Where do nicknames originate from? I would think of family members, close friends, pets, etc. I guess it’s just a thing that’s said, then it just sticks. I have a cousin named Sebastian, but we call him Tano.
I never knew why or how he got that name, but all the family calls him Tano. My grandfather nicknamed almost all his daughters Cricket, Chiva, Esmey, and Linda. But why and how? I know for sure my mother’s was just short for Esmeralda and Norma; he called her Linda because that’s her middle name, which also means pretty in Spanish. But Cricket and Chiva? Yeah, they just stick – a name is said, which you are called, and then it sticks. Kind of like how a close friend does something and the next thing you know, his first name is not his name anymore. But how about pets? I mean, we just give them the name, but they are still nicknames. My dog was named Sleepy because all he did as a puppy was sleep.

But I’m saying all this because, in my world, gang members, and prisoners, all have nicknames. Even some guards, but why? Can’t we just go by our first names? Not in gangs and not in prison. Everyone I know in prison has a nickname. I think some people change their name or some just want a cool name, or maybe they just don’t want you to know their name. But some have nicknames that are close to their given names. G-Hawk, real name Gregory Hawkins. Little B because his real name is Brandon, plus he’s short. But others have stories. Mine was given to me by a girl because I always dressed thuggishly with baggy clothes, kind of like a lowrider. So, she called me Low Low. One day, the thing was, I hadn’t seen her in a while. So when she saw me, she took off running, screaming “Low Low” the whole way. Caught me off guard, and almost knocked me down too. I’m like, “Damn! Chill! You almost knocked me down!” The girl liked me, but the name stuck. Seriously.

But one guy went by his first name. He’d been locked up since 16 and also did a lot of time in solitary confinement, where I met the guy. The place kind of got to the guy a little. I just think he’s funny, but
he’s never been home. He’s still in prison and has a life sentence. Chris is his name, but people call him Crazy Chris. He’s just a funny guy, not crazy, a bit weird but overall intelligent and a sports fanatic.
He’s the guy that talks trash about your favorite team just to piss you off and make you mad. He’s the guy who made a whistle out of a pen top and blows that whistle every time a female comes or works the pod. He’s the guy that put up a sheet on his door, cut two holes in the sheet, then cut a piece off the bottom of the door and was masturbating on the female officer as she did count. She screamed at him for doing that and he said, “What?” The female officer says, “You know what you were doing.” He started saying sorry and saying all kinds of things to try and save himself, but it was so damn funny the way it all happened. And he still got written up for a code twenty and put on restriction. He claimed to be part of a dolphin clan. Calling himself Big Dolph from 361 Dolphins Clan. He said he died one day in the ocean, but the dolphins saved him and brought him back to life. So he lived in that clan and learned their language, the dolphins’ language. He starts making dolphin-like noises. Like I said, he’s just a funny guy and changes his voice when he speaks to make things funny. He acts dumb, but he’s far from stupid. Believe me, when you speak to him, the real Chris will speak properly with intelligence.

You just come to meet a lot of people in prison. This guy and one other went by his actual name, Jeff, a lawyer. Very intelligent and a far-right Republican. He has jokes about everything and grieves everything in prison. He once went to war with the mailroom because old Jeff cussed the guy out. So, all his letters are sent back for vulgar language. He stated that there was no such rule or policy, and he wrote, “Bitch Johnson,” with that exact statement. Poor guy got 32 letters denied. He wrote the FBI attorney general, Governor of the state of Texas, I shit you not, the guy did write these people. And don’t get him started on the President of the United States, Joe Biden, whom he calls Papa Joe and bashes the poor guy. If only Joe Biden knew or met the guy, he’d be pissed as hell. But this guy is the second overall a good guy, helped me on my case. It’s a prison, so you meet all types of people with nicknames and interesting stories.

If you’re ever in prison, don’t be too friendly or very trusting. People see that you are new and try to get over on you. You really can’t trust anyone at all; trust yourself, it’s the best advice I can give.
But if you do socialize, common sense is your best bet. You can look at someone and tell if he’s real or not. Plus, they have a way of carrying themselves with respect and do business always on a good level.
These are the people you can socialize with and be okay around. Others, be careful, it’s a prison; you are surrounded by con artists, murderers, robbers, drug dealers, the works. Any type of criminal you can
think of lives in prison, take your pick.

But stay away from the guy that you don’t know at all and sends you a note asking for money. Stay away from the guy who asks you for a shot of coffee but has a whole black bag in his hand. Stay away from the guy who lies about everything and exaggerates even more. Stay away from the guy who speaks to you respectfully to ask you for soup, then cusses you out the next day. Or the one that cusses you out for no reason. These are the people you need to keep your distance from and keep to yourself.

Socialize at your own risk. With time, you’ll learn. If not, then sorry to hear that. Welcome. I thug on my own, keep my distance, and socialize to an extent. Sure, I know a lot of people, but only a few
I consider friends. There are good guys in here, though very few.

So, the guards, I honestly don’t talk much to them, only when I need something like paperwork. But I stick to myself. Some cool guards are respectful and do their job, but also let you do your time peacefully. These are the good guards. The other ones are the super cop by the rule and policy guards, and only follow policies to their benefit to fuck you over. They have a chip on their shoulder and do anything to piss you off. These are the guards that are bad and often get beat up by inmates in the end. Of course, you get time for assaulting a guard, but a lot of times, most often, they ask for a beating. They think they are somehow better and we are scum of the earth. This is a prison for you and the people with nicknames…