Eating better than many

Let me dwell for a moment on a story from Alabama. One where the writer of the news story seems to be trying to evoke an emotion of pity from me toward inmates who are forced to eat for $1.75 a day. Perhaps the author wishes for me to be disgusted that Sheriff's in certain Alabama counties are turning profit by taking shortcuts to feed the inmates. It goes a little something like this:

-Back in the day of chain gangs, Alabama passed a law that gave sheriffs $1.75 a day to feed each prisoner in their jails, and the sheriffs got to pocket anything that was left over. More than 80 years later, most Alabama counties still operate under this system, with the same $1.75-a-day allowance, and some sheriffs are actually making money on top of their salaries.

"It's a bad system, and it ought not be that way," said Buddy Sharpless, executive director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama.

A prisoner advocate said he constantly hears complaints about jail food.

By comparison, the government pays schools $2.47 for serving a single free meal under the National School Lunch Program for low-income students.-

Let me ponder this:
a) I have had occasion to eat for an entire day on less. Heard of Ramen? Ten cents a meal (eight at Wal-Mart)
b) Complaining about jail food? I am personally familiar with a number of people who not only have to feed their entire FAMILY on less, but sacrifice their own meals to do so. I have recently been to the home of a family member who will feed anyone who happens to be in her home at the time she makes dinner, regardless of the fact that she has bounced her rent check twice in the last two months and has to hide her car most days from Chrysler Financial. No one complains about the food at her house.
c) Fuck you, you fucking sociopath inmate bitch! You have it better than the tens of thousands who have lost their jobs recently because the economy took a dump in the tuba of America. Explain to me what sacrifices you have had to make? Oh, that's right... the prison system forced you to go work in the kitchen instead of paying for someone to come in, so they could cut some corners so you could still get your three hots and a cot.

Here are my favorite parts of the story

-[One sheriff is always on the] lookout for good deals on food, pays two cooks and supplements their work with trusty labor, and wastes nothing, turning today's leftovers tomorrow's soup. -

I think I've had to use leftovers once or twice. What's wrong #2779856? Are you opposed to day old bread? Sorry about that, but the local Panera shut down due to lack of business and your Jewish Rye was made yesterday at a bakery in another county who's owner is going without a paycheck just to keep his business afloat

-The menu on a recent day in the Limestone County Jail was two pancakes and syrup, sausage and milk for breakfast; peanut butter sandwiches, chips and Kool-Aid for lunch; and white beans, turnip greens, fried squash, cornbread and sweet tea for dinner.-

HOLY SHIT! Seriously, go back to the comment about Ramen... sometimes I add butter and garlic just to change it up a bit. I get bored bouncing between Beef and Chicken and I'm quite hesitant to even try the Shrimp flavor.

-Inmate William Howell said state prisons offer more food than [some county jails]. But he said the food in state prison isn't nearly as good.

"It's not like they go down to the bread store and catch it coming out of the oven, but it's good," Howell said. "We've got it good here."-

GOOD FOR YOU BILL! Finally, some fucking humility.

To the rest of you - Dude, YOU'RE IN PRISON! You lost the right to bitch about food the moment the judge handed down your sentence, so please, do all of us struggling, hard-working, law-abiding citizens a favor and go back to your day of nothingness and contemplate why you're fucking incarcerated to begin with. After that, think of ways to keep yourself from getting shived in the shower so that when you make it out on the other side, you can be like the rest of us and have a voice. I earned my right by ignoring the urge to rob a bank to pay my Mortgage and refusing to let the desire to stab someones eyes out with a pencil come to fruition, you couldn't do the same, so go eat your fucking day old bread... and consider that mine is three days old and I'm giving half of it to the Soup Kitchen!