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Dealing with other inmates
Just be yourself
One thing that all former inmates agree on as far as dealing with other inmates goes is that you shouldn't go in to the Orange County Jail trying to be a badass - just be yourself and find people you feel comfortable with. Don't take that the wrong way, though - if somebody is picking on you or trying to pick a fight you need to be willing to stand up for yourself.
Orange County - a racist jail
Orange County is a very racist jail. When you first come in to the jail you will probably be approached by members of your own race wanting to take care of you - if you don't have commissary they will give you some, if you need clothes they will get you some. Why do people help you? There is strength in numbers and your race wants you to be a part of them.
The major races in Orange County are white and Mexican. Mexicans are divided into two different "cars" (the nickname used for different racial groups). South Fighters are Mexicans born in the US and Paisano's (or Paiso's) are Mexicans born south of the border. If you are a mixed race you can pick your car, but most people tend to choose whichever race they tend to hang out with on the outside.
Blacks are a very small minority (less than 5%) and share common facilities (toilets, showers, phones, etc.) with Asians and any other minorities. They will not, however, eat with these other races - they just share facilities out of necessity.
Facilities
Each racial group has dedicated facilities. Most dorms have 12 toilets - so depending on how many Mexicans and whites are currently in the dorm the South Fighters may have 3 toilets, the Paisano's may have 4 toilets and the whites may have 4 toilets. This leaves one toilet for all other races - this is very common and would also apply to the showers (also 12) and the same general ideas with phones (there are usually 6).
Punishments
In general the inmates really run the jail - at least in terms of day-to-day discipline. If somebody breaks a rule the "rep" (the leader of a racial group in each dorm) of the group who has been wronged will decide on a punishment for the offender. So, for instance, if you use the wrong toilet they may make you do exercises as a punishment. Or they may have you get against the wall and "lay hands on you" - the process of punching you for a predetermined amount of time, usually 10 or 20 seconds.
Fighting
You usually will not have to worry about one-on-one fights in the Orange County Jail because the cops will quickly come in and break it up - both offenders will usually lose some time off or accrue new charges. The fights to worry about are typically large brawls, but they generally don't last long because the police will come in and break things up. When a fight starts to break out, however, it is important that you go to your own race. In general you are fine conversing and having friends of other races, but when something happens you should be with your own group.
Gangs
Many of the people who are incarcerated have gang affiliations - all of these affiliations, however, don't exist in jail. In jail you are one big gang trying to survive so it is not uncommon for people who may hate each other on the outside to become friends. As soon as you are back out, however, most inmates go back to hating members of rival gangs.
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