The Divide and Conquer Phenomenon

   The System will always find ways to propagate itself, usually by playing on the fears and ignorance of those who buy into its deception. Case in point, today I found out from another prisoner (whom I will not name in order to protect him from repercussions) that one of the guards involved in the phone privilege incident several weeks ago (whom I also will not name, to protect the same prisoner from repercussions) told several prisoners in no uncertain terms that if they continue to “fuck with Duncan” (a direct quote that in this case means talk to, or otherwise associate with, contrary to its apparent meaning) that they themselves would be put on “status” (i.e. treated with the same overt disrespect that the guards use to treat “cho-moes”, “or “child molesters”). When I asked what that meant specifically the prisoner told me that the guard said, “no more passing shit between cells, or getting the phone when you ask for it”, as just an example.

   I guess I’ve been on “status” since I’ve been here, but never realized it until recently when some of the guards elevated my “status” a couple of notches in order to teach me a lesson (presumably for calling counselor Edwards a “cretin”, which apparently was an indication to these guards that I “didn’t know [my] place”).

   It seems the guards who refused to pass me the phone last month (see “Phone Privileges?” and “Counselor Edwards” expositions) didn’t expect the other prisoners to treat me with any respect at all (by insisting that the guards pass me the phone, for example) when they decided to arbitrarily punish me for “disrespecting” the badge (or so I assume that’s what the “punishment” was for, but since it was all done according to the rules of some unspoken and decidedly childish game, I can only be sure that it had something to do with someone’s precious “pride” being offended). So they solved the “problem” by reminded the other prisoners that if they want to keep receiving “favors” from the guards then they themselves will have to “respect” the guards when they decide to “disrespect” Duncan (me) for being a cho-moe.

   I think this is a pretty good example of how the System propagates the very violence and prejudice that it pretends to protect us all from. This kind of prisoner agitation is common. The guards do it in order to “maintain control” of the prison population. Of course all they are really doing is instigating the very behavior and attitudes that they need evidence of in order to justify their abusive authority measures. It’s the same tactic that “authorities” have been using forever. It even has a name, “divide and conquer”. It can be as obvious as this situation (explained above), or far more subtle and hard to detect at all, as when the police, FBI, and other government authorities in the real world do it. And it’s not a conspiracy; it’s something far more sinister than that. It’s a phenomenon; presently beyond all direct human control (i.e. the guards have no idea that they are creating the violence that it is their job to control, they are only responding out of their fear and ignorance). And it will only stop being a phenomenon when we become aware of it in general terms (philosophers and many other serious thinkers, including some statesmen, have been aware of this phenomenon for thousands of years; but the general public remains oblivious to it, and that’s the only reason it continues to be a phenomenon).

   To be honest, what this other prisoner told me earlier today does not surprise me at all. It is perfectly consistent with what I have come to expect from the “System”. It also helps explain why I have experienced so little (yes, little) harassment from the guards. It seems they have been harassing me in their minds all along (not all of them, just the more ignorant and fear-driven ones, but the rest condone the “harassment” lest they be labelled “sympathizers”) but I haven’t noticed simply because I never (or, at least, rarely) ask them for “favors”. I can only assume, now that I now I’ve been being “harassed” all along, that they’ve assumed I knew I was “harassed” and accepted it as “my place”. So, when I called the counselor a “cretin” they figured I needed to be reminded of “my place”. They’d be really surprised if they knew how much I have refrained from doing far more than name calling, all simply because I no longer cater to such ignorant and fear-based behavior.