It is pretty much the same mindset throught the country circles . At least at the state level . You can " Be your own man " but be willing to develope a keen eye and get sharp real quick . It can be done but not often .
Obviously the prison hell is in part responsible for the violent crime in the country. Reading 1stFreedoms responses (thanks for posting those) you can see he thinks about things very differently. Had to learn to to survive. And he's got his head screwed on right no doubt, but lots of people won't.
The fellow who dragged the Black man behind his truck to death (remember the shameless racist NACCP ad on this) in Texas was a recent releasee who had been 'punked' repeatedly by Black gangs in prison. Now you can understand the rage that led to the killing. We are creating a whole series of these ticking time bombs with our current prison system.