Prison and crime is not always a subject that is brought up in class and in everyday life. It is something that as human beings, we all know about but we tend to choose to ignore to discuss. In our society, secrets are known as the opposite of information. They come in all sorts of forms, where some are kept from the public while others are “public secrets” that the public chooses not to tell, like, “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Some of these examples include, the injustices in the war on drugs, the Prison Industrial Complex and the criminal justice system are all “public secrets”. 

As we move onto the next section named, “The Public Secret and Utopia”, readers still see the same black and white blocks but this time in a different position. They might have noticed this previously during the “inside and outside” portion of the literature, but if the reader stays on the page long enough and decides not to touch anything, they will see that the quotes from the different inmates start to disappear. After a while, another quote will appear, however, soon the same thing happens where it disappears. 

When the readers are not actively listening to the interview recordings from the inmates, they begin to disappear. Their stories begin to become unheard and when they are not heard, they are no longer relevant. People are not able to spread and absorb what they have heard about life in jail and advocate to help them. In a way, the literature helps the reader understand how “public secrets” are in our society. When the secrets are out in the open in the news, the public is able to hear about what is going on and discuss it among ourselves. However, when we choose to use the “don’t ask don’t tell” rule, then we all act like nothing is going on when in reality, the secret is worth discussing.