If I Ran the Zoo - Novel Suggestions from the Inside
D r. Seuss wrote a picture book for children in 1950 titled If I Ran the Zoo. It’s the story of a young zoo patron named Gerald McGrew who imagines he's running the Zoo. It describes fantastical creatures who would live there and lists all the things he would do as the director. It imagines how the Zoo would change when he is in charge.
There were days at the prison when I imagined myself to be a Gerald McGrew for my prison. I had thirty-five years to think over our problems and imagine new ideas that could help, and I wasn’t alone. There are Gerald McGrews in prisons all over the world thinking of new approaches that might help. Ideas are debated during lunch breaks; proposals are traded back-and-forth, and we imagine how our prisons would change if we implemented our ideas. There are a legion of Gerald McGrews, and this section is for them.
Stories and essays in this section include unexpected and unusual ideas that advance discussions of crucial topics for corrections. They are ideas that come from the inside, that is, from line staff who manage inmates every day. If you would like to contribute, please include your submission in the body of an email and send it to [email protected]. Write “If I Ran the Zoo” on the subject line. The first entries in this section are mine, but hopefully, others will soon be included. See Guidelines for more information.
I expect these chapters to be controversial. Our debates in the prison often prompted strong disagreements and vigorous discussions. You may disagree as you read, but you won’t be bored. One comment you're sure to hear is: “We can’t do that.” But that may not be the final word. Our communities are dotted with statues of people we want to remember because of the contribution they made to improve our communities. Those people also heard the comment, “We can’t do that,” but that didn’t stop them. They turned the comment, “We can’t do that,” into a question, “How can we do that?” They identified the obstacles standing in the way, and found ways around them. That’s the way change works. If there is to be change, obstacles will be encountered that must be overcome.
Every day, hundreds of thousands of people from all across the country walk into prisons and jails to work, and all of them run the risk of becoming a statistic in the tabulation of injuries and deaths in the line of duty. Our leaders, both in our communities and in our prisons, owe their best efforts to these people. They need to refuse to allow roadblocks to stop them from trying to make improvements. That’s what leaders do. They try, and when their efforts are heroic and successful, we build them statues.
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