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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
































































































































Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Correctional Officers – Working with Fear - Earning Respect


 

When we engage in a profession such as law enforcement or public safety we agreed to work with fear. Seeing how fear impacts our practical ability to work day in and out in such a vulturine setting we must see or manage to find ways to control or fear around us so we can focus on those this that we are tasked to do. Fundamentally speaking we can’t let fear run or ruin our lives or how we do our jobs. We must be motivated to overcome the feeling of fear and minimize its effects of anxiety, stress, worry or distrust. Fear is real in many cases. It is built-in in the job we signed onto do. What we need to do as correctional officers is identify its debilitating effects and keep them from inhibiting us. We have to approach fear directly and at least stun those influences it creates so we can deal with what it is we fear while on or off duty.

Our job as penal practitioners is to meet the challenges what are in front of us inside large jails or prisons without complications. We have to learn how to react according to our training and experience and set aside or minimize the fear of harm, failure or even guilt for doing a most difficult job under difficult conditions. The more we accept fear as being a natural part of our job the stronger we get. However, in doing so, we must make sure we have the right mindset, tools and approach to do this safely and effectively.

Certainly I am not proposing you meet fear directly in a reckless manner especially when it may be dangerous to do so or too overwhelming to conquer. What we need to do is fight the fear with calmness and understanding that it can be controlled through the mind if you allow the mind to engage with each deep breath you take conditioning your calmness along the way. The calmer you are, the less fear you have. Remaining calm will keep you from becoming controlled by the grips of fear. The calmer you are the more fear loses it power over you. It should not be your intention to get rid of your fear but rather to subdue it to a point of self-control and explore it and understand it better. Seeking such resolution creates a practice that brings confidence to the forefront and lessens the emotions associated with fear such as anger, embarrassment, dissuasion or guilt.  Hence we reduce the dominance of fear within ourselves that allows us to function near normal in getting things done.

The symptoms of fear are common. There may be butterflies or twisted pain in the stomach feelings, sweating or rapid breathing along with a sense of vulnerability to pain or other emotional sensations. The main thing is to focus on your ability to remain calm and breathe deep while undergoing the discomfort fear brings to you and your body. Much of the tension, tightness and constriction will begin to unravel as you control your self-awareness through self-control.

Certain kinds of wisdom arise only through seeing something happen repeatedly. Commonly referred to as lessons learned we often have to become very familiar with something in order to be free of fear. I found this to be the case with worrying as I seem to worry more about something or someone when I saw others around me worry validating my own fear through the eyes and thoughts of others. Had I questioned their fear I would have taken some power away from my own fear as I realized that it may have been worrisome at one point but not all the time.

Go back and investigate the fear when things are passive around you and reflect what has happened or occurred and validate its origin or significance. Trust develops, not from willing ourselves to trust, but from discovering for ourselves that we can learn our experience and not over- whelmed by it. If you investigate fear you will reduce it.

Source: https://www.myptsd.com/c/threads/working-with-fear.13790/

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

The New Orange – Not Working Well


 

There are major differences between the convict of yesterday and the inmate of today. Dressed in the new orange these new type of offenders are not a fraction of the kind of convict prisoners were in the days of past when a man would work for a day’s pay and no handouts. It is with high certainty that there were cookie cutter convicts back then as they all had their own personalities and their own characteristics but back then, even crooks had honor.

Today’s prisoners are apples and oranges compared to the past and come with multiple personalities, characteristics, habits and mandates that makes treatment most complicated and diverse as some hang onto their own culture to show them the ways to live in their own distinct politically and socially impacted world and backgrounds even if it is in conflict with their current placement or prison setting. It is likely that the old orange had these same issues but kept them under control and dealt with them in their own ways instead of being a burden to those around them. Each had their own self pride and esteem to take care of business the way we call ‘old school’ and that was up personal and close yet confidential and private.

First of is to denote the differences in the penology theories there is a significant difference between old style rehabilitation and the new version of rehabilitation.  The old way every prisoner underwent into cookie cutter programs and whether they needed it or not, it was determined to be beneficial for them to be educated and worn out at the end of the day for working a job that was manual labor and considered hard labor even on chain gangs. Here there were no cultural divides or territories.  Everybody worked and pulled their weight.

