I can confirm that jail absolutely is worse than prison for countless reasons. Here are a few...
- In jail, Inmates come and go as they fight their cases, get bonded out, serve their brief time and walk out or are sentenced to actual prison then transported. This means new faces are constant as people come and go, which adds significantly to the stress of the environment. This also makes it difficult to make lasting "friendships", if you want to call them that. The person you chill with daily might be gone tomorrow and you're all alone again. It's an absolute hodgepodge of people from all walks of life there for all manner of crimes, from a simple DUI or petty theft up to serious crimes - like violence and gang activities. Misdemeanor offenders live among felony offenders alike. This also creates much conflict. Once in prison, inmates are classified based on several factors and housed with other inmates that are in similar categories, making it much more tolerable long-term.
- Jail privileges are very limited, as is your options for comfort items such as commissary. In jail, you might have access to 1/25th of the commissary menu that you would have in prison, which also usually excludes things like electronic devices to help pass the time such as a personal tv, radio etc. In prison, these items become available to you. Things like day room microwaves and such are also not usually available to people in jail but are in prison.
- Convict etiquette.... jail is full of first time offenders and children just passing through - CONSTANTLY. They don't yet understand how things work, and that etiquette plays a massive role inside. Get a handful of them together and they're ALWAYS loud and obnoxious, just like our boy Austin, which is borderline torture in jail to those just trying to peacefully do their time. Asking hard-headed punks to "shut the fuck up, keep it down" doesn't usually end well (unless you run shit or are to be feared), as you can imagine, so more conflict ensues. This also applies to basic common sense things like - picking up after yourself, maintaining proper hygiene, staying out of debt, not working out directly next to others' bunks, etc etc etc. Prison is full of people who largely gained an understanding of how all these things work, and what acceptable convict etiquette is.
I really could keep going, but you get it. Once in big boy prison, you're able to settle in and get comfortable to do your time, and the people around you are also more consistent. When you have control over nothing, routine becomes the only thing you can control, and in jail that's nearly impossible.
I used to be Austin. This is the primary reason I have been following him. My vices were slightly different flavors, but nevertheless, I was him. Taking advantage of my parents kindness and empathy, living in their home, destroying/selling their property, disrespecting them and myself... all of it. That path led me to prison at the age of 30 where I served 6 of 10 years for grand theft, drugs and violence. Once I got out, my saintly parents welcomed me back into their home yet again, but this time a switch had flipped inside me. I studied and got my license (back). I got a job delivering pizzas, and used my moms car for a few months until I could afford a down payment on my own. I fixed my credit score. I saved money. I bought commercial painting supplies/tools and a trailer and started a painting business. Within 2 years, I was able to shift my attention from that manual labor job and focus full time on my hobby and passion, which I do to this day. I've been working from home making mid 6 figures a year for 6 years now, and got out of prison 9 years ago.
I'm incredibly proud to say that I now pay for my parents' mortgage and have for years. I treat them every chance I get. Last year I bought my mother a brand new kitchen - I gave her a $20,000 budget and bless her heart, she could only bring herself to spend 15-16k of it. In January I flew my Pops first class to Vegas to play in some world series of poker circuit events with me, as this was his dream. We spent a few days together bonding and having a blast. My parents are now my priority in life, and making sure they are always comfortable and want for nothing is all that matters to me. They deserve it after everything I put them through and sticking by me, even when I gave them every reason not to. They now speak of me highly, and tell me often how proud they are of me. That is everything to me.
I began following Austin because I WAS Austin. I saw so much of myself in him. I wanted nothing more for him than to turn it all around like I did, and have a similar ending. I was rooting for him the entire time, because that to me would have been the ultimate redemption to this series and I would have been so fucking proud of him for flipping that switch and putting in the work to make it happen. I would have continued supporting him no matter what he chose to do after. ...And work it is. INSANELY hard work.
It's still not too late for our boy in all honesty, but as a gambling man myself, I wouldn't bet a single dollar on it. I don't think he has it in him. Again, the amount of work it takes to change EVERYTHING about yourself and your habits/behaviors/thinking/ethics/morals etc is beyond what I feel most in that situation are capable of doing. It's REALLY fucking hard - I'm still working on it all these years later.
Annnyways, I only share my own story here because I feel that the end is near and our journey with Austin is coming to an end. I really do hope he manages to snap out of it and wake the fuck up, but after the last 2 seasons or so combined with how he currently treats the very people who have saved him from the gutter countless times now, I have zero respect for him and know in my heart that he will never change. I sincerely hope he ends up in prison. It might just save his life.
TL;DR - Austin is a retard and I identify with him because I was retarded, too. Hard work made my extra chromosome go away but I think Autin has 2-3 extra, so he's doomed to a life of retardation.
EDIT: IMO, the reason Austin never followed through with getting his license, or putting in even a tiny amount of actual work to study for it, despite the initial appearances that he was excited to finally get it, is because deep down he knows what comes after. He knows that as soon as he has that, the real work begins. It's much easier to manipulate his parents into continuing to provide for him if he doesn't have it. It's a valid excuse for him in every regard. As soon as he gets it, he knows his folks are going to come down even harder on him and pressure him to get the fucccck out.
