DannyBoyinExile

It’s a fact that, over time, the meaning of words and phrases can change. They evolve, just as the societies that use them do. The same words may be USED, they simply don’t MEAN what they used to.
The phrase “Man Down” is an excellent example. Originally, it was used during wartime. When you heard someone yell “Man Down!”, you knew that one of your brothers was wounded and needed to be carried to safety. (If it was an ENEMY soldier, not so much.)
There are so many veterans in our society, that this term is just about universally understood as a distress call. Even in prison, it is instantly acted upon. If an inmate is trapped in a cell and has heart problems, a heat stroke, or just injures himself in some way – he will let someone know, and they’ll put the word out. “Man Down!” There will immediately be a cacophony of inmates yelling, beating, and banging to alert a guard and get him some help.
Not all Man Downs are created equally. Some are legitimate, of course, while others are frivolous – simply because an inmate was bored and wanted to be taken to medical. I’ve even seen quite a few of them called because the inmates, knowing that the first responders are generally nurses, wanted to see a few women on the run!
Lately, though, quite a few of the Man Downs have been because of the ultra-potent (and toxic) things that people smoke around here. It’s not at all uncommon to see a guy literally foaming at the mouth, vomiting all over himself (and anyone else in the vicinity!) – or even falling to the ground, unconscious. Man Down.
This is so common that the term Man Down can actually refer to the drug itself. As in, “I heard they have that Man Down on C block!”
Or, when asking about buying some, “Is it Man Down?”
Strangely, people WANT the stuff that’s so potent that they literally might not survive it. What about the guys who left the wing on a stretcher? “Oh, they just smoked too much!”
Just the other day, a guy I know was smoking on the run, near my cell. He passed out, fell COMPLETELY OFF THREE ROW, and landed on the concrete, two floors down. When the rank came running in to assist him, he started growling like a dog and BITING at them. (He definitely got ahold of some Man Down.) Any other time, that would’ve probably gotten his ass kicked (the biting, I mean, not the smoking). But with a broken jaw, back, and pelvis – he was already messed up enough. Besides, his teeth were falling out of his mouth, so his bark was clearly worse than his bite.
I like the guy, and HATED to see that happen to him, even if it was self-inflicted. But he’s actually lucky. Quite a few people have passed out and NEVER came back, in the free world as well as in prison. You just don’t know what you’re smoking.
I personally don’t smoke, but I sincerely hope that some people around here will learn from HIS mistake, instead of making the same one themselves. I wish there was something I could write that would prevent ANYONE from harming themselves in so reckless a manner. If I can’t do that, at least I can make sure that the next time they call Man Down, it won’t be ME who is down – and that’s just as important. So says DannyBoy.