Phil in Paris
03-25-2003, 08:59 AM
by Mitchell Anderson
I have always had an irrational fear of jail. It's not that I really think I'll end up in jail, but you never know. I just know I don't ever want to see what it's like on the inside.
Maybe I've seen too many prison movies. I remember one television movie in the seventies starring Susan Dey, (I think I had to watch it because I was obsessed with "The Partridge Family") in which she played a girl who was wrongly sent to prison and, just before she was to be released, killed another inmate in a brawl. Her life was over, and my fear of jail was cemented. I also think subconsciously I knew that because I was gay, prison was one place I definitely didn't want to go.
A few months ago I received an e-mail from David Forbush who lives in Frederick, Mich., and works for the Michigan Department of Agriculture. He has been volunteering his time visiting a gay prisoner in the Michigan Correctional System. In his role as a listener and go-between for this inmate, David has seen first-hand the institutional abuse and discrimination toward gay inmates that is rampant in the prison system. His stories have not only confirmed my long-standing phobia of prison, but have also demonstrated yet another place where gays and lesbians are treated as second-class citizens.
David has befriended an inmate named Ron Rousseau, who was incarcerated as a "sex offender." According to David, the case against Ron was of questionable merit, yet he was found guilty and sentenced to one-and-a-half to 20 years. "For a gay prisoner, expect 20," David says. "He was found guilty of taking photos of juveniles when in fact, he was doing everything possible to talk the kids out of it." Guilt or innocence aside, because Ron is gay, he has been confronted with gross violation of his rights to equal treatment by a prison system that regards homosexuals as less than human. David writes:
The homophobia and horrible cruelties that he [Ron] has experienced in prison have been too numerous to count. Ron has been incarcerated for 7 years and is facing the possibility of another 20. Ron is 37.
If you met him you would really like him and be impressed by his intelligence and caring. Really emotionally strong, though I can't understand why. I am usually the one moved to tears by some incident that happens to him, but not him.
In jail, he has been raped, always placed in a cell with a sexual predator (it's the unofficial policy of MDOC for gay inmates), called "sissy" and "fag" by guards, had guards inform the predators that he is gay and likes it, and is fair game for frequent and unwarranted tickets. Only 14 percent of the sex offenders get paroled.
Through his correspondence with me, David tells me that the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) includes on the inmate's classification forms a box for "Homosexual." The MDOC looks at court records to determine if an inmate is an "active" homosexual, and they mark the box accordingly, (no inmate would volunteer this information). Classifying an inmate as gay is tantamount to giving them a secondary sentence of a life of torture inside the prison. Prison guards, employees and other inmates routinely verbally, physically and sexually abuse known homosexuals. Gay inmates are less likely, according to David, to be given fair parole hearings. The first question that is often asked is, "Are you a homosexual?" The inmate's answer is irrelevant since it is already indicated on the MDOC form. Their hearing is tainted as they are considered "predators" simply because they are gay.
David has taken Ron's case to the Michigan Department of Corrections pointing out the grossly unfair treatment he is receiving in prison, carefully noting each incident and hoping to get them to change their policies. Prison culture is one of intractable silence. The "team player" mentality supports lying and denials among the guards that any overt discrimination or abuse exists inside the prison. Without corroborating evidence, a gay inmate's accusations against the system are next to impossible to prove. And so Ron and other gay inmates continue to feel the sting of institutionalized discrimination.
The personal emotional risk David has undertaken on Ron's behalf cannot be underestimated as he deals with prison issues and visiting a gay inmate. He writes:
...[It's] like coming out of the closet a second time. It's difficult the first time you mail a letter to an inmate, which has his number and the institution name on it. You hope no one sees you. You almost sneak it into the mailbox. The visits with the shakedowns are tough at first also. You can imagine the isolation the inmate must feel as his friends drop by the wayside ($7.50 for a 15-minute call makes this form of contact difficult, too). Sooner or later, all of them are released. By then family and friends have drifted, they have learned how to be a proper criminal, most were innocent or minimally guilty, and they have been degraded so much that they start to believe it. Where can they live? What friends and family are left? How can they get money for clothes and transportation to and from a job? They have learned that fairness doesn't work. Society does everything it can to make them repeat offenders.
Imagine the poor gay kid who might be outed at his arrest. Or perhaps he is in prison for another crime and suddenly discovers that he is gay. The only examples of gay relationships he knows are these predatory situations complete with feminization and frequent beatings. He will think that he is the only gay person in the world. Imagine the isolation with family and friends deserting not just because he is an inmate but a fag as well.
Brave, I'm not. I just hang in there when my knees are shaking. Right now, it is getting to me.
David is continually affected by his relationship with Ron. I am in awe of both their lives. If you would like to contact Ron in prison, you can do so by writing him at:
Ron Rousseau #171281
Carson City Correctional Facility
10522 Boyer Road
Carson City, MI 48811
Please also feel free to e-mail David at dforbush@freeway.net. I am sure he would appreciate the encouragement as he continues to do this most difficult and emotional work.
