Friday, March 4, 2016

The Great "Sandwich" Riot...!

Riots are one of those things I'll never understand. Nothing but destruction and physical harm seem to come from them.

The human animal needs very little reason to start a riot or to participate in one. Sometimes they start from something very trivial, ending up in a real mess!

The Lincoln Prison Riot Of 2002

Prison is a dangerous place, and prison riots are a sad inevitability when a group of dangerous individuals are locked up with very little to do with their abundance of time. What is surprising is what set off one of the worst prison riots in England in the past 20 years.

On October 23, 2002, the prisoners found out that instead of being served a hot lunch, they would be served sandwiches instead. Upset at the change in the menu, a group of inmates overpowered a guard and stole his keys. With the keys, they opened the cells and released more prisoners, overrunning the prison. It took 550 prison and police officers eight hours to control the riot that was sparked by sandwiches. The riot cost £3 million, 35 people were injured, and one prisoner died from a drug overdose. Six inmates received nine-year sentences for their roles in the riot.

Amazingly, this was not the only time a prison riot stemmed from an incident over a sandwich. A riot that led to 11 inmates and one correctional officer being injured happened in August 2013 at Riker’s Island. One gang member wanted to make a grilled cheese, but needed a hot plate to do so. Another gang had the hot plate and refused to share, and the riot broke out.

I reckon what's trivial for one person can be a big thing for someone else. Still, the whole riot thing seems off the wall to me!

Coffee out on the sunny patio this morning!

9 comments:

Gorges Smythe said...

Maybe they figure that they have nothing to lose.

HermitJim said...

Hey Gorges...
Guess you're right about that.
Thanks for stopping by today!

deb harvey said...

glad that lot are inside. hope they stay there!

Chickenmom said...

If they were made to work pounding rocks and gravel - they wouldn't have any energy to riot.

linda m said...

I agree with Chickenmom. If they had to do hard physical labor instead of living like there are at a resort they would be too tired to riot. You would think that after all these years people would learn that rioting gets you no where. Have a great weekend.

JO said...

It's a sad mess I can tell you. And now with having gangs in the prison's it even worse. But over a sandwich. But there have been worse riots and many died. Riots have been going on since big prisons were built.

See you on the patio.

HermitJim said...

Hey Deborah...
I certainly agree with that!
I thank you for coming over today!


Hey Phyllis...
Not only that, but it's good for them!
Thanks for the vcisit this morning!


Hey Linda...
Guess some folks just never learn. Either that, or they love to fight.
Thanks for stopping by today!

Dizzy-Dick said...

If they were not "that kind of person", they wouldn't have been in there in the first place. . . well, most of them, anyway.

HermitJim said...

Hey Dizzy...
I have to agree with ya on that.
Thanks for coming by today!