Are We Winning? No.

"Rascality has limits, stupidity has not." - Napoleon Bonaparte as quoted by Robert Heinlein

I ran across these words today. A quote by a man who is dead, quoted by another man who is dead, in a book about a man who never existed. How's that for screwed up irony?

But it showed me that this is a war that we will never win. For in truth, it is a war we are fighting. A war against stupidity and evil.

And the quote is true. No matter how clever we are..... no matter what techniques we avail ourselves of....... no matter how hard we try, we will never win. Because no matter how many stupid sick bastards we take out of the equation, there will always be more lined up waiting to get in the gates.

And just when I get to the point where I think I've seen it all, there's always some knucklehead that catches me by surprise with something that I never even thought of.

It's kind of a depressing thought. I'll fight this fight until I die or quit or retire or get fired. And we'll win minor skirmishes here and there. But for the most part, we can never ultimately win.

At my last job I made signs. That was a good thing. When we finished a job there was something tangible on a building or up on a pole that we could look at and say "I made that." If I drove down south right now I could drive through town and see hundreds of signs that I made or helped make. And when we finished the sign the job was done and we went on to the next thing. It felt good to get the job finished and move on.

We don't get that kind of closure here. The inmates move on or don't. There are a handful that will be in my house until they get out of prison or transfer or die, whichever comes first. And there's always more waiting. Every time we have empty beds they fill them right back up again. Once in awhile it's a new one that I've never seen before.

But usually it's the same idiots over and over again. They get out, they come back.

They transfer out and transfer back again.

They even get out of prison and come back again. I've seen that alot.

It never ends.

No closure. That just can't be good for the psyche.

I think that's why I get so busy on my weekends. I make things. Or move them around. Take things apart or put them back together. Something that I can look at and say "I did that." Even mowing the lawn (another endless job) is good because I get done. At least for the day.

I won't let it get to me. I hope. I'll keep fighting the good fight every day. I really have no choice if I want to stay employed. And I don't think I could just quit and walk away.

Not just yet, anyway.

I might just win. There's always hope.

Just maybe Napoleon was wrong.

And just a quick question..... Why in gawds name did Florida DOC think a "Bring your kids to work day" was a good idea for prison employees in the first place? Whoever thought that one up should be fired first. Then the taser freaks.