Corrections officers at the Victorville Federal Correctional Complex in California have been accused of making an Instagram page dedicated to spewing all the racist and sexist garbage they can’t say out loud, according to the East Bay Times. The nonsense caught the attention of the Bureau of Prisons thanks to a few brave whistleblowers.
On the finsta page named “goodverbal,” there are a number of anonymous (and unfathomably cringeworthy) posts that make jokes about sexually assaulting women inmates and throw around racist puns about Black and Mexican people. One post read, “never trust a Mexican with a muller,” and another reads, “What’s the point of dating online when you work in a gated Tinder?” Boldly enough, the page is public and one user acknowledged the growing criticism around the page. “Our humor is not for everyone. This is how we deal with the horrible things we must see to earn money. We are the modern day sin eaters. We try to manage those who are unfit for society,” they wrote in a post.
Someone recently said to me every person in a prison is a criminal, the only difference is that the guards get paid and the inmates don’t.
Read the Feds’ response from East Bay Times:
Bureau of Prisons officials would not confirm suspicions that the memes are linked to the Victorville facility. But they denounced the posts.
“As an agency, we believe the posts by the ‘Good Verbal’ account holder are reprehensible. If this matter is linked to a Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employee, we will fervently pursue all actions in accordance with policy and law,” agency spokesman Emery Nelson said in an email.
“The BOP takes allegations of staff misconduct seriously and, consistent with national policy, refers all allegations for investigation,” Nelson wrote. “Incidents of potential criminal activity or misconduct inside BOP facilities are thoroughly investigated for potential administrative discipline or criminal prosecution.”
One anonymous correctional officer told the East Bay Times she believes she was the target of some posts regarding female recruits. “A lot of people think it is hilarious but a lot feel they are harassed. It’s at the expense of other people’s problems. If you work there, you will know what the (memes) are talking about,” she said.
Unfortunately, there’s a chance inmates experience the verbal harassment first-hand if these correctional officers are indeed guilty of this repulsive behavior.