Tell me you’re watching the new series of Traitors on the BBC. If you’ve not, you must stop reading this immediately and jump on to the iPlayer and watch the first 3 episodes (but don’t forget to come back here afterwards!!)

I think it’s the best thing on TV and if series two is anything to go by, this will be brilliant. It is such a great examination of group dynamics and I must also point out that it is really good at showing the damaging effect of being wrongfully accused and then wrongly voted as being “guilty” by a group of peers.

The first person to be murdered by The Traitors was Yin and the reasons given revolved around her intelligence level – she had a PhD in communications and was an expert on group interactions. Although I didn’t feel that she pressed her intellect on others, it was clear that she was very well educated and people said that they felt intimidated by her. That people like to “stick to their own”. That she was an outsider, not because of anything that she did but because of other people’s sensitivities and worries about their own intellect.

And this is something which is rife in prison. I haven’t made a Freedom of Information request about this but my observations are that “intelligence” is in short supply in here. It seems to be a culture of celebrating poor education. There appears to be a pride in the simple.

The “models” around us (prison guards) don’t exactly ooze cleverness and the systems in place don’t seem to be based on reason or logic.

Okay, so what..? I’m surrounded by stupid but what’s my point? Basically, it’s the effect of being an outsider and it’s the problem of the reinforcing of the message that not giving a high priority to learning is something to be celebrated.

Of course, my first point makes it very uncomfortable for me and I am frequently bullied for having a brain. I intimidate others simply by being here and there are malicious entries on the PR2 (Prisoner Records) system made by guards trying to get their own back on me. So, at an individual level, it is bad.

However, on a bigger level, I believe this is an intentional effort to control us and to stop us thinking. I believe that they want a dormant population who won’t challenge the frequent examples of unlawful practice, who won’t question the abuses which are endemic and who will ignore the racist, sexist, homophobic and other disgusting behaviours I see daily.

People like Yin should be celebrated, not marginalised. Society needs individual thinkers to right the wrongs of the past. Let’s flip things over and let’s admire intellect.

NaN.