Lockdowns and Prison
Earlier today I was thinking and I realised that the only other place I’ve ever heard the phrase “lockdown” was in state prison.
Then I realised there are a lot of similarities between post-covid society and prison.
Lockdowns happen regularly in prison, usually when someone is missing, when there’s been an incident, for staff training or just because it’s nighttime and that’s when lockdown is scheduled for everyone (think: curfews).
Basically whenever the prison feels it needs to reaffirm its control or practice maintaining control, the prison goes into lockdown and prisoners must remain locked in their cells, until the prison decides it has flexed on them for long enough and lets them out to wander the yard again for a while.
Like I said this happens regularly and seeing as people in jail are thought to be belligerent and ruthless criminals, you might wonder if any prisoner ever objects to these lockdowns, especially when considering that they sometimes last for days and happen for no apparent reason. The answer is no.
These lockdowns happen so frequently that they just become part of normal life in jail, prisoners quickly realise that they’re always at risk of losing little privileges such as their televisions or gym access, so it’s always better to just accept the lockdowns and refrain from arguing.
In post-covid society people are also learning (through force & terror) to accept lockdowns as just part of life. They’re beginning to just be happy with whatever freedoms the state offers them, and not argue. Just like in prison, if you accept random lockdowns or whatever circumstances are imposed on you then you can at least be left alone and still enjoy meals & television, but if you protest you’re only making your own life harder.
The prison I was in even had ranking systems for inmates, sort of like an in-jail credit score for prisoners. The more trouble you caused (or the less favour you curried among the prison guards), the lower your rank would be and the less access you would have to canteen, visitors, phone calls and gym.
All prisoners had their movements tracked using prisoner ID systems. Prisoners would have to carry their ID card whenever they were leaving their home unit for whatever reason, and their destination, exact time of departure and time of arrival had to be documented by prison guards.
Sound familiar?
Considering how effective this system is for controlling even the most violent and unscrupulous men, could anybody seriously expect any real resistance from regular law-abiding people?
Having experienced prison life for a while, I can tell you that “lockdowns” in society are pretty much being used by the state for the same reason they’re used in prison, to flex on the general population, establish control and to “educate” the public into believing that protest is never in their interests; to help them accept the imposition of a new authority, a more tracked and regimented lifestyle.