Wasted Honor -- - Say What you Need To Say......: Cowboys and Correctional Officers – What they have in Common & Riding for the Brand

Wasted Honor -

Carl R. ToersBijns is the author of the Wasted Honor Trilogy [Wasted Honor I,II and Gorilla Justice] and his newest book From the Womb to the Tomb, the Tony Lester Story, which is a reflection of his life and his experiences as a correctional officer and a correctional administrator retiring with the rank of deputy warden in the New Mexico and Arizona correctional systems.

Carl also wrote a book on his combat experience in the Kindle book titled - Combat Medic - Men with destiny - A red cross of Valor -

Carl is considered by many a rogue expert in the field of prison security systems since leaving the profession. Carl has been involved in the design of many pilot programs related to mental health treatment, security threat groups, suicide prevention, and maximum custody operational plans including double bunking max inmates and enhancing security for staff. He invites you to read his books so you can understand and grasp the cultural and political implications and influences of these prisons. He deals with the emotions, the stress and anxiety as well as the realities faced working inside a prison. He deals with the occupational risks while elaborating on the psychological impact of both prison worker and prisoner.

His most recent book, Gorilla Justice, is an un-edited raw fictional version of realistic prison experiences and events through the eyes of an anecdotal translation of the inmate’s plight and suffering while enduring the harsh and toxic prison environment including solitary confinement.

Carl has been interviewed by numerous news stations and newspapers in Phoenix regarding the escape from the Kingman prison and other high profile media cases related to wrongful deaths and suicides inside prisons. His insights have been solicited by the ACLU, Amnesty International, and various other legal firms representing solitary confinement cases in California and Arizona. He is currently working on the STG Step Down program at Pelican Bay and has offered his own experience insights with the Center of Constitutional Rights lawyers and interns to establish a core program at the SHU units. He has personally corresponded and written with SHU prisoners to assess the living conditions and how it impacts their long term placement inside these type of units that are similar to those in Arizona Florence Eyman special management unit where Carl was a unit deputy warden for almost two years before his promotion to Deputy Warden of Operations in Safford and Eyman.

He is a strong advocate for the mentally ill and is a board member of David's Hope Inc. a non-profit advocacy group in Phoenix and also serves as a senior advisor for Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council in Chino, California As a subject matter expert and corrections consultant, Carl has provided interviews and spoken on national and international radio talk shows e.g. BBC CBC Lou Show & TV shows as well as the Associated Press.

I use sarcasm, satire, parodies and other means to make you think!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Cowboys and Correctional Officers – What they have in Common & Riding for the Brand

Due to the high incarceration rates in the United States correctional workers have gained a sufficient amount of notice to entitle them a considerable share of public attention. Unfortunately the public has little knowledge of what a correctional officer does for a living and finding another occupation that is close to their way of life was difficult to say the least. However when I searched for commonalities I found a list of characteristics that matched up almost perfectly with a few exceptions here and there but well within a blurred line to consider them analogous in some manner with some elements of a paradox to keep things interesting. Although not a perfect match, the contrast is equal to the task at hand.

Both occupations are unique. Their duties are of those that are to always be on top of things and alert. The cowboy rides the herd on horseback and sees to it that no strays wonder off from their assigned areas. At times these cowboys have to wrangle the cattle and prepare to ship them elsewhere either by land or by rail. Cowboys and officers are both called upon to round up the dispersed herd and collect them for the purpose of branding them or assigning an identification number to them to single them out of the herd if need be.

The main ingredient and chief characteristic of the cowboy and the correctional officer is courage, physical alertness, ability to endure exposures and a kind of skillset to use whatever tools are required to keep the herd together. Cowboys and officers are both creatures of circumstances and act mostly in a reactive mode to keep things orderly and quiet. Some cowboys wear clothing that are distinctive to his or her badge of calling and reflects their personal appearance as a proclamation what sort of person they are. Officers wear uniforms to proclaim their role and also declare what kind of person they are and purpose hired on for.

Strangely cowboys often travel beyond the normal boundaries of society and were scattered over vast areas to ride the herd. Their presence in the wilderness was beyond efficient protection from civilized and organized law thus in essence they became the law as a necessity to maintain order. One could surmise that in many ways, officers do the same thing as the culture and society behind the high fences and iron gates is ruthless and lawless thus a stern hand is needed to maintain law and order.

Some cowboys were characterized as ruffians and an undeveloped class of society. However, like officers working inside the prisons, most of them were better disposed and were true and trustworthy in their role as guardians in where their presence within such a hostile and volatile environment often developed generous human traits of kindness and heroic traits of character. Unfortunately society has tagged them both to be inclined to demonstrate acts of violence or other commit other negative passions upon the slightest provocation around them when the opposite is true as they are both effective peacemakers.

Regardless of public opinion and misunderstandings the cowboy and correctional officer shares a peculiar characteristic that qualifies them to be important to the public. By the mere choices of their occupational assignment as cowboys and correctional officers and by virtue of both of their abilities to demonstrate courage and recklessness when faced with danger, they excel in what they were hired to do.

Demonstrating a skill with firearms and a proven demonstration of their efficiency to handle or influence those things they do which they may have to exert upon others, they have been instrumental in preventing harm to others and preventing outbreaks of events that might impact the community or others around them whether that be a disease such as mad cow disease or other communicable diseases that may occur inside prisons.

Both have exhibited great efficiency in protecting the communities against predatory incursions and possess a staunch personal constitution and attitude throughout their performance to do what it the right thing to do to keep things together.