Ask Grandpa: Maximum-security prison problems need reform

Ask Grandpa
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Grandpa,
I have been incarcerated for almost 30 years. During my early years when I was in a maximum-security prison, I noticed how badly homosexuals and transgender individuals were treated. Either they were forced to cell with one other man and considered to be his property, sex slave, or wife, as they were called, or they would be beaten and raped by multiple men.

Now I am in a lower security prison and things here are a little different. Homosexuals and transgender individuals are in less danger of being raped, however, they are still treated badly. They are called all kinds of derogatory names, ostracized, or ignored as if invisible. There are two transgender females that are housed in the Health Care Unit (HCU), treated as if they are in the segregation unit, punished for being transgender. This type of treatment has to stop. Transgender individuals are human, too, and should be treated as such.

Do you believe that transgender women should be housed in male prisons or female prisons? Should some facilities make adequate accommodations for the transgender community? What is your opinion for a solution?

Grandpa says: I take it from the way you signed your letter that you are either homosexual, transgender, or romantically attracted to women who had once been men. Do not take that comment as any sort of a slight. I mention it only because being an inmate, you may be opening yourself up to the kinds of abuse you mention. You have some valid points about equal treatment under the law. No group of individuals need be humiliated or abused just for being themselves. Sadly, we must expect individuals of all genders to be abused by inmates.

After all, those abusers are not in prison for singing off key in church. Criminals prey on those they perceive to be weak. There is strength in numbers, hence the gang mentality. When I was younger and actively in prison ministries I saw firsthand the fear, hatred, despair, that so many men faced daily. I saw the changes that can come about by the sharing of ideas, the standing up for other’s rights, and the concept of, “Just like me, that person has feelings.”

As to the transgender women housed in the HCU, might you see that as a form of protective custody? Such a likely target needs to be protected from the potentially violent men who might not be so liberal-minded. I believe in reforming the offender’s criminal behavior, not the private life. Judgment belongs to God, discernment is man’s. I bid you peace.

Grandpa says: Beloved readers, Grandpa has a tradition for this time of year. I ask you, my dear readers, to send to me a short note telling me what blessing you have for which you are grateful. The Thursday before Thanksgiving I publish those letters. This year the letters will be published on November 21. I will need to receive them before November 10. Please send your letters to the address below. I look forward to hearing from you.

Got something stuck in your craw? Ask Grandpa. Address your letters to Ask Grandpa c/o The Voice, PO Box 123, Aurora, IL 60507 or send an E-mail to askgrandpa@thevoice.us.

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