DannyBoyinExile

For every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction. This is such a basic law of nature that I don’t understand how people forget that it applies to them, too!
Yesterday I’m in the chow hall – minding my own business, like I always do. There is an inmate working behind the serving line who is always getting into confrontations with people, because rather than simply scooping food onto the trays like he’s supposed to, he’s decided he’d like to have a little more say-so about what we should or shouldn’t be getting. I’ve even seen him go so far as to tell the guard what an inmate is or isn’t supposed to get! Which is crazy, because he’s not making a dime to help regulate the food – and it’s not like he gets to take all the extra food back to his cell with him!
So he gets into an argument with a guy passing through the line, yet again. Then, for some reason known only to God and himself, he decides to make a point that he’s not scared – so he JUMPS OVER THE LINE to confront the guy he was arguing with. Clearly, he hadn’t learned the law that Newton discovered – but he learned it then. The other guy hit him in the face at least ten times, and KNOCKED HIM OUT right in the chow hall. Then he fell over and busted his head open, to add insult to injury.
I don’t know what point he was trying to prove, other than that he should have thought more about those equal but opposite reactions before they collided with his head. Now he has brought all this resentment (and ultimately, ridicule) on himself because he just decided to help regulate what and how much food everyone else should get.
We should never look for trouble, because we’ll eventually find it. And it doesn’t matter if you are a guard or an inmate. The guard I mentioned before, Officer Prayez (names have been changed, to protect the guilty) is even sporting some fresh bruises on his face – a gift from an inmate who took it upon himself to fight tyranny… (Literally!) Sadly, that incident was a surprise to absolutely nobody, except the guard involved.
After the fact (ex posto facto, as they say), I’m sure he would even agree that whatever the altercation was about – it clearly wasn’t worth the outcome. He just didn’t think about it BEFORE the fact.
These same lessons are just as valid out there as they are in here. As you live your lives, have your interactions and disputes, and react to your problems – keep in mind that things don’t always end up the way you thought they would. It’s always a good idea to think of several potential solutions to a problem and choose the best one, rather than running with the first idea that pops into your mind.
I wish I’d learned that lesson before I picked up a life sentence, but I DID learn it, which gives me a huge advantage over those who HAVEN’T learned it. Some trouble will always find you – but you can avoid most of it by simply not looking for it in the first place. So says DannyBoy.