• Freedom Writers Movie Buff

    Every now and again, i look up penpals (snail mail) and adopt a couple to write for as long as possible.
    This last week, i stumbled upon "Prison PenPals".
    Now the whole idea is not new, and im just gonna be my usual Miss Judgmental self and flat out refuse to write to anyone who is in prison.
    I attract enough psychos who are currently free you know? (let me judge)
    But i actually had a look at one particular website, because curiosity got the best of me, in one subject:
    "Are all prisoners allowed penpals? What sort of crimes have they committed?" (maybe its the writer in me and not the judge)
    I was in deed surprised to see a 23 year old with a life sentence, and a much older prisoner who was doing time for house invasion.
    Now, this turned into a whole new question, and here i am, wondering who would write to a prisoner, and why.
    Would you write to anyone, or would you refuse some?

    In the almost lost art of snail mail, it would seem that the people who write letters the most are the same people most of us wouldnt want to write to. :thinking_face:

    Discuss, if you will.


  • Kind of a hard question to answer. I'd like to think I'd write anyone if I had good reason too. But at the same time I don't think I'd ever write to a terrorist or someone like Charles Manson lol. It'd be interesting to hear the thoughts of some inmates though. Maybe some old time mafia members or maybe older inmates who have been serving a life sentence or a long term to see what they think about their situation, like Bill Cosby haha.


  • @Buryce Right? There lies the thing. Some might be really interesting people to write to, from a cultural point of view. But how much of that is using them, and how will that also impact you as a person?
    As a writer, its almost impossible not to want to take a ride through their brain, but some things id rather not know. No Manson, no heavy crimes for me.


  • @Vanessa-Snow I think its best not to know what went through the brains of some people like Manson. Nothing can justify the actions of people like him really. Besides theres enough interviews of him to show that man is a nutjob. Id like to think if you're writing these people, as long you maintain your sense of who you are as a person and that you know whats right from wrong there wont be anything to worry from. You might feel feel some sympathy for them as they get deeper into their story and reasoning for doing some things but they're still in prison for a reason. Theres some people in prison serving over 1000 years in prison, be interesting to hear their thoughts on that, knowing that they'll never get out of prison again.


  • @Buryce So your answer would be yes?
    You would write to someone whos spending life in prison.
    (Netflix has the new show on Ted Bundy, not planning on watching that ever, either)


  • I would. Out of curiosity. The prisoner could also get released on probation afterwards and would have remembered your name from your letter.
    What are the odds?
    Yet at the same time you are writing with me.


  • @Vanessa-Snow What the hell


  • @Stricty
    Care to elaborate your reaction towards this topic?
    I would like to know.


  • @Stricty Was the question offensive?


  • Na i didnt bother reading at all, i just wrote for the sake of writing..hehe


  • @Stricty L.O.L.


  • @Vanessa-Snow
    I would write to a prisoner. I would love to interact with a psychopath. I want to know their psychology better, all kinds of prisoners. I am not afraid of them and i don't hate them. They're just flawed humans and I find them really interesting. They might like having someone to talk to as well.


  • @Vanessa-Snow Yes I would. And I heard about it, a lot of people are upset apparently cause they're portraying Bundy as the smexy(I really cant s3xy? Im forced to spell it in retarded ways like this) charismatic killer that he was. I might give it a watch to see what all the fuss is about. I take it you avoid things like serial killer documentaries and whatnot? :o


  • Yes I would have a chance I would write to them.......I have accounts on various penpaling sites as I am in this hobby of penpaling from long time......you would often be surprised that many times the prison incharge themselves request us to write to their prisoners . They ensure us that their prisoners have awesome character and very interesting... And we can also learn lots from them . some of the prisoners are also good writers....there is a quote in our Hindi that states that everybody has defects and everybody is imperfect that doesn't mean he is a bad human.....try to look at a goodness of a person rather than his mistakes😊☺
    .


  • @Vanessa-Snow

    Yeah, i would. If you are certain of what's right and wrong or you wanna explore how far can ur mind bend, why not?
    I feel like it would be a intriguing and enriching experience so count me in!


  • I've used snail mail quite a bit. One or two love letters. And using Freedom of Information to expose my local council as lazy bureaucrats. But I once heard someone say, you should never assume someone else is going to congratulate someone on a good job, or console them if they're down - it's the same principle as calling an ambulance; do it, even if you're sure someone else has done it beforehand, there's a chance they might not have. To that end, I once wrote a hard copy letter to George Galloway (the disgraced MP / freedom fighter).

    But someone in chokey? I'm not so interested in the average prisoner, but I think it would be fascinating to write to a terrorist (assuming the prison-penpal system redirected your mail so that he or she never learned your home address). Let's be honest, we've all got our doubts about democracy, and the West. I've got zero justification for how anyone in our society gets away with what they get away with, only a certainty that the violence is wrong (but again, for reasons I can only get to the bottom of while thrashing it out with a conversation partner) -- therefore I think it would be therapeutic for both me and the crim.