30 Days

Dealing drugs, escaping - we've all done it in or seen someone do it during some point in our lives. Whether it be TV or real life, there are lots of bad people out there. Some we may consider "the good person" may even turn bad. Today in class we watched a show called '30 days' with Morgan Spurlock from 'Super size Me'. In this show, different people are experimenting with different places or things to see what it feels like. This episode with Morgan showed him seeing what it's like to be in prison for a month. While watching this, I was shocked and heartbroken. There were many different people in the jail cell who got busted for different things. One got busted for distribution of cocaine and the other for reckless driving. It was hard for me to watch, but at the same time I was interested in how different things were and how people acted. I remember one statistic that he said, "16% of Americans are in jail because of mental disabilities", or something along those lines. Being locked up for a decade or more can do that to a person. America is supposed to be "the land of the free", but nowadays it seems like we're resorting to jail instead of getting actual help because we don't have enough money. There was one guy in particular that I found rather interesting; his name was Randy and he had skitsofrenia.When he saw a camera in front of his face, he flipped because he wasn't used to that kind of thing. I wasn't surprised when Morgan mentioned that people who have been in and out of jail develop some sort of mental illness, because like I said before, it can happen when you're in a certain place for so long. In jail, you're restricted to all freedom. When Morgan had his parents visit, there wasn't even a table they could sit at, just a big plastic wall with a phone attached to the side. I could tell that he was on the verge of tears after his parents left because he couldn't show any physical affection. If it were me in that situation, I would feel lonely. All I would want is attention; to be loved and to be held. It's really sad that some people have to go through this kind of thing because I know everyone has some sort of good in them, they just have a hard time showing it. Sometimes, they're scared and the only way to show they care is by doing bad things. From personal experience, I remember watching a show on MTV called "Juvies". It was a show about teens from the Lake County or Indiana area who have been sent to jail. Drugs, alcohol, stealing - you name it. It was basically like 30 days, just for teenagers. While watching 30 days, I thought of this show. It reminded me of how bad things can get and how desperate people can be when they have absolutely nothing and families just give up on you. When a person does something repeatitivley, they're bound to get kicked out at some point. When "Juvies" came out in 2007, I was a freshman or sophomore in high school. I remember watching this show hoping that I wouldn't grow up that way an I still hope to this day that I don't. Jail is a scary place; to think that people would want to spend up till 50 years old in that jail - maybe even more, is just scary. I believe everyone deserves to live their life freely.