Prison wardens had three easy choices, educate them, work them or let them sit idle and do nothing. Most wardens made sure that the prisoner engaged in at least two out of three with idleness being the least option in the book. A weary or worn out prisoner is a well behaved individual and keeps the peace much easier than those that do nothing all day thinking about how they can disrupt their world.

Today’s rehabilitative programs offer so many different programs that the list is too extensive to list. The fact is if they weren’t court ordered most of them were optional in nature thus often not offered or available. This includes substance abuse programs and other treatment programs that gives them a chance to quit an addiction or manage their anger more constructively and stay out of trouble in the future. Programs are selected like one was in college and if it’s one thing a prison isn’t is a campus or college driven environment.

The old system focused on self-esteem and character traits that counted and provided a person with good moral guidance and ethics to change their ways. The new system ignores the inner self and focuses on rethinking and retraining behavioral issues rather than morality of their character. The new style is holistic in nature and departs from the old style of faulty thinking and worthiness.

Contrary to the new whole person concepts taught, there is a distinct conflict between the two teaching styles for the new orange prisoners are given options in their sentences that were never offered before and allows them to balk at the project to stay busy and learn something.

Many are lazy and take no initiative to attend school or classes for self-improvement unless made to do so by court order or mandatory rules of classification and treatment plans. Rehabilitation only works if the person is receptive to the concept and work to change. Changing behaviors and not the person is a difficult approach. When I compare the two styles it is my opinion that the old style was more practical and more applicable than the new approach of trying to change the persons.

Everyone knows sociopaths can’t be treated and remain to be one of the most rapidly growing populations which are unpredictable and volatile while housed inside our jails and prisons. Thus these type of individuals require a stern hand and structured behavioral modification approach that builds incentive for good thinking and takes away incentives for bad thinking patterns.

The other rapidly growing population are the mentally ill and treatment programs for them are severely limited as well. Since psychotropic medication is very expensive and mental health providers are scarce and untrained in the prison setting, there are many challenges facing this group of new orange that are under the influence of a psychotic breakdown or mental illness diagnosis.

The old types of programs are no longer accepted because they do not cause the person participating to believe they are faulty but rather their behavior is faulty. It is the way of the new that has stifled the practices of the old. The new orange does nothing in the way of making people attend programs or school.

There are too many loopholes that keeps this from being enforced.  Participation is the only way rehabilitation has a chance at working so I believe the changes are not good and unnecessary and under the new rules, participation is rarely mandatory like in the old days. It is up to the prison administrators to ensure the new orange carries out their own self-improvement programs and attend treatment that would benefit them greatly.

The sad part is that today’s administration is just as lazy and weak as the new orange regime. They have no empathy of the setting and take no ownership in how well it is being run and administered. They rely on others less skilled or trained to their dirty work and are fast to point blame when things go wrong and quick to take the credit when something goes right.

They think they are an army of one and do nothing to help or support the correctional counselor or officers in their jobs and stand by to criticize them readily and never once ready to praise them when they do their jobs like they are supposed to and without any fanfare.

Many are college graduates that have never worked inside a prison before applying for the management positions. They are good at counting beans but lack the skill to manage people. They have no loyalty to the workforce and communicate in terms that are difficult to understand as they are often given without preparation or explanation of goals or objectives desired with a mission statement or strategy provided.

 

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Trust me


Trust me

 


How many times have you heard this expression and make you either feel at ease or very uncomfortable. These two words can mean so much to some and taken for granted by others. The meaning of “trust me” goes deeper than most realize and should be taken with a grain of salt or pessimism as it does not always mean what it says.

Today we use abuse this word way too much. We say “trust me” like it’s a common word that we all understand and know what it means. In all reality what is trust? Trust is something of value and dependability.  Trusting someone is relinquishing control over something or someone and providing yourself with the predictability that everything is fine and things are under control and done in the manner or expectation or responsibilities implied. Although rarely seen in this light, trust is an emotion. It conveys feelings that are suitable for openness and willingness to expose yourself to vulnerabilities that others may take advantage of if given to the wrong person.

Trust is given by being logical about your decision making and choices in life. When you trust someone there is always a risk involved but based on your emotional bonds and your common sense that tells you have made a good decision it takes in considerations of probabilistic elements that tells you that there will be something positive come about on this decision and give you a level of confidence you can deal with ease.

