So I was recently doing an interview for an information site I’m working on for the Cook County Jail and it really opened my eyes to a lot of the horrible things that go on in nasty jails. I have to specify the ‘nasty’ part because there are some that really aren’t all that bad, as evidenced by what I’ve learned about the Utah County Jail.

What? TheGoont thought jail was fun before? No, no, silly. Of course I’ve seen TV and movies where jail or prison is portrayed as this incredulously horrible place with the gangs and the violence and other detestable things that go on behind bars. However, movies and TV also teach me that Nazis stole the ark of the covenant and Harrison Ford got it back. There’s a level of disbelief or separation as a result.

Listening to an ex-inmate give his opinion of his time he spent in jail in Chicago was a completely different approach. I was talking to a real person who was really there and really hated it. He was offered protection by a black gang leader in exchange for some of his goods from the commissary and/or meals. He brought to light the depressing nature of being made to line up like children, not speak out, and wait in line in your underwear to trade out the uniform you’ve been wearing for a week straight. It really makes you appreciate some of the things it’s easy to take for granted.