It isn't a...

[bunn]

I am amused to discover that the recruitment slogan for HM Prison services is:

"It isn't a prison without the people"

Surely this is a slogan that could be reused in many other situations where the positive slant is hard to find:

"It isn't a hellhole without the people"

"It isn't a massacre without the people"

Combine this with the logo of the Ministry of Justice, and I am forced to conclude I have somehow slipped into a darkly Gothic graphic novel of a world...

Comments

[kargicq.livejournal.com]

Heh, I liked that. My variant would be, "Without the people -- something serious has gone wrong, for a prison."

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

Oh very good...

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

There are similar anecdotes / urban legends, but I believe this is the original, true, story -

Someone trying to make a phone call, and repeatedly getting no answer. Eventually goes through the operator, who gets the same (lack of) result.

Operator suggests, "As it's such a lovely day, perhaps they've all gone out."

Caller, "I hope not, it's Lincoln prison!"