I have always had an irrational fear of jail. It's not that I really think I'll end up in jail, but you never know. I just know I don't ever want to see what it's like on the inside.
Maybe I've seen too many prison movies. I remember one television movie in the seventies starring Susan Dey, (I think I had to watch it because I was obsessed with "The Partridge Family") in which she played a girl who was wrongly sent to prison and, just before she was to be released, killed another inmate in a brawl. Her life was over, and my fear of jail was cemented. I also think subconsciously I knew that because I was gay, prison was one place I definitely didn't want to go.
A few months ago I received an e-mail from David Forbush who lives in Frederick, Mich., and works for the Michigan Department of Agriculture. He has been volunteering his time visiting a gay prisoner in the Michigan Correctional System. In his role as a listener and go-between for this inmate, David has seen first-hand the institutional abuse and discrimination toward gay inmates that is rampant in the prison system. His stories have not only confirmed my long-standing phobia of prison, but have also demonstrated yet another place where gays and lesbians are treated as second-class citizens.
David has befriended an inmate named Ron Rousseau, who was incarcerated as a "sex offender." According to David, the case against Ron was of questionable merit, yet he was found guilty and sentenced to one-and-a-half to 20 years. "For a gay prisoner, expect 20," David says. "He was found guilty of taking photos of juveniles when in fact, he was doing everything possible to talk the kids out of it." Guilt or innocence aside, because Ron is gay, he has been confronted with gross violation of his rights to equal treatment by a prison system that regards homosexuals as less than human. David writes:
The homophobia and horrible cruelties that he [Ron] has experienced in prison have been too numerous to count. Ron has been incarcerated for 7 years and is facing the possibility of another 20. Ron is 37.
If you met him you would really like him and be impressed by his intelligence and caring. Really emotionally strong, though I can't understand why. I am usually the one moved to tears by some incident that happens to him, but not him.
In jail, he has been raped, always placed in a cell with a sexual predator (it's the unofficial policy of MDOC for gay inmates), called "sissy" and "fag" by guards, had guards inform the predators that he is gay and likes it, and is fair game for frequent and unwarranted tickets. Only 14 percent of the sex offenders get paroled.
Through his correspondence with me, David tells me that the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) includes on the inmate's classification forms a box for "Homosexual." The MDOC looks at court records to determine if an inmate is an "active" homosexual, and they mark the box accordingly, (no inmate would volunteer this information). Classifying an inmate as gay is tantamount to giving them a secondary sentence of a life of torture inside the prison. Prison guards, employees and other inmates routinely verbally, physically and sexually abuse known homosexuals. Gay inmates are less likely, according to David, to be given fair parole hearings. The first question that is often asked is, "Are you a homosexual?" The inmate's answer is irrelevant since it is already indicated on the MDOC form. Their hearing is tainted as they are considered "predators" simply because they are gay.
David has taken Ron's case to the Michigan Department of Corrections pointing out the grossly unfair treatment he is receiving in prison, carefully noting each incident and hoping to get them to change their policies. Prison culture is one of intractable silence. The "team player" mentality supports lying and denials among the guards that any overt discrimination or abuse exists inside the prison. Without corroborating evidence, a gay inmate's accusations against the system are next to impossible to prove. And so Ron and other gay inmates continue to feel the sting of institutionalized discrimination.
The personal emotional risk David has undertaken on Ron's behalf cannot be underestimated as he deals with prison issues and visiting a gay inmate. He writes:
...[It's] like coming out of the closet a second time. It's difficult the first time you mail a letter to an inmate, which has his number and the institution name on it. You hope no one sees you. You almost sneak it into the mailbox. The visits with the shakedowns are tough at first also. You can imagine the isolation the inmate must feel as his friends drop by the wayside ($7.50 for a 15-minute call makes this form of contact difficult, too). Sooner or later, all of them are released. By then family and friends have drifted, they have learned how to be a proper criminal, most were innocent or minimally guilty, and they have been degraded so much that they start to believe it. Where can they live? What friends and family are left? How can they get money for clothes and transportation to and from a job? They have learned that fairness doesn't work. Society does everything it can to make them repeat offenders.
Imagine the poor gay kid who might be outed at his arrest. Or perhaps he is in prison for another crime and suddenly discovers that he is gay. The only examples of gay relationships he knows are these predatory situations complete with feminization and frequent beatings. He will think that he is the only gay person in the world. Imagine the isolation with family and friends deserting not just because he is an inmate but a fag as well.
Brave, I'm not. I just hang in there when my knees are shaking. Right now, it is getting to me.
David is continually affected by his relationship with Ron. I am in awe of both their lives. If you would like to contact Ron in prison, you can do so by writing him at:
Ron Rousseau #171281
Carson City Correctional Facility
10522 Boyer Road
Carson City, MI 48811
Please also feel free to e-mail David at dforbush@freeway.net. I am sure he would appreciate the encouragement as he continues to do this most difficult and emotional work.