Thread by @gaileyfrey

I'm on the line right now and y'all, this is going weird as hell

https://twitter.com/BLMLA/status/1014697248511483904

will tell y'all a true thing about me: I am VERY BAD at verbal arguments. I had a script written down for this call, anticipating that I would advocate the release of #ThereseParriciaOkoumou and then get a "thank you for your input" and then hang up

Here's what happened instead

Call one: dialed 0, brief hold-music (decent jazz), then two and a half minutes of ringing followed by a siren noise and several ominous clicks. Then the line went dead.

Call two: dialed 0, brief hold-music (still jazz), ten seconds of ringing, a little more jazz, and someone saying "who are you calling about?"

I said I was calling about #ThereseOkoumou, and the person I was talking to put me on speakerphone.

"Say that again"

I said it again

and then I was on hold for a few seconds

and then someone came on the line

I called expecting to deliver a script, which boiled down to:

I am calling to request the immediate release of #ThereseParriciaOkoumou, who engaged in an act of protest today against the existence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement

The person on the phone said

Why should she be released?

What followed was about 10 minutes of extraordinarily civil, vehement debate. I am 75% sure I was on speakerphone that whole time.

I don't know who I was talking to. He identified himself as a black man who works for corrections& who believes in the legacy&importance of protesting for civil rights&justice.

Here are the questions he asked me. Some of them I handled alright; some of them, I answered ineptly:

Why should the inmate be released?

Why was her form of protest okay, given that she didn't have a permit?

What are laws for, if it's okay to break them sometimes in order to make a point?

Do you think ICE should be abolished? Why?

What is the difference between American interests and the interests of people who live in America?

(That latter one: I initially said something like "The actions of ICE go against American interests -- wait, I'm saying that wrong. They are immoral and go against the values of many people who live in America." He laughed and thanked me for correcting it.)

Other questions I answered on this call:

Do you think the entire executive branch should be abolished?

Do you think it's okay to disrupt people's lives?

Do you think people who break the law shouldn't go to jail?

When I wasn't doing a good job of articulating my responses, the person on the other end of the line showed me the holes in my answers and gave me the chance to try again. I have no goddamn idea why, but he did.