1. It’s the most amazing pile of beautiful misery to grace the hell of my divine existence! When your good, things are FANTASTIC! the other %80 of the time is spent trying to prevent your (percieved) justifiable suicide.

2. I have bipolar disorder type 2. It has affected me my whole life, though I didn’t realize it and didn’t get diagnosed until my late 30s.

I’m afraid of my own brain. I hyper analyze every mood and feeling, worried that I may be sliding into yet another episode of mania or bone crushing depression.

It sucks. I feel like so much of my life’s potential has been eaten up by the alternating bouts of depression, mania, and the guilt and shame I felt (and still feel) when I do have clarity. I lost my job, my marriage, and very nearly lost my life to bipolar. My ex tried to get my partial custody revoked because I am “crazy” but thankfully in my state that doesn’t hold water unless I demonstrate an inability to care for my kids.

I’ve also lost almost all of my friends, either due to manic or depressed behavior that alienated me from them, my ex’s embellishment of how insane I am, or my isolating myself after my last nervous breakdown. It took 18 months to be well enough to try working again, and every day at work seems like the day I will quit because I can’t take the stress and anxiety of it. But I go. And I keep going every day.

I can’t handle this illness anymore. But I take it a day, an hour, a minute at a time if I have to. And I take my medication religiously. At least I know without a doubt that I have done everything in my power to control this thing rather than let it control me.

3. Sometimes I’m very happy all of the time and I don’t need much sleep. I will start a lot of things and take up many new hobbies which rapidly develop into an obsession and then I’ll move onto something else.

It takes a lot of effort to get things complete because I will work on multiple tasks simultaneously. I was once cleaning the 2 bathrooms, sorting through laundry, cleaning the cooker and dishwasher, cleaning the patio doors, washing the floors, dusting bookshelves and sorting out the drawers under the bed all at once. I was running from task to task and became convinced my slippers were slowing me down. Our apartment at the time had a long, open plan living/dining room and kitchen. I grew convinced my slippers were slowing me down and kicked them across from the living room and into the kitchen.

I also suffer from memory problems during hypomanic episodes, which means that I only remember brief things once the episode has passed. An example of this is with my medication. I had gone to the pharmacy to collect my prescription, but they didn’t have enough and I said I’d call back in for the rest another day. They gave me a slip of paper and I went back a week later after running out of the meds I’d got the week before.

The pharmacist had said I’d been in the day after and collected the rest of my prescription, which I have absolutely no memory of, nor did I know where I would have put my medication if I had. She ended up doubting herself and went back to check the records and could show me that I’d been back in to collect the pills. Not even the time or date jogged any memory. I left to go back to my doctor and ask for another prescription but I had to go home for something. I got to the entrance of my apartment building and I couldn’t find my keys in my pockets and went hunting into my bag. While digging around I found a paper bag and found the remainder of my prescription that I’d picked the following day. I went back and told the pharmacist I’d found them and apologised for taking her away from her other jobs.

I also avoid going outside when I’m hypomanic. When I’m in large crowded areas, I pick up on people’s emotions and start feeling them as if they were my own. And it’s not just a single emotion I’ll feel at once, but a mixture of all emotions. Because people with bipolar’s emotions are already extremely elevated, this becomes intoxicating and I’ll end up very hyperactive and happy, but I’m also more prone to getting angry too. Because I’m hyperactive, I am doing everything faster and it feels like time around me has slowed down, so people walking in front of me, or having my way somewhere blocked makes me very angry.

If I do need to go into a crowded area, I’ll have to spend a few hours mentally preparing myself to go out. So I’ll make a mental map of the places I need to go, the route I’ll need to take to get the things I need in the most efficient way and I can’t deviate from that route as I’m more easily distracted when hypomanic and if I deviate from my route, then I’ll end up spending all my money on cheap tat because I felt like it would make my life a lot better at that time, and then not know why I got it.

My memory problems have also got me into debt several times too. I can buy things and forget I’ve purchased them, then remember I was wanting to buy it and go and buy it again. It’s not uncommon for me to buy 2 – 3 copies of the same thing, and shops rarely allow you to return them, so I end up just giving the multiples away to people.

