A “call flood” is when dozens, if not hundreds (or even thousands) of people call an telephone number to demand that some injustice be remedied. For example, an activist friend of mine (we’ll call him “Dean”) was taken to jail for some ridiculous and trumped-up charge. Word got out on social media, with instructions to “call flood” the local police department where he was held and demand that he be released. Eventually the jailers realized that having Dean in their custody was more trouble than it was worth, and the charges were dropped.
Well, in the latest example, Slate columnist Emily Yoffe is encouraging her readers to call flood the Manassas City, VA Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office over the following injustice:
Here’s my problem with this. First, neither Paul B. Ebert nor his secretary (and let’s face it, she’s the one likely taking these calls) likely give a damn about what some random person in Illinois (me) thinks about their criminal justice system. Second, Paul’s secretary is likely in for a very long day of taking call after call, some of them bound to be abusive, even though she had nothing to do with this situation. And third, at the end of the day, when Paul’s secretary reports that she took 150 calls from across the country demanding that this nonsense be stopped, Paul is likely to respond with a shrug and an “I’ll be damned,” before getting in his Prius and driving home for the weekend.
But on the other hand, someone needs to speak for this kid, so it might as well be me. And there’s some quote from The Buddha or Ghandi or someone about not sitting still and being silent while evil takes place.
Your thoughts?