[imperfect_cupcake]

I was asking because the charachters.... Well there are shitty, horrible people in real life, like Healy. I have no doubt at all that any system is full of Healys. I know many sexist, mean assholes that don't get fired. In fact, get raises and move through the ranks.
I also know that people aren't all one way or another. For example in school the class I'm in, is 22 people. We've all been shoved together for two years. We all come from very different back grounds, different countries, different belief systems and different biases and bigotries.
One kid I was very friendly with was totally homophobic. In my normal everyday life, I'd never interact with someone like him. But I had to. I got to know S and I actually rather appreciated aspects of him. I also got to talk to him about being a gayer whenever he'd pipe up and slam homos. I did not go to the teacher and complain. Why? Because ratting on him would not have taught him a bloody thing. Just to keep his mouth shut. I had to work semi nude around him. I had to have him massaging me. And I him. So it was important we have some level of respect for each other. Even if that is tenuous. Working it out between us, rather than through an authority figure is a much better way to go.

We are stuck together for two years from 8am to 4:30 pm, eating together and getting semi naked together and touching each other. We all sort of try to work out things between us - and that can be really complicated considering each of us comes from a different back ground with different beliefs about what is respectful behaviour.

I can't even imagine taking that to the level of difference in a prison.
And I know from my working life that people in authority are often biased and bigoted. I can only imagine to work in the prison system (like my best mates mom when I was growing up) you'd have to be very tough, have a thick skin and you'd get worn out and jaded, pretty quick. His mom too no shit whatso ever and wasn't exactly empathetic.

I would not enjoy a tv show without complete and utter assholes in it. I like the characters are multidimensional and have various shades of good and evil in them. Makes them more realistic.