Greg wrote:
Malmo, you can be a part of my screenplay in some capacity if you are interested.
)
The only film project I want to be part of is Carlos Arias Summer Vacation.
Carlos Arias, is a Chicago area runner transplanted to Eugene, Oregon.
In 1992 right after the Rodney King verdict the social justice warriors at the University of Oregon marched from campus to the Federal Building in downtown Eugene to protest. Carlos Arias was one of them.
Carried away with emotion, Carlos and another student started kicking at a huge window and broke it. Of course, this was before smartphones, but was captured on video by television crews and the police, so he was easily tracked and arrested, tried and convicted in Federal court and sentenced to two months in the Federal Penitentiary in Sheridan, Oregon. (link below)
Yes, there really is a Club Fed.
When Carlos got back he told he it was the best Summer vacation of his life. They were housed in minimum security, which was outside of the main prison were the hard-core criminals resided. There were no razor wire fences. No towers, no shotgun wielding bosses wearing mirrored sunglasses to beat them every day. They were given jobs basically servicing the main penitentiary. Carlos was on grounds crew, which meant he rode around in golf carts and gators, dropping off other campers to their mowing and clean-up stations. When the shift was over, he drove around the facility picking up his fellow campers. Really, it was more like a cushy union job, short hours, lots of breaks and no “shakin the tree boss” anywhere.
He said that they had a state-of-the-art weightroom, a music room, a movie room and a library. They had steak night and card tables and games. They even belonged to a Summer softball league playing teams from local businesses, which they won, only because they had plenty of time to practice while the other teams had to work during the day.
If you left the grounds for less than day they took away privileges for a short time. If you left the grounds for more than a day, they would add a couple of weeks to your sentence. Ironically, Carlos explained facetiously, taking away privileges and extending your sentence was actually an incentive, not a punishment.
Carlos said the first day at Sheridan Summer Camp was a bit unsettling, because when asked what they did to get to prison and they replied “broke windows” their camp mates naturally became skeptical, thinking they might be planted undercover Feds. But when one of the inmates recognized their story and said, “I remember you guys. I saw you on TV!” the tension died down, and they were welcomed into the club like heroes.
I’ve always thought that Carlos’ story would make a seriously funny movie.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/misc.activism.progressive/JdgLjc-lFWQ