Prison is, of course, a training school for patience; I think this is obvious to most people. That prison is also a training school for tolerance and forgiveness, may be less obvious; and I think this is a valuable lesson if the microcosm of prison can inform the way we deal with each other in society as a whole.
As a prisoner, you are surrounded by the same inmates day in, day out. Even in a relatively large cell block, it is impossible to avoid anyone. You are face-to-face with each inmate at some point or another every day. It is tremendously difficult to maintain hostility towards anyone in such circumstances, to say nothing of impractical.
At a certain point, you just feel silly being angry with someone when you inevitably encounter them at every turn. Talking casually with someone, laughing, and then as soon as you turn your head, your “enemy” is there and you force yourself to change your demeanor to be appropriately angry. It is foolish.
You are all in the same situation, and, whether you want to or not, you will see each man’s ups and downs, his moments of happiness and his grief. you will hear him on the phone with his family, see the tension on his face, the emotional exhaustion. It is simply impossible to not feel compassion and some sense of camaraderie, regardless of whatever problems you have had with him. Nothing good or useful can be accomplished in prison, no plans, no help, except by means of this compassion between inmates.
You must know that your love and compassion for each other is an essential element in the struggle against tyranny, and your contempt and hostility towards one another gives comfort only to the authorities who cannot possibly control you unless you hate each other.
#دروس_المعتقل
#Prison_Lessons