I’m also prone to making rash, snap decisions. It’s not uncommon for me to randomly quit a job or take a sudden dislike to a close friend and remove them from my life. Due to the way bipolar works (depression and hypomania/mania), your job performance will drop while depressed, and then you can suddenly snap into a hypomanic/manic episode without knowing it and start irritating those around you. Because of how work places tend to treat those with mental health problems, they often won’t take you back if you quit because they see you as a liability.

But you tend to crash into one of the deepest depressions you can have when it ends. Like the saying goes “the higher you go, the further you have to fall”.

4. Some people say stupid things “yesterday I was feeling great and today I just feel normal, omg I’m like so bipolar lol”, don’t say this, it’s hard enough being a victim of it, and it becomes infuriating when people say things like this (this is pretty much true for all mental illnesses).

So what is it like being bipolar? Imagine swimming, swimming forever, you are not a particularly talented swimmer and to make things worse you have weights on your wrists and ankles. The heaviness of these weights change, with no real pattern, sometimes the weights are light enough for you to swim along with everyone else and it’s manageable and life is bearable. But sometimes the weights are heavy and just staying afloat becomes incredibly difficult, and sometimes the weights become even heavier than that, when the weights become too heavy you will eventually slip below the surface.

When you are under it seems like getting back up is impossible, sometimes the weights are so heavy you can’t get back up and you have to hold your breath until they get lighter but the longer you hold your breath the harder it is to not sink further leaving you to be in constant hope the weights become light enough to cope and get back up. For most the thought of giving up and letting go crosses their minds, once you’ve drowned you don’t have to struggle and cope anymore, because of this some people do. For some people the weights do get lighter and they can get back above the surface and continue swimming, some people don’t.

Friends are other swimmers, some have their own weights some don’t and it’s your friends who will rescue you when you sink under, they will help you swim carrying you along but they are also swimming and have to carry themselves, the more they help you the harder their own swimming becomes, some will move on and leave you, some will stay, and you will encounter more, replacing the ones lost.

Some use drugs to help with the struggle, drugs will temporarily make the weights lighter and it will be easier until they wear off but when they do wear off the weights will be heavier than before. Some people hurt themselves, doing this makes the weights slightly lighter but it makes the wearer weaker.

I can’t say bipolar does get better, certain medication will lighten the weights as will positive things in your life but you will always wear your weights. So why keep swimming? Everyone drowns at some point anyway so what’s the point? You want to get as far as you can during your swim, you want to experience the good things and you want to keep going, you want to beat your weights, you want to help carry others, you only get one swim, some people have it easier than others but it’s best not to waste it.

What tribe are you from?

I grew up and lived on the Oneida Nation rez in Wisconsin. I am part of the Turtle Clan (or Wolf, if you want to be pedantic)

Why do some people call your clan the Turtle Clan if it’s really the Wolf Clan?

Oneida is a Matriarchy and my ancestry is through my father which would put me in wolf clan. My Grandma is Turtle though, so i choose to go off of that.

Is your Oneida Nation related to the Oneida Nation in NY?

Same ones. We were moved forcefully from there

How many people are in your tribe?

There’s only about 15,000 people left in my tribe

Can you speak the Oneida language?

I know a handful of words. I know MAYBE 3 people that can hold a really shitty conversation. It’s pretty much forgotten

What kind of lodging/homes are on a reservation? Regular houses? Does the traditional teepee survive? Are teepees a Hollywood thing?

My great grandparents were part of the last generation to be taken from New York (Oneida Lake) They lived in longhouses/tepees. My grandma (who is still alive) was part of the first generation to be born on the rez. People live in regular homes though. There’s cool housing programs though the tribe that they expand every year.

What is the most common misconception that people have about you and/or your culture?

That (my tribe specifically) wear headdresses. Also rain dances are not a thing, they were never a thing and will never be a thing

How much of the old bush crafting/ living in the outdoor skills are still taught?

Not really. It’s more of people teaching beadwork/dancing/language.

What exactly is the significance of beadwork?

It is just as important as dancing as it connects us to our ancestors. There’s a lot of rules for when you bead though. You can’t bead when you’re tired, when it’s stormy, when its dark out, and a whole host of other things.

How much of native tradition is carried on in the reservation? Does anyone still believe in the spiritual ways of native Americans in the past?

