Idealism


Many of my fondest memories exist in the years of my late teens through mid twenties. Permeating everything back then was a strong sense of idealism as I played in a few punk rock bands, lived and backpacked around Europe, attended house parties where we would do these communal cook-outs while drinking copious amounts of wine, marches for nuclear disarmament, etc. Those days remind my of two quotes from G.B. Shaw. The first: “It’s all the young can do for the old, to shock them and keep them up to date”, and the second: “Reminiscences make one feel so deliciously aged and sad.”

Losing much of one’s idealism often does come by gaining a more thorough knowledge of things through life experiences. I suppose that’s why so many academics remain well spoken idealists as they have concealed themselves to monastic lives inside the halls of higher learning, rarely venturing beyond the books to which they contribute. I admire this in as much as I can admire someone who believes in religion – it is a perception mixed with beauty and sadness. When I finally opted to forego a return to teaching and remain a Correctional Officer, a good part of the reason why was that I wanted to do things as opposed to teaching others about the great things others have done (again, quoting Shaw: “Those who can do, those who can not teach.”).

I always thought that there was a magic in retaining a sense of idealism until I began working as a Correctional Officer in a federal maximum security prison. In Canada, any sentence of two or more years is served in a federal institution. The mantra of the Service is rehabilitation as it promotes the idea that everyone can be a law abiding citizen. Therefore, Canadian prisons pride themselves on being humane and claim only to take away an Offender’s rights of mobility. After a short time in the Service, you realise that it is like an army whose officers at the top are all people with no correctional experience and develop all the policies, then on the ground level (actually working with inmates) you have Correctional Officers who have next to no say on how things are conducted. We have had national heads of security who have never worked a day inside a prison before being given their mandate! Imagine your local paper running an ad which reads: “WANTED: General to lead combat troops on Afghan mission. University degree required. No exp. Necessary”.

I’m not making this stuff up! As an Officer we only just received the right to wear handcuffs (and we will be getting stab resistant vests in the next couple of years) which were viewed as being “detrimental to fostering a positive trusting relationships with Offenders and considered aggressive”. I work in a max and they are worried about the feelings of offenders? Some ten years ago, federal inmates were also consulted on new uniforms for guards to ensure that they weren’t too overbearing!

You see, in Canada, we want our prisons to reflect the communities that offenders will one day return to. At one time, to become an Officer, you had to pass a fitness requirement (COPAT), but, because too many people failed, it was done away with. What has really got me fired up, and thus go on this idealism rant, is that we now have a fairly large handicapped woman set to go on core training. This woman is very nice, but, due to significant leg problems, she walks like a slinky. I am not intending to be mean here, but, ultimately, the day could very well come where I am fighting for my life – literally – and this woman could be my only immediate back-up! Hundreds of Correctional Officers have been badly injured and killed in this country over the decades, and it is a possible reality that my colleagues and I face every day I step through the doors. When are we going to leave these idealistic ivory towers and get back to what is the reality of the situation? I honestly feel like screaming, as do many of my colleagues, but I realise that we are a meagre microcosm and not at the forefront of the public interest. Even the four Mounties killed in Alberta followed by the Officer killed shortly afterward in Quebec was limited in the amount of public outcry – funeral services on national TV but not a whole lot to change the root of the problem.

In my opinion, I admire the Canadian desire to see the best in people, but am discouraged by the endless limits of that compassion, especially as it appears sympathy for the Offenders supersedes that of the victims and their families. At the end of the day, we live in a democracy, but seem to refuse the obligations of becoming informed before casting votes and remaining silent.

Perhaps I’m still idealistic in that one day the people will wake up…..