From “The Human Condition: A User’s Manual,” by Arnold Kunst
3 February
LIFE IN PRISON PART FOUR
Going back to prison when you're on parole is dead easy. Without
any trouble at all when you’re out of prison you’re a million miles from
anything like a comfort zone. That means, for example, that you've got a
dead-end job taking tickets at the local 24-screen cineplex. One of your
buddies is keen to see “The Freddie Kruger Meat-grinder,” and he wants you to
get him in for nothing. You tell him, “I could lose my job over this!” “No
way!” the guy assures you. “I’ve checked the schedule and I’ll be at this exit
at 2:23 on Saturday afternoon when people are leaving after one of the other
movies gets out. You be at that exit at that time to make sure I get in. The
general manager won't even be there - he doesn't come in on a Saturday until
the night when the crowds come, right?" You agree because you can't figure
out how not to agree. And besides, it's not as if you're stealing from anyone,
right? The boss he’s talking about is a kind of caretaker for some faceless
multinational conglomerate - they'll survive just fine without the $12 they'll
be missing out on. And besides, he’s your buddy. So Saturday comes, and the
plan goes off like clockwork [even though your friend brings along another two
guys with him].
A few weeks later and "Terminator 17" arrives, and
of course your friend wants to pull the same trick again, so you say yes again
- only you find out the hard way that the three guys who came the first time
told some of their friends and now twelve guys come streaming in. Naturally,
someone notices, the manager finds out and you’re fired. Now you're in more
serious trouble than you care to admit to, but the outcome is in no doubt at
all. First, you're really angry. What you tell yourself is that you got fired
for helping out a few friends, and it was all over just a few bucks – and like
Donald Trump and the women-groping thing, you’re thinking, “what's the big
deal?” More important, your money source has dried up but not your need for
money. So without too much thought you end up creating a victim where there was
none before, you get caught and you’re back in prison. Again!
See? Dead easy!
No comments:
Post a Comment