This letter was written by a person incarcerated at Ironwood.
One of the biggest misconceptions about prison that I have encountered is that we are somehow living in some hermetically sealed bubble. I find this to be untrue. I view my life as being lived in a “medium” secured gated community filled with every person that you would find in any other community. We all face challenges regardless of where we live and what level of supervision we are under. There are issues unique to prison as I am sure there are for campus life. There is also much overlap I’m sure. As you rightly identified in your letter, it is not the situations that vary, it is the reactions or responses to the situations.
In regards to the pandemic, I am experiencing the same things you are. I take every precaution I can to protect myself and others. I wear my mask correctly, I social distance to the best of my ability, I wash my hands often. Does everyone else? No, that is no different than in your community I would imagine. People either have a healthy fear and respect for the potential consequences of contracting COVID-19 or they do not.
