Prison
A child who is fatherless because of prison...
must wonder why dad can't just quit doing the things that send him to prison?
Other dads are out walking the streets, taking their kids to school,
playing hoops, going fishing or going for ice cream.
What makes a regular life so hard for these dads to manage?
First of all, most men in prison - grew up without their biodads at home.
Surprised?
Here are a few reasons that men go to prison:
1) Some people have to break the law, just to show they can. They are dedicated anarchists.
Some folks believe they have an obligation or a right to break the law.
2) Some people want to hurt others beyond self-defense. They have a need to hurt others.
3) Some people want to make more money that their skill-sets will allow.
And they won't submit to education, or to training, or to a timeclock.
This makes stealing and drug trafficking attractive.
4) Some people won't control their tempers and explode to the point of prison time.
5) Some people think they have the right to own other people and control them as they please,
with whatever methods work. Human trafficking is a real thing.
6) Some people tinker with illegal substances, become addicted and
live like they have a ring in their nose, being led about by their addiction.
7) Some lustful men are in prison for sex crimes. I went to church with a family -
the father was an employee in our Federal judicial system.
Surprisingly, he was arrested and convicted of sexually-abusing his own son. Prison time.
8) So many inmates have always 'lived for the moment'. What they want or need RIGHT NOW
is all that matters. This lifestyle brings bad tomorrows.
8) Perhaps most unusual, prison has a lot to do with respect.
A lot of men in prison have few natural sources of respect.
* Most are minorities, and minority life doesn't command a lot of respect.
* A few are not high-IQ. Their IQ-potential has been lowered by parental drug use.
* Many of them have no real skills sets, which eliminates that source of respect.
And no skill-sets means lower-income jobs, which affects the social respect they receive.
These men are then approached by seasoned criminals, who pretend to respect them.
They become crime-minions - in exchange for flattery and glimpses of respect.
I've seen it happen. It's a poor trade-off.
9) A few men prefer prison life over life on the outside.
With rent, groceries and child support to pay on the outside, life in prison is easier.
It is difficult to have a 'prison-dependent' father.
And some men are indeed prison-dependent.
This is a truth that many justice-advocates won't admit.
For those seeking inmate-related credentials from me,
I spent about three years making weekly visits to my local county jail,
which was overseen by Good News Jail and Prison Ministry.
I did not work for Good News, but they were the official-overseers of that chaplaincy.