Basically speaking most people can feel trust when they associate it with special persons such as family, friends or other companions in their lives. Associated with this feeling of predictability and comfort are satisfied feelings that reflect agreement, relaxation and comfort with the act of finding someone or something trustworthy of your confidence.

Life has taught two things for certain. The greatest average rate of risk is 50 per cent in most cases. It is either a good or bad decision or it is either a reasonable or unreasonable decision. It will either work out as planned or it will not. This is where predictability is measured based on how you think situations will occur or be resolved. Knowing who to trust or what to trust plays into this factor as you exchange information you have about your family, friends or other persons who you have placed a level of trust in. Anything less than 50 per cent is just a poor choice made if you have insight on what other people will do and how they will handle a situation when it occurs.

Last but not least is the exchange value of trust. In a relationship one expects love in return for trust. In a business relationship one expects loyalty in return for trust and in in business matters we expect a principle at work where you trust you get your money’s worth for the price paid.

Therefore trust is a perpetual feeling or emotion that goes with the mood or emotion of the moment as well as the sensibility in making good choices based on experiences to not fully knowing what has value and how much value it contains but are willing to take the chance that it is what you expect it to be or claimed to be. Trust now becomes particularly important, because otherwise we are giving something for nothing.

When we trust other people, we may not only be giving them something in hope of getting something else back in the future but we may also be exposing ourselves in a way that they can take advantage of our vulnerabilities known commonly as being “burned” by another person who you should not have trusted to begin with. Hence lessons learned are valuable assets in making such decisions in life and the workplace. 

Trust should be used sparingly and with wisdom. Once someone has failed your expectations and trust they should hold no more value at the same level as before to you and that broken relationship brings a lack of understanding that goes deeper than the surface for it impacts respect, love and dependability thus establishing the other person as someone unworthy of being reliable and having value in your life.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Corrections – a House of Cards - An email to Arizona lawmakers today August 11, 2013


It is becoming clear by the chain of events that have occurred since the beginning of 2009 the Arizona Department of Corrections has been on a slippery slope resembling a house of cards that has been identified to have a flimsy and instable structure and a very fragile internal arrangement of management that is undependable and ineffectively put together that is definitely in danger of collapsing or failing public safety and the safety of those employees that work there.

Without targeting or identifying any specific position or person it is fair to say that its entire performance records has demonstrated ill and poor prison management principles that have cost the state taxpayers excessive amount of money due to its inability to control prison bed growth and its lack of using and implementing innovative sentencing alternatives within the community.

Applying the funds provided by the legislature that total well beyond the sum of one billion dollars and with the realization that the prison population has not grown in the past year and more plans are in place to expand beds, it would behoove the agency to re-allocate some of those funds and fix these systems that are barely kept together with a thread of hope that they don’t break down completely. Realistic assessments of the DOC will reveal weak infrastructure in many of their systems that have been neglected now for years. Specifically we need to address funding and attention to the following systems:

·         Information network system

·         Inmate classification system

·         Security perimeter alarm system

·         Fire alarms system

·         Staffing pattern and deployment system

·         Personnel retention system

·         Preventive maintenance system

There are many other sub-structured systems that are impaired or fragmented but essentially, these are the core systems that provide the public safety for our citizens. The fact of the matter surrounding such weaknesses is the necessity to fund restoration programs and prioritize capital layout funds to address these immediately if Arizona public safety is going to be taken serious. The reason for such dereliction is the lack of financial and administrative attention paid to these systems and the lack of funds directed at these important functions that keep the prison system as a whole accountable and secure in its mission.

Lawmakers should immediately draw up a plan and ask the current administration a preventive maintenance plan that will avoid a systematic failure or partial shutdown of essential operational elements in the near future that may cause the entire prison operation to be interrupted and have a cause and effect that could impact the safety of the public, the safety of the employees and inmates and the safety of visitors that enter these facilities on a regular basis.

Using the house of cards metaphor should illustrate vulnerability that exists today after years of neglect. Small house of cards are easy to rebuild but when a large house of cards fails, removing one card could make everything collapse. There is too much interdependency on these systems to risk such failure with such various individual systems. The large house of cards where the independent systems form above, are at the bottom and the integration layers are built on top. Here we also need reassurances to repair as you can see one card being removed and where the house of cards have collapsed.

