San Quentin’s Message: Love

Initially I was a little uneasy going into San Quentin, not because I was afraid, but it was more so that I didn’t want to seem disrespectful. To me it felt like a human exhibit, and I honestly felt a little pretentious going in just because we were kind of going in as a group of predominantly white college students, and from how the men in the courtyard looked at us also made me really question why we were there. With that being said I still went into the workshop with an open mind just because those feelings were based off of looks and preconceived notions instead of actual dialogue.

Once we went completely around the circle, doing ice breakers and just looking at how each man in blue interacted with one another and how some of them interacted with us and some of the parents, completely altered my perception of the men in there! As I heard them talk, as I viewed their mannerisms, and finally when I talked with each man one on one is when I realized that these were merely humans being held accountable for their mistakes, apart of a system that wants to keep them trapped in their past. I started seeing them more as my friends instead of prisoners and the only time I was really reminded was when we weren’t allowed physical contact other than a handshake. A lot of them were very insightful and almost more aware than a lot of people I know outside of prison and they had a really optimistic point of view. I appreciated how simple they made huge worldly problems seem and they broke it down to love. More so the absence of it and how everyone, even Donald Trump deserves more of it. I think that’s the biggest takeaway I can take away from my visit.