Bidwell responds to letter

Dear editor:

Reference my letter about illegal immigrants and Mr. Riley C. McCarroll's reply there in which he agrees/disagrees with my proposal.

A letter to the editor normally is not for the editor primarily but to the public readers in general, which allows the writer to blow off steam, get his opinions published, give thanks, and make recommendations to aid the public, state and country (that was my purpose).

I had not planned on writing rebuttal letters except maybe, "Thank You." If someone felt that I left something out, Mr. McCarroll's letter was from "out of the blue" as I had not expected a reply from a prisoner in the Idaho correction facility (a prison). Since this letter is primarily for Mr. McCarroll I will refer to him as "You."

You, sir, are 36--I will be 72 in October--so it stands to reason that I may have more knowledge about people and prisons than you have. The fact that you are in prison and I have never been in prison, except to visit inmates, does not make either of us an expert.

I do know that the U.S. has more convicts in prison than any other country by population. As I am sure you know, many are repeat lawbreakers (second and third timers) and some will be back for life.

Our prisons (a sore subject for me) pamper inmates. I have personally known two cons that were repeat offenders who actually had a better lifestyle in prison than out. Both died (while out) before reaching the age of 40, and if they had lived would still be in prison. Neither had easy access to (or didn't use) gyms, TVs, three meals a day, etc., as they had in prison.

Neither took advantage of the rehabilitation tools while in prison. Another ex-con I know did take advantage of rehab tools, learned his lesson, and is currently off probation and living a good life. I have known four others that are still in prison and will probably be repeat offenders. One out of seven rehabilitated--not a good percentage for our prison system.

You, sir, got the point about my proposed prison and you didn't get the point. A prisoner would (hopefully) never want to come back (10/20) for jumping a fence as you said. Great! That's the whole point of my letter. Deterrence!! I was not writing about U.S. prisons for primarily U.S. citizens. My prison was for illegal immigrants only (no American citizens).

My proposed prison was/is probably better than the average Mexican prison, but Mexico does not send their people to prison for sneaking over the border, so we must do something! By the way, if the U.S. got out of Iraq and Afghanistan, that savings alone would finance my proposal not to mention saving countless lives of Americans and Arabs.

You said that I must be mad at Mexicans and that I have a vendetta against them. You imply that I am prejudiced against them, assuming that I am not a person of color.

Well, you are partially right. I am white, my wife (of 50 years) is a full blooded American Indian, and my six children and five grandchildren are half and quarter breeds respectfully. I have more local friends that are Hispanic (all citizens of the U.S.) than white friends. I spent 20 years in the USAF and had friends (drinking, hunting, fishing, work, etc.) of many races/religions. So, believe me, I am not racially prejudiced, But I am mad!

I am mad at the stupidity and ignorance of people worldwide in general. I am mad at authorities and politicians who have not used the laws we have in place which caused most of the immigration mess we are now experiencing.

I am mad at Mexican authorities who encourage illegal border, crossings thereby getting rid of many of their uneducated homeless people. I am mad that we taxpayers have to foot the bill for illegals.

I am not mad at the poor Mexican trying to improve his life. I would probably do the same if I was in the same circumstance. If I knew I would face 10 years in prison if caught-- No Way Jose! My proposed prison is not to rehabilitate them but to keep them out of our country if they enter illegally!

I did forget prison hygiene in my proposal. If my proposal was to take effect the prison would furnish a comb; soap; wash cloth; towel, razor/blades; sanitary napkins; and segregated group showers. Nothing else would be needed.

As for cigarettes, I've smoked for 50 years and would finally quit if I were imprisoned.

I didn't mention the Canadian border as it is of secondary concern and would require different proposals. Also, I didn't want to write a novel.

In your erroneous interpretation of "My Prison," you write about treating all people the same as you would have them treat you. That is the "Golden Rule" from the Christian Bible. I too was taught that and believe it myself.

I also believe that only "I" am responsible for anything I do. If I screw up I can't count on the "Golden Rule" and don't deserve its application to me. You must have had a lapse in that rule as you are in prison. I hope you take advantage of your prison's rehab efforts and come out to society better than when you went in. You sound intelligent but evidently your actions were not!

Oh yes! I'm mad at you and all the cons in your prison. I don't like paying for your stupidity and incarceration. Good Luck!

Pen A. Bidwell