Friday, August 9, 2013

Dragons Waging War in Heaven and Earth



Making a reference to a war waged in heaven there was indeed a war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven thus they fled to the Earth where they established a new power structure among the very same evil men that embraced their propensity for violence and control.  "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

The Earth has many magic portals that are entry ways for demons and dragons to enter and leave as they please.  These magical portals, a three dimensional link between virtual reality and the shattered minds of mere mortals seem to be losing their powers as more good spirited dragons are coming through and joining up with those engaged in the fight to rid the heavens and Earth from those evil spirits possessed and always dangerous in presence and in their skills to manipulate the truth.

Sealed Hellion and Regal Beast had joined Regal Rogue on a mission to save the world of evil demons and Savage Beast and his evil henchmen by his side. Many of Savage Beast dragons were experienced and well skilled warriors were veterans of the war waged in heaven and promised good wealth, power and control by the Savage Beast if they followed his desires and plans to conquer every bit of territory he could under his command and neighboring lands.

It was likely that Regal Rogue would be able to dispose some of them in combat but their sheer numbers made it impossible to attack from the front and a plan was developed to divide and conquer their numbers one by one as they were led astray from their den or workplace to be killed or captured and awakened with fear so that they would no longer take up arms and fight the good and give up the evil.

What was once a temple that housed and kept the good spirits was now a ruin of structures filled with broken spirits of those that once occupied such places and had nowhere to go. The good fell victim to the evil dragons and Savage Beast’s unbelievable power and although they survived the war, they feel victim to become powerless and in need of daily intervention to exist as slaves or servants and chained forever in the dungeons created to keep them in the darkness.

One might say they acted like zombies as they were in deep slumber and walked with an awkward gait that resembled rigor mortis in its latest stages. Strangely these uncoordinated figures survived on mere bread and water for weeks as they suffered for their loyalty to the wrong master and paid dearly for such treason.

Among the victims were two shapers that played the part in order to survive and fight another day. They survived and allowed Savage Beast to bring them into his den of dominion and in ageless slumber pull the wool over his eyes by making him think they have submitted and now one of them inside their ring of fire.

Sealed Hellion and Regal Beast and Rogue had heard of these two zombie turned like victims and devised a plan to rescue them from the grasps of evil by infiltrating through one of these magical portals and hiding out the light so they could not be seen by the other dragons who were faithful and loyal to the their ultimate warrior dragon Savage Beast as well as those hundreds of  zombie like persons wherein these two dwell and hope they cannot be seen as living as they pretended to be dead like the others making it hard for them to cope but keeping them alive.

Some believed that Savage Beast’s power was magical in nature and undefeatable in combat as he showed no signs of losing his incredible powers and getting stronger by the day while inside his dominion filled with servants and wrathful warriors by his side. Sealed Hellion and his partners suspected the opposite and worked hard to find his weak spots and soft belly tissue so they could attack him and forever put him under so that he could no longer threaten others like no other enemy before. 

Many have heard the telling tales of the Walking Dead and Zombie Apocalypse. These stories of horror makes your flesh crawl right up your body as you imagine those days of past when those you worked with told of tales where they experienced a graveyard nightmare right up to the early morning hours. Realizing their task was going to be difficult to say the least of retrieving these two zombie like figures from the grasps of the evil dragon guards watching them was not going to be easy. They would be exposed to dangers that included radioactive contamination and diseases that feed on human flesh and dragon’s feet when walking among the parasites that lived near these magical portal grounds.

Tales that tell of relieve as darkness fades and the sun rises above the mountains located just a few miles away from the one of the magical portals located in this sparsely populated part of the desert.  Hearing nightly and horrifying stories of freaked out not-so-human creatures killing each other and mutilating those still human makes you want to go down to your local gun store and buy you enough guns and ammo to kill them all.

Facing the twilight of day, they will walk wherever they dare. Some will enter neighborhoods located so close to the portal grounds. No fences present one could easily walk among them if their flesh could match those around them as pale and scaly seemed to be the norm.

Intruding silently and working in the darkness makes you vulnerable to those creepers that seek out the living and eat the raw pinkish flesh like a glutton at a sushi bar. Seeking the unnatural will only bring your death and mourning as a human without a gun is no match for the supernatural being that dwell there in those hollow prison walls built to keep men in and strangers out.