To be honest, it is pretty much all lost or dead. We still observe certain traditions such as powwows. (I actually had a powwow just for me) The elders are dying faster than we can interview them and there isn’t much we can do. Just recently two of our oldest elders were stabbed and murdered in their own home and left to rot for almost a month. I would like to think the good outweighs the bad though

Any idea why the elders were murdered?

I actually knew the guy personally. He had a really rough life. (physical abuse by all his family) He was probably looking to rob them and things went south. I feel no remorse for this guy. Everything coming to his is what he deserves. He took two lives.

Rest in Peace Harry and Lorraine Brown Bear.

What is the biggest issue facing your tribes and/or natives in general?

Generational poverty. It’s sad how a lot of my people live.

How often does your reservation rely on tourism, if you had to take a guess?

We get 99.99 percent of our money from our . If you count that as tourism then quite a bit.

How big are your monthly membership checks from the ?

We have one large and members get 1000 dollars a year from it. Far from a monthly check. Elders get more money though and have other benefits such as free wood and housing

What’s the biggest obstacle to living on a reservation besides being low income/poor?

There is nothing here. It’s kinda sad actually

How bad is the drug/alcohol abuse on the reservation?

There is so much alcohol abuse it’s disgusting. There’s more heroin then meth from what I’ve seen. A lot of my family drinks and it will bring them to an early grave

What kind of changes do you think needs to take place for the betterment of people living on reservations?

The biggest change that i would like to see with Indians is to get off of welfare and actually have the US have good programs for a change. It’s so hard when people are this poor and cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. Leaving the rez is not looked down on the traditional sense. There’s more of a jealousy going on. Very few people can just leave.

What do you believe the government should do to improve the lives of people on your reservation?

They could keep honoring the treaties. I don’t think the government will ever help out besides that. It’s nice to dream though

Do you think reservations are good/useful? As an outsider, I’ve always thought they were pointless because there is more bad than good e.g. alcohol and drugs, poor education, poor job opportunities, poor healthcare, poor justice, etc.

If that happened the culture would die almost instantly. Reservations are the last thing that we have they may be broken but broken things can be mended. I would cry if the USA took my home away

Do you still harbor any deep rooted anger/frustration at the atrocities commited by the US Govt?

At this point the older i get the more i realize that nobody will ever give a shit about us. We will cease to exist and only become a footnote in a history book. I personally have moved on from the past, it’s just that nobody cares about their neighbors anymore

Have you found much prejudges or animosity between different native tribes? Or has the history of oppression unified the native peoples somewhat?

I’ll be blunt with this one. There are respectable tribes and there are not respectable ones. Theres a lot of shit some tribes do that make me angry

How do people in reservations view “Outsiders”?

The rez is open to the public as it stands right now. The tribe does not own 51% of the land and therefore cannot fully govern the territory. I don’t have any disdain for white people living here and i don’t really know anyone who does.

Do you feel like an American? I’m not suggesting that you should, but I just find the social status of American Indians odd in that way. You didn’t choose to have this government or culture put upon you, but do you accept it and feel a part of it?

If I lived on the rez forever I would never feel like a American Citizen.

Does it bother you at all to be called “Indian”?

Frankly, I have been an Indian longer than iv’e been a Native American and most people here like it that way.

What is your opinion of the team name of the Washnington Redskins and the Cleveland Indians?

Who gives a flying fuck! Let them have their team! Nobody really cares on my end haha

Do you guys actually care about Native Indian costume on Halloween?

I find them Hilarious

How do you and others you know feel about Thanksgiving?

I fucking love thanksgiving. Huge meal with all my family? Sign me up! I really don’t care about the implication at this point. White people are offended enough for me

How do you feel when you see hipster chicks get dream catchers tattooed?

Dreamcatchers are for children to ward nightmares away. They are kinda like a nightlight. The kids think they work but its all made up

Where do you live now and what are you doing for a living?

Right now I live in Appleton Wi. I’m currently on the path to becoming a Firefighter! I go back the the rez every weekend pretty much to visit my family.

How would you compare life on the reserve to the life you currently have in the city?

I can walk down the street without feeling like i’m going to get robbed. Also there is so much more things to do here. The rez is poor and boring to be honest. In Oneida you have to drive a good 40 minutes to get to any place of culture that is not a bar.

