DannyBoyinExile

All over planet Earth, humans will find a way to stratify themselves into some sort of social hierarchy, and prison is no different. Some inmates are respected more (or less!) because of their charges, or how much money they have – but people’s jobs define them just as much in here as they do out there.
For example, there’s no such thing as merely being a kitchen worker. There are the proletarians, such as dishwashers and line servers, who are anonymous because of their sheer numbers – as well as how quickly they come and go. Nobody gets fired as quickly as a line server or waiter in the chow hall, simply because they have access to the food (to steal), and the inmates to sell it to. Some of them are so adept as hustlers that they rapidly become “prison rich” – and just as rapidly get fired.
Then there are the guys who work in the back of the kitchen, such as cooks, bakers, and butchers, who are considered the elites in the kitchen because of the importance of their jobs. (They certainly consider THEMSELVES elite, at any rate.)
Finally you have the ODR (officers’ dining room) workers who cook separate meals and serve them to the various guards and ranks in the administration here. They are truly the “creme de la creme”, as those jobs are more scarce, and they’re very selective about who they give them to. And those distinctions are merely within the kitchen!
There are many other jobs on the Wynne Unit who feel that the kitchen is the bottom of the job hierarchy, such as commissary workers, clerks, or even… ahem… hallway workers.
I’ve known a handful of guys who thought they were practically aristocratic, because they were the ONE inmate (of all 2,600 of us on the Wynne Unit) who was assigned to work for a particular Captain or Major. Well, there may only be one of them AT A TIME – but each of these ranks typically goes through several of them before they find the RIGHT one. (The WRONG ones? They may very well be kitchen workers now!)
That’s not a particularly hard job. You clean the Major’s office, tackle any special projects, and typically work in the hallway the rest of the time. But many inmates find it really hard to remain HUMBLE in that position. Power tends to corrupt, and even if your power is only from somebody you work for – it’s very easy to have your head blown up to the point that you (an inmate) start to feel as if you’re practically a guard, too!
And here I am – the new Major’s SSI. 🙂 I’m proud of my job, quite simply because I earned it. I put in a lot of work, which is why I was selected to BE the Major’s SSI. But I don’t lose sight of the fact that it’s my work that makes me valuable. Although it does feel good to do that work in a set of pressed clothes that says “Matthews, Major’s SSI” on the pants and shirt!
I maybe the one inmate on the Wynne Unit who can knock on the Major’s door and walk in, at any time, but it’s only because I CLEAN that office every day. And I’m grateful to BE the guy who was trusted enough to be chosen to do so.
I still work my butt off in the hall, and I’m quick to help with anything that needs done, whether it’s my job or not. I’m still polite and helpful to everyone I see, and I don’t feel as if I’m better than anyone else because of my job. I simply feel that what makes me a good worker also makes me a good person. And I feel that we can ALL be good people, no matter where we find ourselves, if we’d only put our minds to it. So says DannyBoy.