These three dragons were fortunate to possess such supernatural strengths and defy their death by taking on these creepers as they attacked them randomly upon sight. Having no problems of disposing them they grew weary as these hordes of zombies kept coming and coming until the daylight broke the horizon and kept them at bay for a little while longer as they searched for the two shapers that were hiding so well not a trace was found or detected by either the microchips implanted or the ankle bracelets put on them by Savage Beast.

Such are the many cultural tales of the undead walking among the mortals of this Earth. Mutated beings showing up unexpectedly inside circles of society not too far away from where the death house rings a bells each time a human is executed or injected with the yellow and clear poison driven into their veins through tubes and needles designed to take away the pain forever.

Every night when the sun goes down, it is just a matter of time before the zombies show up to feed upon those unprotected and unarmed against their razor sharp teeth and bear-like claws as they mutilate they meals and stuff themselves until the sun comes up and drives them away to the darkness for another day. What are these creatures that lurk out there and what created their being as these zombie like monsters rule the very ground they walk on in a dead and mindless manner?

 

One must understand how zombies can be formed or created and live where there are the exact ingredients necessary for such a mutation to begin and create the zombie population. Zombies are parasitic by nature. They are fairly common and roam many places unnoticed by those that turn out their lights inside their homes and shelters.

Sealed Hellion and Regal Beast and Rogue must be careful not to touch or mingle among the living dead. They knew that zombies are turned into mindless freaks because of the conditions that exist around the portal grounds that breed toxic waste and excess emitted or digested organic radioactive materials with a variety of bugs and matter eaten by cats and dogs

Huge black crows that frequent the trash bins and small rodents and varmints that roam freely through the trash containers and storage bins waiting for the weekly haul by the garbage trucks to take it away and dump it nearby in another toxic waste ground only five miles out of this area but a short enough distance for zombies to walk and invade the neighborhood uninvited and often undetected.

Dragging their dead like limbs down the road these mindless zombie like slaves to blood and flesh seek out those who body temperature is warmer than theirs. Infested with parasites they transfer the carriers from one place to another and harvest their progress during the day as when we are awake they sleep and when we are asleep, they walk.

Devoted to terrify humans they are troublesome and often unpleasantly smelly as they approach the streets under the cover of black and darkness. A two pronged attack that is often unnoticed these zombie do their harm through contamination of foods and the transfer of infections usually left untreated by unaware victims that will fall to their poison as the toxic waste breeds inside their intestines and covert their hearts and body into mindless creatures of doom.

Rats and cats and dogs and birds can carry the parasite to wherever it lives whether in a home or a barn, a field or a store. It’s the beginning of the end where the venomous fluids created by these parasites invades and swims inside the blood streams of humans that will fall victim before the end of a two night stand and often less than that.

Intentionally designed to eat the brain and create the mindless status, it is filled with a green liquid that has replaced the red corpuscles in our blood. The transformation is silent and as the parasite takes over the freaking brain swells until it bursts intentionally making a splatter pattern that allows the parasites to seek new hosts as they crawl off the walls.

Slowly but effectively they creep into the food and feces of these animals and small household creatures that we so lovingly stroke, pet and kiss without knowing they are infecting our systems with the poison that will kill us before too long. This parasite is programmed to kill us and we don’t even know it.

After all humans and rats, cats, dogs and crows aren’t all that much different. They each have an internal system that we can test for drugs and see how they react under different conditions. Many don’t realize these parasites invade the intestines and live there until it’s time to kill.

One should wonder how many times we have transferred or transplanted a virus or bug infested with this parasite and realize that no matter where they go, you cannot hide from them any longer. It would behoove the three dragons to air on the side of caution and enter carefully and without contamination.

Their dragon scales can resist much of the damage created by the elements of earth wind and fire and even plant and metals but this parasitic fungus among them was something never tried before and their immune system would have a heck of a time fighting off any infection or infestation created by these toxic side effects that linger near the magical portal grounds that allows these dragons and angels to move around and wage their war on heaven and Earth on the side of Savage Beast and his dark angels.

 

 

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Why Corrections?


 
The newspapers and gossip tabloids call you guards and the public calls you uneducated brutes and knuckles dragging beasts.  Ignoring the name calling and slanderous remarks you weather through it all as you stand tall on your wall. You know what is truth and what is false and you can deal with the difference effectively as you are a correctional officer hired to do an ugly distasteful job.

