Senior crime
For my non-psych clinical we've been assigned to a Seattle neighborhood which is notable for a large Hispanic population, some nice murals, a site smack dab in the middle of industrial town, and a large community garden. After one project got off to a false start, I've been trying to spend more time in the neighborhood to get a sense of what it's like. I took B to the nursing home there and she was a champ - wagging her tail and gently meeting seniors and kids alike. C went with me to check out the food bank and walk to the community garden and eat burritos. I went to a meeting with classmates to hear more about a project with the food bank. And we joined the senior lunch at the neighborhood center.
The senior lunch was sparsely attended the day that we went. Three of us got there a little late, having stopped for burritos, and two other classmates were there chatting to the three seniors that were present. We sat and joined the conversation, which seemed to be about some of the other seniors who usually attended. I was zoning in and out a bit (chatting inanely has never been my strong suit) and suddenly came to attention realizing that the talk had turned to rape. I'm not sure how it happened, but the group was talking about crime in general and rape in particular and this terrible thing that happened in Tacoma andthat terrible thing that happened on Capitol Hill and so on. One of the older women remarked that she would certainly kill anyone who did that to her daughter. Or friend. Or someone else. Or a pet. Oh yes, their days would be numbered for sure.
I was a little weirded out by this conversation and wondered if it might be uncomfortable for the two men there, but my classmate definitely had no problems contributing to the conversation and then the older man started to speak. He said that when he was younger he was put in jail in the Tri-Cities. It was for drug possession; the police had found speed on him and so he had to go to jail. There was a man there who was incarcerated for molesting little boys. The senior told us that this other inmate was sometimes brought flowers by a visitor, but after he fell asleep, the senior and his buddies would take the flowers out of their pot, pee in the pot, and then put the flowers back. Hee hee. And they would short-sheet his bed. And put toothpaste in his hand and then tickle his face so he would slap toothpaste in his face. Hee hee. And pee on him. Hee hee.
I felt a little sad for the molester who certainly deserved punishment but maybe not at the hands of his fellow prisoners. And I felt a little sad for those fellow prisoners that the best form of aggravation they could come up with came from children's camp.
Is this what all seniors talk about at lunch?
The senior lunch was sparsely attended the day that we went. Three of us got there a little late, having stopped for burritos, and two other classmates were there chatting to the three seniors that were present. We sat and joined the conversation, which seemed to be about some of the other seniors who usually attended. I was zoning in and out a bit (chatting inanely has never been my strong suit) and suddenly came to attention realizing that the talk had turned to rape. I'm not sure how it happened, but the group was talking about crime in general and rape in particular and this terrible thing that happened in Tacoma andthat terrible thing that happened on Capitol Hill and so on. One of the older women remarked that she would certainly kill anyone who did that to her daughter. Or friend. Or someone else. Or a pet. Oh yes, their days would be numbered for sure.
I was a little weirded out by this conversation and wondered if it might be uncomfortable for the two men there, but my classmate definitely had no problems contributing to the conversation and then the older man started to speak. He said that when he was younger he was put in jail in the Tri-Cities. It was for drug possession; the police had found speed on him and so he had to go to jail. There was a man there who was incarcerated for molesting little boys. The senior told us that this other inmate was sometimes brought flowers by a visitor, but after he fell asleep, the senior and his buddies would take the flowers out of their pot, pee in the pot, and then put the flowers back. Hee hee. And they would short-sheet his bed. And put toothpaste in his hand and then tickle his face so he would slap toothpaste in his face. Hee hee. And pee on him. Hee hee.
I felt a little sad for the molester who certainly deserved punishment but maybe not at the hands of his fellow prisoners. And I felt a little sad for those fellow prisoners that the best form of aggravation they could come up with came from children's camp.
Is this what all seniors talk about at lunch?
posted by Imle at 5:57 PM
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