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Comment by pavel_lishin | Hacker News Reader

> Surely it can't be that bad

Sure. If you don't mind very bad food. If you don't mind always being a little too cold. If you don't mind never having a moment to yourself. If you don't mind not being able to use the bathroom in private. If you don't mind never showering alone. If you don't never being alone. If you don't mind not seeing much sun.

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I remember a large survey across the French prisons, about 10 years ago. The number one wish of prisoners was to be granted more showers during summer. Context: overcrowded prisons (prisons for light sentences have 142% rate, so 2 or 3 people in 9 m² are common), old buildings, very little time out of cells, 3 showers per week in the law but often 1/week in reality.

And getting into fights? Constantly sussing out everyone else's intentions? Not being able to trust anyone?

I don't have a lot of first hand experience, but fights don't happen as much as TV would have you believe.

I don't have much either, but basing it on behind the scenes TV shows based on jails. (I guess different to prisons - more comings and goings). Obviously TV will show you every fight, and maybe they don't happen often, but I bet there is a lot of posturing leading up to those fights. I remember what high school was like, probably not much different.

Your high school must have been tougher than mine

Playing dungeons and dragons all day to pass the time?

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