Perhaps the most misunderstood of any profession, only your friends and your immediate family knows what you do as a prison employee each day while on duty and how much you sacrifice each day you walk through those iron gates of hell. Your peers call you brother or sister and “have your six” or back every day or every night of the week including holidays.

Your administration abuses you either coincidental or on purpose and tells you lies to motivate your inner spirit to keep fighting the fight as the odds are better than 200 to 1 inside any large jail or prison. Offering you no solutions to make the job better you adapt and improvise to get the job done with minimal help and respect from the outside world.

Nobody realizes that no matter how much harassment and how much negativity you endure when you walk the toughest beat around because you have pride and love what you do without whining about to those who don’t understand or care.

Guards or screws, flunkies or bottom feeders of the criminal justice system, you have chosen a career in the most undervalued and least desired position in the branch of judicial systems throughout the world. To them you are “out of mind and out of sight” and often wrongfully accused of being out of your mind.

The environment you work in is silent and often not spoken of until that plume of smoke is seen on the horizon or a call for arms brings your local law enforcement and medical team to your front gate. What has been often described as a place of desecration has often been turned into a tomb for someone friend or foe. Only when the helicopters hover over your self-controlled domain does the news release express your horror and frightful experiences inside the walls of this evil man made purgatory called hell.

Corrections can be the armpit of the world or it can be heaven designed only for the tough and brave that possess the most desirable qualities as peacekeepers among the rioters yet assigned to work in a most undesirable workplace filled with chaos, adversity and gloom. The public with its ignorant eye expects you to be thoughtful, considered persons and lifts not a finger to make it better for all.

They don’t understand the reality you face every day of your duty inside these hell holes. They want you to implement solutions and calculate the daily events of the shift with reasonable and common sense approaches yet fail to give you the things an officer desires for doing the job. The public and the media often fail to address your efforts to maintain order or your ability to gain compliance from persons convicted of blatantly violating society’s rules.

They refuse to admit you are deserving of pride, dignity, respect and appreciation for doing what is considered to be an unpleasant job to say the least and offer small packages of compensation for the numerous dangerous exposures you face every day.

You are a correctional officer and the job is a love or hate situation. Some days you are mellow and satisfied with the routine while other days you find yourself in the midst of a living hell hole with no ending to the madness around you. Hours alone can kill you for your schedule is plainly set on whether the job is done or unfinished requiring long hours and severe fatigue to restore order that was broken.

Working with incorrigibles that have no honor and have no decency to respect the rights of others and the considerations of rule of law.  You can fool yourself into believing that coping and functionality is adaptive and anything thrown at you is manageable and able to handle. It is a survival technique that helped you get this far you say. You know it’s dangerous yet you risk your life for others as a first responder to homicides, suicides, serious assaults and infectious diseases.

It’s not so much about the money but any increase in wages or the availability of overtime is appreciated to pay the bills. You do it for the benefits but even those have changed since you hired on and the cost of living is higher than ever pressuring you to work even harder and longer. Corrections won’t make your rich but it’s another way of putting food on the table.

So why corrections and why put up with all the malady and mayhem that surrounds you. What makes you tick and what makes you do a job that nobody else doesn’t’ understands or don’t want to know because as long as the night is silent and the siren wail from afar, the public will  sleep soundly while you stand the wall.

It must be self-satisfaction of knowing you have the ability to endure and control the most negative aspect of law and order. It must be because you love a challenge and are not easily deterred into giving up or losing the fight. It must be because you love being a correctional officer. It must be because you know how to handle stressful situation and conflict.

You must do it because you have learned you have been trained to handle anything that is put in your face or personal space effectively one way or another. I guess you do it because you want to do it and find it is an honorable and admirable occupation.

Most of all I know you do it because you are a extraordinary person who can handle the exceptional challenges life has given you and others like you that are put in front of you as you walk out the door and with a smile on your face and prepare to enter the den of gladiators. You do it because you know that the bottom line tells you there is a job that needs to be done and somebody has to do it.

 

A Dragon has many Faces




 It has been said that dragons have many faces. It has also been said that based on ancient believes, cultures, myths and fairy tales, dragons represent the divine like qualities of human beings. Shielded with human faces and the known ability to occupy the bodies of man they are also known to be occupied with the four qualities that make up the dragon world.

