I read somewhere catastrophe is a result of a series of three or more events leading to disaster. And if you could somehow go back in time and remove any one event, the chain to catastrophe is broken.
One year to the day the Center for Disease Control (CDC) officially declared the killer pandemic, America has suffered 530,605-plus corona-catastrophes. As a global community, this sorrow soars to 2.6 million. But it would be wrong to blame coronavirus alone.
Every human on this earth (with the exception of nursing home residents and the incarcerated) had options, personal choices to make, regarding the pandemic. You could wear a mask – or not. You could social distance – or not. You could follow the lockdown mandates – or not. You can wisely choose the vaccine – or not.
On the flipside, many of us were susceptible to the numerous selfish, irresponsible “covidiots” out there who became one link in someone’s COVID-death-chain. Hopefully, in the afterlife, these covidiots have to answer for their negligent manslaughter one way or another.
Every COVID death, or infection for that matter, was a result of a series of events linking the victim towards their COVID-fate. It would be interesting what the National Security Agency’s (NSA) sophisticated data analytics farm in Utah could teach the world about each coronavirus death using their self-learning algorithms and evolving databases. Would the results save lives the next time some biological weapons lab – as evidence strongly indicates – allows a new killer virus to escape? Rest assured, it is only a matter of time.
Perhaps the NSA could start with the COVID death of Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) Chaplain Bedison, assigned to Nathaniel J. Neal Unit in Amarillo, Texas.
What you are about to read is the true story of a series of six events that lead Chaplain Bedison closer and closer to his coronavirus infection and subsequent death.
Chaplain Bedison’s COVID-Death-Chain
Link 1.) A global pandemic declared by the CDC on March 11, 2020.
Link 2.) The… command… decision to shuffle around hundreds of positive inmates throughout every living pod, cross-contaminating the entire prison.
Link 3.) An intolerant, over-zealous faith-based dorm; aka the “God-pod”.
Link 4.) TDCJ Television Policy.
Link 5.) Prison snitches.
Link 6.) Chaplain Bedison’s failure to wear a mask.
It’s a subject of debate how coronavirus managed to finally infest the Neal Unit. Further complicating the controversy is the manner in which management reacted to the TDCJ’s largest single-mass-testing positive COVID-19 outbreak. Out of approximately 1,600 inmates warehoused on the Neal Unit, over 1,000 were infected. These numbers do not include the numerous inmates who were infected and fully recovered before testing. But that’s all a subject for a different story.
It should be noted that, mid-crisis, the Neal Unit Warden was reassigned. TDCJ then chose to “idle” (i.e. shut down) the Neal Unit in December of 2020 after expensive maintenance upgrades and a $1 million church was erected; hmmm… (the reader should be scratching his/her head about now).
I’ll bypass COVID-DEATH-LINK ONE: The Global Pandemic; after all, we’ve all been living this nightmare for over a year now.
COVID-DEATH-LINK TWO: The Command Decision
Pure pandemonium erupted the night of September 27, 2020, when an announcement burst through the intercom: “Every inmate pack your property and prepare to relocate!”
A futile attempt to separate the positive from the negative ensued that only exacerbated the situation. Hundreds of inmates were moved from building to building, living pod to living pod, across the entire unit.
Four days earlier (September 23), every inmate had been tested for coronavirus. The first signs of COVID-19 infestation showed around September 1. Medical and our Nurse Practitioner would only take a fever, cough, and shortness of breath as COVID symptoms. So the self-reporting sick were sent back to their cells – and the virus feasted!
It was completely lost to leadership that those inmates who tested negative had already been infected and fully recovered. The safest course of action (in my opinion) would have been to stop ALL inmate movement and enforce the strictest of lockdowns. To include turning off the TVs. Before and after infestation, the COVID-19 protective lockdown was not enforced.
During the attempt to separate the positive from the negative, a handful of non-approved faith-based dorm inmates were forced to move into the “God-pod”. And, right away, there were problems!
COVID-DEATH-LINK THREE: The “God-pod”
The “God-pod”, in offender argot, is a faith-based dorm where all religions are accepted. The basic requirements to be placed on the waiting list are no recent disciplinary reports, be eligible for dorm (single man cubicle) housing – for example, not be on gang file – and mandatory participation in all rehabilitative classes. This was a 24-month program. Upon successful completion, the participant earns a number of certificates that can be presented to the parole board. And, being Texas, have your parole denied!
