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136 ˜ A Work of Hospitality, 1982–2002
sixty men are crowded into the seating area, a guard with a clipboard comes over
and starts calling names. As the names are called, men are instructed to stand in
an adjoining area, on one of the lines painted on the floor.
As all the new prisoners shift from the benches to one of the painted lines,
individual comfort zones are violated. Some say that to feel comfortable around
people we do not know, most of us need two or three feet of space. Prison officials
have no comprehension of this fact—or perhaps they do. The new prisoners
stand crowded, shoulder to shoulder, with a two-foot space between rows.
The guard with the clipboard comes over while other guards circle the
closely packed group of standing men. Again, names are called and checked off
the clipboard. After all the names have been called, and everyone has been accounted
for, the men are told to place their property on the floor at their feet.
One guard starts yelling a list of rules, while another starts sending the new prisoners
to one of several barber chairs. In prison everyone gets the same haircut—
your head is shaved. After that, you are instructed to stand at your spot on one
of the painted lines.
In less time than you would imagine possible, fifty or sixty men have their
heads shaved and are standing on the line. When the last head is shaved, everyone
is ordered to strip naked. You can forget common decency. As long as you
are in prison, you will be asked to strip naked almost daily. Humiliation seeps
in as, layer by layer, your dignity is stripped away.
Standing in a crowd of naked men is indescribably uncomfortable. The first
row is handed razors and soap out of a communal box and sent to an exposed
wall of showerheads. The men are ordered to shave their faces and to wash their
bodies thoroughly. When finished, they return the razors and soap for the next
group.
As one person showers, the next group has more layers of humanity removed.
They will be introduced to what is called a “strip search.” You will be expected
to submit to strip searches frequently and on demand as long as you are
in prison.
Several guards move in front of the row and conduct their humiliating
search. Standing naked, you are asked to open your mouth and raise your
tongue. You are then instructed to raise your scrotum, then to turn around and
spread the cheeks of your buttocks. Finally, to add insult, you are asked to squat
and cough. The purpose of all this, you are informed, is to look for weapons.
After everyone has showered and been humiliated, the men are placed back
on line in their crowded, emotionally injured group. A guard walks by and “inspects”
the property at your feet. He picks up an item and looks at you slyly. If,
while the guard fingers your property, you show concern or indicate that any
item has value, he curses and yells at you as the item is thrown to the floor and
trampled.
The result is that most, if not all, of the valuables that you brought to prison