do a training or some sort of ongoing class for them. Just need to work out the logistics and all.
Permalink Reply by Karen on May 12, 2008 at 1:04pm
Hi Taunya,

I just joined this site and was really touched by your message and your open witness to all these different kinds of suffering.

I was wondering about what people though of this part of your post:
"I have gotten phone calls from desperate parents looking for help for their son or daughter before they get into trouble and I don't know where to tell them to go."

What can you advise a parent in a situation like that? Of course, it would depend on the kind of trouble and the location but I was wondering in general: how would a parent reach out to a kid before they get into major trouble in a really meaningful way?

Karen

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