May 12, 2020: I Come From a Land Down Under ... #13th

jpay message dated may 7, 2020 reads in part:

"our nurses are conducting medical assessments on each individual resident to determine if you have symptoms. your cooperation is necessary so that we can work toward [normal operations]".

today, may 8, 2020, i received an "evaluation" from a nurse to determine if i am showing symptoms of covid-19. one lady asked me how many times i got sick and what i went through. the other took my temperature and blood pressure. this was the first time i was evaluated by staff during the outbreak besides temperature checks.

i would just like to reiterate that eight, i repeat, eight souls in my cohort were re-tested for various reasons. as of may 4, 2020 seven tested negative and one tested positive, bishop #520-094. we now enter the stage of re-infecting each other.

the conversation in the free world concerning covid-19 has shifted from a medical concern to an economic concern. people want to go to work and others want to be cautious. an argument can be made for either position but the balance is probably somewhere in the middle. ironically, it is just the opposite at marion correctional. some americans want to return to work, however, by their own admission the staff at marion prefer that inmates get back to work, pushing hastily for normal operation so they can stop working.

i know how arduous it must be for staff to preform the basic functions required to maintain marion. washing clothes, rational decision making, maintaining commissary, serving food, counting and emptying trash seems confusing to accomplish. in reality, this institution cannot function properly without a respectful cohesive relationship between administration and residents. (get the title?)

I have an idea! repeal or seriously modify the rule against establishing a relationship. the very essence of this rule embraces indifferent behavioral characteristics between staff and residents, suffocates empathy, creates an imaginary boundary that is destructive to rehabilitation and penalizes both parties for just begin human. if the relationship between staff and resident was acknowledged and encouraged in a healthy manor, maybe the flag out front might fly half-staffed for the men that passed away as well. my point is life is precious. staff, healthcare professional or prisoner, we all bleed red. i believe no matter what turbulent circumstances our choices may lead us to traverse, more emphasis is needed on the collective celebration of its fragility and equality.

we may never pinpoint which staff member introduced covid-19 to this institution but it wasn't one of the residents. the men that passed contributed to the functionality of this institution and there is value in their lives. it is shameful to not acknowledge the fact that although they may have committed crime, they did not deserve to die this way. ultimately, this is one thing residents cannot be blamed for......the spread. I guess it's true what they say: "in war truth is the first casualty".

covid-19 survivor