Do you have any idols?

My Father is my idol. He has worked hard all his life (and continues to do so) to give his children a future. He’s tough as nails and a big reason I’m going into a Firefighting career. He continues to volunteer at the Oneida Fire Department and hes a huge influence on my life.

What do you think is the perfect way to live life?

Free of stress and surrounded by loved ones

1. Honestly turned out great. I realised my band wasn’t going to get a record deal after a few years and then after playing for other peoples bands for a while it starred to become less fun.

I got a ‘proper’ job, started working on my career and used my new spare time to start playing rugby again. Now I’ve got a really good job in a sector I enjoy working in, married, kids, nice house all that stuff and I still play rugby on Saturdays (pre pandemic) to keep things a little different as well as keeping in shape.

I don’t really see it as giving up on my dream. It was just recognising that it wasn’t going to happen. I’m very fond of that period of my life and having spent quite a few years chasing that particular dream I don’t have any regrets or what-if’s about being in a band.

2. Chased my dream, took decades, and did better than I thought I could. Stayed focused throughout. Thing is, I should have re-evaluated long ago. Turns out I was chasing the wrong dream. I regret not recognizing that the dream can and should change. If you blindly chase one dream, the finish line isn’t necessarily fulfilling.

3. No. I was on the path to becoming a professor, and I don’t regret leaving academia AT ALL. The pay is terrible, the requirements to achieve your dream can crush the soul out of you if you’re not careful, and the chances of achieving actual job security grow dimmer by the day. There are some things I miss about it, but I really can’t regret choosing a good paying, if somewhat more boring, office job that gives me security and disposable income to pursue my own hobbies and travel (before the pandemic, of course).

4. Part of me regretted it, part of me knew I had to.

I always wanted to be a doctor. No pushy parents or anything like that. I just wanted to fix problems and medical things seemed like the most interesting problems, things change, get worse/better, add new problems.. My little brother was born and developed seizures and development issues. I decided Pediatrics was for me! The same problems/puzzles but with the added intrigue of the patient being unable to tell me what was wrong.. Sounds a bit sick, but that’s what my brain wanted.

I didn’t get the grades at school, unfortunately my step dad died and it messed me up a bit being needed at home with my siblings and I shifted my focus. I did go to university, did an access course and a biology degree with the aim of then going on to medicine afterwards. Sadly, I got two rejections for med school (on my birthday no less) and I pissed away the rest of my final year, because…what was the point anymore??

I then met a boy (now husband), and needed to get a job. Any job. Please just give me a job. Countless applications were ignored or rejected. I felt worse than useless. I finally landed a job at a call centre. Hated every minute of it. But bills got paid, a wedding and honeymoon have been paid for, and we bought our house..

But. In 2019 I knew I was turning thirty soon and knew this wasn’t what I wanted, even if it was what I needed.

I enrolled at a local college on an access course and last year I passed with distinction. I applied to a few university courses, and I had two successful interviews. I quit my sucky job on new year’s after nearly 6 years of hating it. And in two weeks I start my course to become a nurse.

Plans change, needs must. But I’m hoping its worked out…

5. 18 months ago I left my mediocre career as a stuntman for more secure work as a DoD contractor. I’m now living life in Japan with a loaded bank account and my wife can focus on her writing. Although I miss performing stunts I now enjoy my day to day life without worrying about finances or health insurance.

I regret nothing. I can say I doubled Gerard Butler and Micheal Madsen but it was time to move on to provide for my new family.

6. As someone who quit academia shortly after my PhD and gave up all my research hopes and dreams, I couldn’t be happier with my decision. I work a relatively “boring” job in marketing now (I worked with wolves during my PhD so pretty much everything is going to be “boring” in comparison). I have no emotional attachment to my job or colleagues which is a refreshing change and affords me a lot of mental space and freedom. I can finally tune out and stop working, something I could never do during my PhD.

The pay is mediocre, but when you’re used to being in academia, the job security itself is a huge boon. Besides, as an international PhD student who had spent almost all his life savings to move and set up abroad, I learned to maintain a 50%+ savings rate very quickly. If you learn how to have a good savings rate (even if it isn’t that high) and can maintain it after quitting academia, that shit adds up fast.

