THE TISSUE ISSUE
Our most recent institutional problem is toilet paper. But then it's always been an issue—the tissue issue. Since I've been locked up, prison administrators continue to be shocked and appalled by the amount of toilet paper female prisoners use in comparison to males. Evidently they never got the birds and bees lecture at home.
Until last week each housing unit was issued 12 boxes of toilet paper per week. (There can be 384 to 256 inmates on a House.) This week they cut us down to eight boxes. I'm sure this is all budget cut stuff, although they never cut the budget for stupid stuff like huge highway-grade signs informing us the number of each House and that if we are not assigned to that House, it's out-of-bounds. (Everyone already knows that for free.)
We are issued three rolls of this cheap "as far from Charmin as the factory can possibly get" tissue at the Thursday night "tissue issue". That's all we can have until the next Thursday. There will be no mercy.
(FYI: Toilet paper is not kept in the housing unit bathrooms. We must carry our own tp and hand soap with us to the bathroom. So when I come home, if you catch me carrying your toilet paper out of your bathroom, gently remind me that I no longer have to guard my own roll.)
Personally I have used nearly a whole roll after I ate something tainted in the chow hall that gave me severe diarrhea. Now and then I spend the best part of the evening huddled in a bathroom stall while my body is bent on getting rid of whatever poison I ingested at chow. The administration did not take "prison food poisoning" into consideration.
Nor did they think about the fact that 90% of the females here are pre-menopausal. They have monthly cycles, and to be halfway clean, ya gotta use a lot of tp. I won't go into a graphic description, but you all get the idea—and it's a known fact that stress causes periods to be longer and heavier. This is a stressful environment on the best day.
(Don't get me started about the awful old-fashioned sanitary napkins issued here. These are NOT modern absorbent Maxi Thins! Girls must wear three or more of what are called "mattresses" at once on a light day just to prevent leaking. And these flimsy things tear up while they walk-not to mention during exercise. If the purchasing agent for the Department of Corrections bought a decent brand, the prison could save millions AND save the landfill. Bit I digress…)
They also don't seem to care that women must/should use toilet paper after every bathroom visit, since they cannot just shake the dew off the lily. We keep getting the lecture about how much more toilet paper we use than the men at some other prison, "Do you have any idea how much more toilet paper you women use in comparison to the men at Bowling Green? It isn't even funny! You've got to conserve!" If they issued us some sort of penis or peeing device, that might help, but then again that wouldn't be a good idea on several levels.
Also, we use toilet paper in place of Kleenex. When I have to blow my nose, I must use toilet paper—and I must double it or I'll blow right through the thin tissue. Think of the poor girls with sinus issues, allergies, or head colds. They are in a world of hurt and cannot make three rolls last seven days.
Whenever an administration decides to cut back severely on our tissue issue, the other departments pay. For example, if you're out of tissue and it's only Tuesday, you might be inclined to "appropriate" a roll from recreation or Education or Vo-Tech or whatever bathroom you might visit. It's only natural. Self-preservation. (Do you see how the Department of Corrections forces us to break the law? One gal recently told me that they force her to resort to her old criminal ways. So much for rehabilitation in MO.)
In the early 90's we went through a similar severe limit, but somehow the National Organization of Women got wind of our tissue issue and sent a tractor trailer load of tissue and a reporter to our prison just north of Jeff City. That surprise delivery made a strong statement, and our warden never mentioned rationing again. Help! Does anyone know an activist member of NOW now?
Yesterday evening on my way back from dinner, I overheard Kelly ask the bubble officer what she should do because she's nearly out of tp. The tissue issue is of great interest to me, so I slowed down to hear his answer, and I was not pleased. In a snotty tone, he informed her that when she reports that she is completely out, officers will search her cell thoroughly (which means that everything she owns will be uprooted and tossed) and if anyone in the cell has tp, the matter stops there. (Even though we have a rule that we can't share anything, they are ordering us to break the rule and share tp.) If no one in the cell has a shred of tp, then Kelly can talk to the functional unit manager of our housing unit the next day. The FUM will decide the appropriate action.
Are they serious? The guards expect girls to go without ANY tp for hours and days? That's it. I'm fighting this. I'm now urging every woman here to file a grievance for sexual discrimination. Then I want to file a class action suit against the Department of Corrections. We've done it before. This is inhumane treatment! And in the name of Susan B. Anthony, women are NOT second-class citizens! We need to wipe out sexual discrimination, but first we need to wipe our butts!
Mom sent me this update about the "Tissue Issue" today. ~Sarah
We're still battling the toilet paper problem. It's such a mean deal. Last night the officer had a roll on his desk and was having girls roll off of what they need from the community roll. That's certainly hygenic. NOT! One gal was crying because she was on her period and felt embarrassed to keep coming to the bubble to ask for more toilet paper. And no one can even approach the officer except at 10 til the hour. That's the only window of opportunity on the evening shift.
When we had this tissue restriction about 20 years ago, the staff felt sorry for us and made sure we had paper even though the administration was against us. Now we have no sympathy anywhere. We are stupid idiot women who use way too much toilet paper. That's the consensus. This is a sorry place to live. ~Patty 4/29/2010
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