Note—the measuring tape is just so you can tell how big this is.

Source 1 - Image

Source 2 - Image

Source 3 - Document

Source 4 - Artifact

Source 5 - Image

LISTEN TO THE SOUND RECORDING

Transcript (written copy of the sound recording):

[Bobby] “I did my first adult bid when I was 16, I’m 46 years old now. And so growing up in the system, I went through a lot time being angry, anti-system, anti anything authority. And that was how I thought and dealt with life for a long time. You get to a point where you have to–if you’re allowed to really see yourself—you get to a point where you have to stop making excus-es about the things that have happened in your life and own that you’re a participant. I just got to that point, and got tired of doing time, of not being able to experience being a parent, going to graduations, meeting new and interesting people, without having the setting of walls, you know.

I just got my Associate’s Degree from UMA at Augusta, I’m like eight classes away from my Bachelor’s. … my degree is going to be in liberal arts with a focus on Spanish. And so through learning about this bigger world and through actually getting some knowledge so I can actually have rooted opinions about things rather than just some basic prejudice or viewpoint that I can’t back up with anything substantial because I don’t know anything. “

[Interviewer] “I think before I started doing this series I thought that to be in prison, probably especially men’s prison, I was imaging that it was really a lot about portraying a tough image so no one would mess with you. I think that’s what I was imagining I would have to do if I was a prisoner here. Is that true in some parts of life here? “

[Bobby] “Oh absolutely, that’s true in the majority of it. That’s what we have to struggle against at all times. But it’s the same thing in life. And when you use the word portray I think about art, and I think of something that’s not really reality. You know? And that’s what people do, they put on these disguises, these coats that represent ‘I’m this, I’m that, don’t mess with me.’ But what it is, and I can say from first-hand knowledge, a lot of that comes from just our own fear, our own insecurities, you know. The best way to keep you from bullying me is if I act like an alpha male and I’m totally aggressive towards you, put you on your heels. And that’s how a lot of peo-ple act in a prison environment. But really the truth of the matter is, you break us down to our basic selves, we’re a bunch of scared people that really have struggled getting a grip on how to make it in the world out there, and how we’re making it in here while we have to be here.”

Interview clip provided by Safe Space Radio. Full interview available at https://safespaceradio.com/prisoners-and-hospice

Source 6 - Sound Recording

Freedom & Captivity Primary Source Sets developed in collaboration between the Maine State Archives, Maine State Library, and Maine State Museum.

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