I desperately miss working with those fluffy, lovable, morons, but I can now daydream about buying a car and building a house without mentally kicking myself for it.

7. I went to school for and worked as a video game developer. I saw the crunch times, the frequent layoffs, and general instability of the industry and decided it wasn’t for me after all.

Been doing work in various industries trying to find something I want to do for a living. Came to the conclusion that I will never like working. So I am settled in at an aerospace manufacturing plant that has been in operation since WWII and I can and probably will spend the rest of my working days here.

I’ve decided that it’s better for me to get my life’s fulfillment from my hobbies and relationships instead of my work.

8. Turned out great, just not right at the moment as I am still job hunting after having to quit my previous job. Still no regrets though.

I went to college to become a 3D animator. Something I always dreamed about. I was top of the class, constantly won awards for my work. I honestly thought I was going to make it big. Then the final semester started and all the seniors were required to go to a special hiring event where tons of big names would be. I got my portfolio and resume copies ready to go, and spent hours researching the big names and their projects as well as rehearsing lots of practice questions.

It was devastating. No one would look twice at my stuff. Introduced myself, made some awkward small talk as they were so disinterested, then as I walked away they would immediately put it in the stack with hundreds of other portfolios, and not in the special pile.

I switched up my game. I started introducing myself with a quick mention that I had a background in programming (I did). Thinking that maybe that would give me an edge. Oh boy did it work. Suddenly I was getting personal business cards, phone numbers and emails, my resume was put on the special pile.

It was at that moment I realized I went into the wrong field. I was just a tiny insignificant drop in a sea of artists, many of whom were much more talented than I could ever be.

Finished up my degree and went back to college for a BS in Computer Science. Got my first job right out of college from an internship I did over the summer. The job itself was heaven, and I really enjoyed it. It also helped that I made bank when I was there. Paid off all my school loans within 3 years and had plenty to invest and put into savings.

While it sucks not having anything right now, I’m hoping to find something soon.

Side note: The 3D stuff I still do as a hobby. Not nearly as good as I once was, but it is still fun and relaxing.

9. At age 15 I started playing guitar in a band. The dream was to become a Rock Star. At age 22, I was playing Gazzari’s on the Sunset Strip. A set of original tunes in club where so many famous people started. It was the heyday of the metal scene and that was happening in Los Angeles. By 1984 I realized that it was not just a question of being a great band. Or writing great songs. I had seen a lot of great bands in Los Angeles that had great songs, go absolutely nowhere. Then really crappy bands, I won’t mention names to avoid hurting anyone, that did have commercial success. So why was this?

It turns out being a great band that writes great songs, is just not enough. You also have to be incredibly lucky. More people win the lottery than become famous rock stars. It was time to get real. I was 22 and I wanted things. So I gave up my dreams and became an electrical apprentice.

By the time I was 24, I was running jobs. At 27 I was accepted in the IBEW as a journeyman electrician, after passing the Journeyman Block Test, accepted in a lot of states. At age 31 I became a Master Electrician and General Foreman in the IBEW. I then became the Superintendent of a large Union shop . And finally at age 33 I started my own Electrical Contracting business. At age 41 I became 100% disabled and was forced to retire. That was almost 20 years ago. I still have my Bray Amp and my Les Paul in my bedroom, always plugged in, so I can pick it up anytime I want. So, I’d say everything turned out ok for me.

10. I made a solid run at becoming a writer. It was always my dream as I’ve been an avid reader my whole life and have always had an active imagination. I studied English in university, read everything I could and spent my 20s living and travelling overseas. I joined writers groups, did an apprenticeship with an established author and worked my ass off for years, both abroad and when I returned home. I even got a few short stories published. And I was miserable.

Writing fiction has to be the worst paying job in the world when you factor in the time you put in (Stephen King references this at the start of On Writing). Writers like King are extreme outliers, and even he had to work a 9-5 while writing Carrie. It is extremely hard to grind out a job all day, then come home and try to write all evening. Or get up at 5am everyday and write before work. Not only is it difficult to conjure up the juice you need to write when you’re working around a “regular” life schedule, but everything else in your life slips. You don’t have time to workout. You miss out on spending time with friends and family. You’re sitting in you desk or chair every night while your partner is watching TV alone. And if you have kids… good luck.

