DannyBoyinExile

True self-discipline, in the sense of discipline over yourself and your actions, is pretty rare in TDCJ. You can look around any group of inmates and see people exhibiting exactly the same behavior that got them here in the first place. The best example of this is probably drugs.
People who have spent their entire lives chasing one high or another aren’t likely to change very much, simply because they got locked up for it. There are many classes that inmates can take which will illustrate exactly HOW they can change their thinking – and then their lives – but until they make up their minds to do so, nothing will change.
What occurs more often can be referred to as “group self-discipline”. That’s when a few key inmates in any location get tired of being harassed and having to face repercussions because of people smoking or having toon attacks on the run (or in the dayroom), then get together and decree that enough is enough. People simply get tired of being placed on lockdown and eating sack meals, or having their property ransacked and getting cases for any frivolous items they got caught with, because of a few people who bring the heat down on everybody.
More and more wings on the Wynne Unit have adopted a ” No Public Smoking” policy. All the various groups and subdivisions amongst us agree that if they catch ANYONE smoking on the run or in the dayroom, or having a toon attack anywhere outside of their cell – they WILL get their ass kicked because of it. And since it’s considered a “discipline”, it will be a two-on-one affair, to ensure that they WILL take an ass-whipping, as opposed to an easy fight that would accomplish nothing.
I can’t speak for the legality of the situation, but on a PRACTICAL level: it works. Once this happens to a few people, whereby people can see that it WILL happen to them, regardless of their race or affiliation, you’d be surprised at the results.
Some people only learn the hard way. Which is fine – because that’s exactly what they’ll get! They won’t get hurt, but they will get beat up – and will usually respect the fact that it was agreed to by everyone (which is how laws are supposed to be passed, by the way), and that they brought it upon themselves. Some people HOPE they catch someone smoking on the run, so they can beat them up, and I’ve heard quite a few guys making jokes about it. But it won’t happen to anyone who isn’t guilty, and no exceptions will be made – so it’s as fair as any rule I’ve seen in TDCJ, even if it doesn’t appear in any handbook.
It doesn’t ALWAYS work, of course. On some wings, the people who want to smoke in public, and stay high all the time, simply outnumber the people who would beat them up for it! That’s fine, on that particular wing. But let one of them go to lockup and end up on a different wing – and they’ll face the consequences for doing it there.
People still have toon attacks. And one inmate just died from an overdose, after smoking fentanyl. So this policy won’t stop ALL drug-related shenanigans. But it’s not happening in public anymore. Guards aren’t seeing it on the runs or in the dayrooms – and we can’t really tell anyone what they can do in the privacy of their own cells. But noone else has to be around it, or face the repercussions from it, so it truly is nobody else’s business.
I’ve seen many people quit doing drugs altogether, after having a bad toon attack (or getting their ass kicked!), so it’s a step in the right direction. Whether you agree with our method of group self-discipline or not, there are undeniably less toon attacks now, as a result of it. And that’s certainly more preferable than when we didn’t do anything at all about it, so I for one have no complaints. I haven’t heard ANYONE complain about it, except for the people who’d rather smoke any place they feel the urge to. And even they have the freedom to do so, if they really want to. But they WILL face the consequences, just like anybody else. Sometimes a little discipline isn’t a bad thing – even if it’s forced on you. So says DannyBoy.