In prison, the environment can be so feral that sometimes I feel like I’m trapped in a zoo. Instead of iron bars, divisive issues such as prison gangs, street gangs and racial rivalries separate and trap the minds of the incarcerated population. The consequences range anywhere from light-hearted debates to self-imposed segregation and full-blown riots. But there’s an issue that fosters division within ethnicities, cultures and backgrounds unlike any other – government politics.
It was early evening when I sat in my cell to read a novel. I flipped through the book’s pages when, from down the tier, someone yelled, “They tried to kill Trump!” His voice, full of anger, reverberated through the building.
I turned on my T.V. The flashing images on the screen pulled my eyes towards it like a magnet. With nearly a dozen secret servicemen swarming the former president as bees would a hive, his right ear oozed crimson blood. It didn’t take long for me to process what had occurred. The assassin’s bullet had been an inch from taking his life.
Just then, a distant voice cackled and yelled in return, “Next time, they’ll get ‘em!”
In the days that followed the foiled assassination, the upcoming election dominated conversations throughout the prison. While I walked toward my job in the education department, two guys strode several feet ahead of me.
“He’s sure to win now,” one said to the other.
“Yeah, he’s like a martyr.”
In the following weeks, a different narrative emerged. In the dining hall, the guys at my table discussed it openly while eating.
“Can you believe it? We can have our first female president.”
“Isn’t she the one that opposed our appeals?”
In California, by law, incarcerated citizens aren’t allowed to vote, but to most inmates, that doesn’t matter. They’re not concerned with casting a ballot in a voting booth because they cast their votes symbolically, simply by rooting for a candidate to win. In here, siding with a candidate allows the symbolic voter to enter a vicarious competition – my team versus yours, good versus evil, left versus right. Many factors sway a voter one way or the other: foreign policy, national budget plans, skin tone, gender, even celebrity endorsements.
In front of a packed arena in Wisconsin, Hulk Hogan shredded his shirt and stirred the crowd into a hysteric frenzy. One side had gained the lead. In Illinois, Lil Jon hyped the audience with an ensemble of crunk music. The other side came storming back. As usual, when the campaigning is over, and one candidate eventually emerges victorious, voters either celebrate or sulk in defeat. When their team wins, they feel like they’ve won. When their candidate loses, they lose. In prison, where any victory is sparse, they’ll take what they can even if it doesn’t directly impact them. Four years from now, the process will start over and offer an opportunity for more competition.
When that time arrives, the incarcerated will still be in the invisible cages that divide us. As the competition rises, some will blare as loud as a family of elephants. Others will bray like a herd of donkeys and a few of us will observe the chaos carefully, trapped in the zoo of it all.
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