They were categorized into four groups: heavenly, divine, earthly, and hidden. These groups were determined by their function. Some guarded heaven, others made it rain, while even others drained the rivers or guarded treasures with fire or wind or other qualities possessed for one purpose or another under heaven.

There are English dragons and Chinese dragons as well as dragons from all other parts of the world. They represent every species of animals and every race, creed or color of mankind. They are all an instrumental part of life as we know it under the stars of heaven and Earth thus a natural part of our environment.

Some believe that dragons are humans – some believe that humans are dragons. Regardless which is the more accurate of the two one fact remains –all dragons have the qualities of a snake, crocodile or many other different animals that roam this Earth. The dragon may have a head of a camel or the eyes of a bull. It may have the neck of a snake and the paws of the tiger. It may fly like an eagle or swim like a fish that can travel oceans afar.

They are all possessed with spirits created from the heavens and are classified as Celestial, Spiritual, Earth, and Underworld dragons. The Celestial Dragon is said to protect the Gods and palaces in which the God’s live. The Spiritual Dragon controls the rain and wind. The Earth Dragon is in charge of all the water and rivers on the Earth and the Underworld Dragon guards all the precious gemstones and metal.

Needless to say dragons like people can wander. They can be corrupted spiritual animals like those we know today. It is essential that you know that dragons have many faces so you won’t be fooled in following those that have learned the evilest ways to control the power over others and find satisfaction in their own selfish needs and desires for power.

The Dragon often symbolizes strength and power thus it is often taken in spirit and soul as the means to put on the face that is needed for good or evil, for fairness or injustice to all. There are many popular faces of the dragon. It seems that humans are fascinated by its influence on children as well as adults. It seems to take a spiritual meaning to many who will blindly follow the trails left by those that are eagerly seeking power and control.

Difficult to distinguish the good from the bad, the handsome and the ugly, people have to learn how to read the faces and hearts within in order to decide whether the dragon is of goodness or evil and whether it is an instrument of joy and happiness or riot and chaos.


When it comes to appearance, the dragon looks like a combination of more than one animal. This dragon has a little something from reptiles, snakes, but also lizards and alligators. Dragons have always been extremely important in the world’s culture. They are mythological creatures, the symbol of instruments or figures of power and control of the past. In most cultures, dragons are considered to be strong and intelligent creatures, able to bring good fortune.

They were used as symbols of political leaders, as well as warriors. Dragons are able to burn anything on their way, but still they are associated with bodies of water, including vast oceans or seas. In some cultural mythology, dragons are considered to be yang, while phoenix is yin. While the dragon is extremely powerful, the phoenix is gentle and graceful.

The dragon is one of the 12 animals of the zodiac. People likened to the dragon are considered to be great leaders. However, they can also be tactless and arrogant. There are numerous stories about the dragon. Numerous myths have been associated to the Dragon throughout the years. Some individuals claim that the Dragon is a symbol of evil, but this is only an illogical misconception. For instance, in mythology the dragon was thought to abduct maidens, stealing gold and destroying villages. In medieval world, the dragon was a symbol of Satan incarnate

Dragons remain nowadays the most famous mythological creatures in the world. Thought to be evil creatures in Europe, dragons are worshiped in China, being a symbol of strength and power. The Chinese mythology associates 9 important characteristics to dragons. They are listed below:

1. The Chinese Dragon has a head similar to the one of a camel.
2. This animal scales like a fish.
3. The dragon has the ability to horn, just like a dear.
4. The eyes of the Chinese dragon are like a stealth.
5. This animal has ears like an ox.
6. The neck of the Chinese dragon is like a snake, which makes this animal quite scary.
7. His stomach is similar to an oyster.
8. The dragon has soles of his feet like a tiger.
9. He also has paws like a hawk.

So a dragon, like people is described with many characteristics and personalities that may be individual or combined to serve a purpose under heaven. There are four main types of purposes for dragons. They are:

The species of dragons that guarded the palace of the gods.

The species that have a special power, the one to control wind and rain.

The species to have powers over water, at least on the surface of the earth.

The species to rule the underworld and is the dragon that guarded treasures.

There are normal dragons and supernatural or super-hero dragons. It’s a symbol or identity cannot be used, unless such an honor is worth bestowed upon it. These are highly respected creatures everywhere and because they can be easily corruptive due to their nature to like power and control, they are to be cautioned with whenever approached and efforts must be made to seek out its true heart and its true desires.