David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

opposite of its intended effect. At first,
Clear couldn’t get anyone to publish it.
He tried the major academic journals in
his field and failed at all of them. No
one believed him, except the corrections
community. Clear says, “One of the
little-known facts of my world is that
corrections professionals, for the most
part, don’t think that what they are doing
is going to make things better. They try
to run humane prisons, do the best they
can. But they watch what’s going on, and
they’re right there. They know—they say
things like ‘My guards are mistreating
people’ or ‘They aren’t going to leave
the prison feeling better’ or ‘We don’t
give them anything they need.’ This is a
real embitterment experience for them.