Packed Like Cattle, Treated Like Currency

In this episode of The Grind: Real Talk, Real Life, we pull back the curtain on the ugly truth behind mass incarceration and the rehab industry. People aren’t seen as human beings—they’re crammed into overcrowded facilities, shuffled through broken programs, and turned into dollar signs for the system. This isn’t about help; it’s about profit. From jails to court-ordered rehab, the cycle is built to keep bodies moving and the money flowing. I’m telling it exactly how I’ve seen it, lived it, and survived it—no sugarcoating.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome back to the grind, Real Talk, Real life. Today's
episode is titled packed like cattle, Treated like currency, and yeah,
we going all the way in. Let's talk about it.
America's prisons and county jails are beyond full. They're bursting

(00:24):
at the seams, and instead of asking why so many
people are behind bars, they're talking about building more prisons,
pushing longer sentences, and handing out time like candy on Halloween.
You ever ask yourself why? Because bodies and beds equal money,
It's a hustle. Every inmate is a paycheck. Private prisons

(00:49):
get paid per head, County jails get reimbursed per day. Judges, prosecutors,
probation officers. All of it feeds a system that doesn't
want rehabilitation. It wants repetition. That commissary. That's not just snacks,
that's extortion. A honey bun costs a dollar in the store.

(01:12):
In jail, try three to fifty instant noodles seventy five
cents out here, a dollar seventy five in there. And
if you broke too bad, eat them nasty trays or
go hungry. They got vending machines of overpriced hope and
the state takes a cut of every dime spent. And

(01:35):
what about rehab. Let's say a court sends someone to
rehab instead of prison. Sounds better, right, But the state
gets paid there too, and we're talking big. Some of
those state fund of rehabs get tens of thousands per
person when they complete the program. So now it's just

(01:55):
another form of controlled disguised as help. And if you
feel that reabb guess where you end up, right back
in that revolving door. Some jails let you take classes,
anger management, parenting, GED, things that can actually reduce your sentence.

(02:16):
But others they offer nothing. You sit and sell, wasting away,
watching time crawl like molasses, while another inmate in the
next county might shave off a year with the GED.
How's that equal justice? And then you got the guards,

(02:38):
not all of them, but too many treat people like
they're less than human. Some beat on inmates, some smuggling
contraband some talk down to people who are already at
the lowest point just to feel powerful. Nobody holds them accountable.
Try to report a guard, you end up in the
hole or worse. This whole system wasn't built for justice.

(03:02):
It was built for profit, for control, for silence, for obedience,
and they wonder why people come out of prison worse
not better. If we don't start talking about it, shine
a light on the mess, it's just gonna keep feeding itself,
on us, on our brothers, on our kids. You've been

(03:28):
listening to the grind, real talk, real life. Today's episode
was packed like cattle, treated like currency. If this is
home for you, share it with someone who someone, share
it with someone. Let's get the truth heard. Until next time,
stay strong, stay loud, and don't ever let them break

(03:48):
you