Day 113: The "Orange" Realization
- mainemoviepirate
- 4 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Original Entry 10/13/21 Wed- Up at 6:30, H/L/R Drink, Meds. Went to the email room, worked on Walking Distance type up. Could potentially send it today. The place is all worked up over inspection day. Mr.L is roaming around ordering everybody, clean this, clean that. I can’t find a place to do MY work. I go from the library to the common area to the computer room. Chased out of each one. Sigh.Â
Went early to do my lunch cop detail, that place wasn’t much. Make sure we use sanitizing stuff if anyone actually shows up to ‘inspect’. Keep it clean, you know like we always do. Lol.
LUNCH: Hamburgers (1 in reserve), FF (which was actually quite good.)
Didn’t even try to work after lunch, fuck it, let me out of here. I went outside to read Orange … New Black. I realized why this thin book was taking me so long. There is no story thrust and it’s just like this place. All bullshit and Beaucracy There is no escapism for me. Still I can’t wait to watch the entire series and do a Book vs TV Show review. Talked to CJ, a little about my case, he’s actually interested. Which is rare. Both here and in the real world.
SUPPER: Blob of hamburger substance, Spaghetti w/ sauce, salad (ate come). Two rolls in reserve. Now in the Library, gonna try to get a little work done before I go outside and into the Movie/Kitchen room.
Four Years Later (Retrospective)
"Day 113 was a whirlwind. The camp was vibrating with the frantic anxiety of 'Inspection Day,' orchestrated by a camp counselor named Mr. Larkin. It was a storm of forced labor and pointless clean-ups, with orderlies scrambling to avoid his scrutiny. My only oasis was the kitchen, handing out napkins and plasticware, trying to stay invisible.
Connecting with the book Orange Is the New Black was surreal—living through the page-turning monotony while experiencing the real thing. I’d heard that our case manager had actually worked at the facility where Piper Kerman served time. There’s a bitter irony in that. If she could translate her incarceration into a cultural touchstone, I had to ask: what could I do with my own story?
The turning point was a conversation with C.J., the head cook. He didn’t want the 'prison-tough' version of my story—he didn't care about the insults I’d thrown at the prosecutor, even if that was the 'legend' the other inmates loved to recount. He wanted the why. He wanted the Fair Use and Orphan Works logic.
That conversation changed everything. I realized then that if I wanted to achieve actual Copyright Reform—my goal since day one—I couldn't treat everyone the same. I needed to pivot. I had to stop trying to justify my 'guilt' or 'innocence' to a general audience and start speaking the language of those who actually care about the law. I needed to build a strategy that went beyond the fence."