I became overweight, depressed, and miserable. I developed back issues from spending 12+ hours a day in a chair. I wasn’t getting anywhere in life, and while it was nice to get published the odd time, I didn’t find the joy in my own writing the way I do in others. So I let it go.

Now, I have a great job, nice house, and lots of time to spend with my wife and pursue my hobbies. I fixed my back issues and got in great shape (until COVID) And I have grown so much as a person since then. So no regrets.

I do think about it from time to time though. I still read a lot, and I’m sure that itch will come back sometime. It’s not like being an athlete… nothing to say I can’t pick it back up any other time

11. I was a child actor. I was relatively successful – I was on a popular soap and even had my fifteen minutes of fame – I had TV shows and films and commercials on the go. Of course this meant I was bullied at school – if I answered their incessant questions about what it was like on set, they said I was stuck up for talking about myself. If I didn’t answer their questions, they said I was stuck up for not engaging with them. I was talked down to, ignored, laughed at – the usual high school stuff. But for most people, that stuff ends in high school. For famous people, it never ends (as we see on the internet daily).

Then I met someone on set who told me what it was really like – that if you’re not made for it, the fame part can completely destroy you as a person – if you are private or shy or anxious, as I am, it can tear you apart inside, and it’s constant, and for the really famous people, it never, ever goes away. She helped me recognise that what I loved was the process, the on-set family, the job itself. The recognition, the total lack of privacy, and the inevitable bullying just wasn’t what I wanted my life to be. She showed me that at this early stage of my career, I could make my choice, I didn’t have to just stumble into a lifestyle I wouldn’t easily be able to get out of. She showed me the truth – that for most people, by the time they know they hate the lifestyle, it’s already too late.

When I was 18, I quit my agency, and never looked back. Now, 19 years later, in my office job in finance, I make a fraction of what I could have made, and I don’t enjoy my work nearly as much as I enjoyed tv and film sets. But I’m anonymous, and I am happy. The girl I met, these days she can’t even go to a grocery store or a petrol station without being mobbed (we’re not still in touch, but I follow her career). Me, I can go anywhere and do anything without anyone giving me a second glance. That makes me happy. I hope she is happy too.

How did a program like this come about, was it at first controversial or was it always accepted as a good idea?

Building the facility was a decision made by the parliament in Norway. The way is was built, was to reflect some of the central principles of the Norwegian correctional services; Humanity and Normality. Some said the first months that is was to “luxurious” – but that critique silenced after a while.

How many prisoners are in your prison?

Approx. 260. A big prison by Norwegian standard, very small by US standards…. We could argue for hours what is the “best” size, however my experience is that very large prisons is more about “logistics” than rehabilitation.

What sort of crimes have the majority of inmates committed? Are there particular crimes that make the inmates less likely to be rehabilitated?

Drug-related crimes are on top. In “second place”, murders. Third; rapists/sexual offenses. Rehabilitating pedophiles is difficult.

Do you see many repeat offenders?

Absolutely, we have them in Norway (and Halden) also. However, re-offending is less likely in Norway and the other Nordic countries, due to our focus on rehabilitation. If I simplify, you might say that re-offending is often connected to those having a drug addiction that we don’t succeed in helping enough.

What are the psycho-social backgrounds of your prisoners? Is there a common theme?

90% have some kind of mental issue, 60% are substance abusers, a substantial number have had problems (violence, sexual abuse, et.c) i their upbringing, many are without jobs, very low education, et.c The majority of the inmates have issues in many aspects of their life.

What is an inmate’s day-to-day life like at Halden?

In short; All inmates shall be in some kind of activity – every day. The normal routine is getting up in the morning, prepare their own breakfest and lunch, thereafter going to work or school. After work/school, they return to their living unit to have dinner. In the afternoon, there are visits, time in the yard, going to the library/gymnasium/etc. They are locked in their cells from around 20:30 to 07:15 Next morning.

What is the reason behind the 20:30 lock down?

Its a cost issue really regarding staffing.

How would you deal with the type of “Fight or die” culture that pulls non-violent offenders into prison gangs for self defense? That issue is pretty much universal in the US prison systems. I’ve always held that putting a burglar in the general population of a prison with violent lifers just forces the non-violent criminal to evolve into a more dangerous criminal.