Sounds like a good thing, right? Well, it’s not. And it’s not because the inmates were allowed to run the dorm. Anytime any prison program is run by inmates, ringleaders emerge. Bullying ensues (which is why inmate “turn-keys” were banned). Discrimination and judgement of all the minority religions is the norm. It’s a rare sight to observe a Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, etcetera, housed in the God-pod. Those who try usually don’t last long.
They don’t last long because of snitches. The Chaplain is the ultimate power behind who is forced out based solely on “Christian” snitches who inform the Chaplain about some perceived evil-doing.
Instead of minding their own business, focusing on self-improvement through spiritual enlightenment, many faith-based inmates watch everything everyone does. If anything is interpreted as anti-religious, a report is turned into the Chaplain. And if you’re not a member of the “frat”, you’re soon served up a move slip – and kicked out!
Allow me to pause here and note that not all God-pods on every TDCJ unit are created equal. I’m sure there are some good faith-based dorms out there. I’m simply referring to the Neal Unit’s dorm prior to COVID-19.
The handful of inmates forced into the God-pod during the separation of positive and negative were told – by other inmates – that they couldn’t watch sports, Supernatural, Charmed, and a number of other TV programs deemed “devil-vision”.
The “infidels” informed the ringleaders that the dorm was no longer a faith-based dorm as all programs/classes were cancelled, but rather now a COVID-19 quarantine dorm. The infiltrators would watch what they wanted, when they wanted, no matter what other inmates had to say about the issue.
COVID-DEATH-LINKS FOUR AND FIVE: TDCJ Television Policy and Prison Snitches
There is nothing that causes more violence inside TDCJ prisons than televisions. TDCJ is one of the few states that refuses to allow inmates to purchase TVs from commissary or provide system wide TVs inside individual cells. Only a couple of the 100 or so prisons throughout the state supply TVs in cells. TDCJ is missing out on a money-making deal by not selling TVs and channel subscriptions. Could this money be used to increase the guards’ salary?
The violence derives from command and control over the TVs in the dayrooms. Given the lack of air conditioning, massive industrial fans mounted on walls make it impossible to hear what is being said on any particular program. So, in blatant violation of established TDCJ dayroom policy, many corrections officers max-out the volume of every TV, creating even more problems.
Communal TVs during the pandemic quickly became super-spreader instruments of infection. If the TVs would have been turned off during COVID “precautionary” lockdowns, many incidents of violence would have been prevented. Two days into my dorm’s COVID-lockdown, a bloody fight broke out over control of the TVs.
What makes this all the more absurd is only a small percentage of inmates could see the TVs from their cubicles. Of course, this lead to these inmates selling channel-checks for commissary items, which caused even more violence!
Inmates routinely stood in groups of eight, ten, maskless, in violation of the COVID-lockdown that was not enforced. As a result, the virus continued to be ingested, needlessly extending the “lockdown” for weeks on end.
Meanwhile, in the God-pod, the snitches in their ever-growing, self-righteous intolerance, wrote letter after letter to Chaplain Bedison complaining about the “evil” doings of the invading horde – all over devil-vision.
COVID-DEATH-LINK-SIX: Failure to Wear a Mask
Answering the “informants” call, Chaplain Bedison, for reasons we’ll never really know, entered the God-pod full of coronavirus-positive men without wearing a mask to settle the ongoing “crusade”.
Shortly thereafter, word sadly trickled down that Chaplain Bedison was in the hospital fighting for his life; COVID-19 waging war against his immune system. A few days later, coronavirus claimed yet another victim; one of 530,650-plus Americans (as of March 11, 2020), one of 2.6 million globally.
But it’s what occurred next (inside the God-pod) that put things into perspective and made everyone contemplate the absolute, utter, and complete madness of it all.
One of the “non-believers” stood tall on a table in the dayroom and called the entire wing to attention. I am paraphrasing here, but this is what he said: “I just want to congratulate ya’ll for killing your Chaplain! Those of you who complained about us forced to move into this pod brought the Chaplain here! I hope ya’ll are all proud of yourselves!”
I was told you could hear the field mice blinking out on the rec-yard…
Of course it was more than the snitches that led Chaplain Bedison towards his COVID-fate. As we’ve seen, they were just one link in his COVID-death-chain.
If you’re capable, take a moment to contemplate your own COVID-death-chain. Or any catastrophic death-linked-chain, from mass shootings to plane crashes. Listen to your intuition – your gut! Be situationally aware. If you can prevent just one link – you’ll live!
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