We do the same in Norway also, mixing all kinds of offenders together. So why do we not have the same problem, or at least not to the same extent, that the US do? I think the answer is because in our prisons, our officers are together with the inmates at all times – we control the prison environment, not the “high-status” inmates. This is part of what we call “dynamic security”, the dialogue and contact between the officers and the inmates.

Do you ever feel intimidated or in danger from your inmates?

Very seldom. Treating people with respect and have a willingness to communicate, reduces tension.

If an inmate gets violent, how are you supposed to handle it?

First of all, most situations that are evolving, is possible to solve by communication. Since our officers are together with the inmates, they feel any tention early and are able to talk the situation down. In the few cases this is not possible, all officers are trained in the use of “physical power”, both on an individual level, as well as a team.

Is there ever a need for solitary confinement? If so, how often is it used and for how long?

Norway doesn’t use solitary confinement as in the US. We have “Security cells” where inmates who present a clear danger to themselves, other inmates, or staff – are put. But they stay there just until the situation is calmed downed, normally within 24 hours – where they move back into general population. You don’t stay in the Security cell as a punishment, as you do in the US.

What are some effective strategies for changing prisoner behaviors for the long term?

Start building trust – by treating them humanely and with respect. Then you have the basis for talking about change, future, etc.

What methods do you see inmates use to help rehabilitate themselves?

This varies among the inmates, you might say that we try to “tailor-made” the effort for all inmates. Screening and interviews form the basis for how we plan the intervention, together with the inmate. In addition to what you mention, I could add; Substance abuse treatment, housing issues, debt counselling, social network, et.c

How do Norwegian sentencing standards compare to US standards? Wouldn’t alternative sentencing for non-violent criminals help ease the burden on the system to allow for that level of supervision?

Alternative forms of “imprisonment” have shown very good results in Norway. I am especially thinking about “Electronic bracelet sentence”, where you live in your own home, being able to keep your work and social relations. The results are low re-offending and low operational cost for the correctional service, very cost-effective over-all.

What criticism do you face nationally and internationally about providing this kind of facilities and treatment to convicts/criminals?

Not much criticism anymore, actually – only some in the beginning. The values, methods, et.c – are the same nationwide, so the reactions initially in Norway was that the facilities was “to nice”. Same from some European countries, UK in particular. Later, the interest har been more curious and open-minded – from most countries really, I guess it is because they feel we are doing something right.

Do you think that Norwegians (and other Scandinavians) are more law abiding in the first place?

I don’t know really. And I am not sure if being law abiding is the right question to begin with. I think the level of crime is partly connected to our up-bringing; Do we have good schools, do we have a good child welfare service, do our children live in caring and functional families, etc. The background to inmates are so “filled with issues” from their younger years.

How do Norwegian citizens feel about having convicted criminals in the workplace? In the US most companies do a background check on prospective employees and felony convictions are a barrier to employment in many cases.

A criminal record might stop you from having certain jobs permanently, or for a period of time, also in Norway. But only these jobs/employers can request that insight into police records, not all employers. So even if there is some stigma of being an “ex-con”, there are job opportunities in Norway. Norway has a low uneployment rate in general, so if you have the right education/et.c – getting a job is absolutely possible.

If your wife was raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?

No.

Would you favor sending the perpetrator to a prison similar to the one you run, or to a prison similar to those in the US?

Similar to the one I run.

It is of course easy to sit here behind my computer and have principles. On a personal level I would have been devistated by such a crime, and it is hard to predict what I would say then – as a private person. But one the same time, a government system’s actions and operations can’t be based on emotions – but on facts, knowledge, et.c – hence my answers initially.

If you had to make a single critique of the United States Criminal Justice System as a whole, which would make the most good?

To much focus on punishment&revenge, to little focus on rehabilitation.

Do you believe that the Norwegian model of prison systems can be replicated in other parts of the world?

Yes, definitely. I often hear that “this will not work in my country”. Have in mind then that Halden prison inmate population consists of approx. 40-45% non-Norwegian inmates – coming from 30-35 different countries. Do we have more “issues” with those coming from other countries? No, we do not. This tells me there is something “universal” about treating people with respect and humanity.

Whats your favorite part of the job?

I think it is the daily feeling of “doing good” for society.