Thread by @RailroadUnderg1

My roommate was recently released after serving 27 years in prison for petty theft. He never broke the rules while inside, so that means he has never used a cellphone. He came home to find out our entire lives exist on this device. 📲🧵

He struggles to receive help because he doesn’t know to how text, pick up calls, or listen to a voicemail when he misses a call. When I try to teach him how to use his phone it is extremely overwhelming for him. Keep in mind, he was incarcerated in 1995!!!

I only served 10 years compared to my roommate’s 27. Even so, when I was released I was still shocked by all of the technological advancements that we consider commonplace today. Like talking TVs. I love telling my TV to go to Netflix.

Prisons claim to be about rehabilitation yet punishes you if you learn how to use one the most important tools to be a human in todays modern society - a cell phone.

We currently pigeonhole incarcerated folks to either, break the rules by using a cellphone and be ready to reenter society, or don’t break the rules and struggle when you’re free.

If we want folks to safely and meaningfully reenter society, we must give incarcerated folks access to cellphones and teach them how to use a phone to navigate our world today. Let’s be honest, most of us out here can’t even walk down the street without GPS on our phones.

To clarify, my roommate was sentenced to life under the 3 strikes law for petty theft. His first two offenses were not rape or murder like some folks suggest. It’s funny ppl rather believe this isn’t true than to face the fact America incarcerates over 2 million of our own ppl.

To everyone who feels this is an injustice, I ask you all to please go out and #Vote ! We can change these laws and change the cruel country we live in by changing the politicians that write our laws. Tell your friends to vote too!

We need to stop thinking about voting in terms of which party. Both parties suck in my opinion. We need to start looking at which candidate is making a commitment to do what. As flawed of a system it is, it's the system we have and opting out is exactly what the oppressor wants.

Our votes are especially powerful on a local level. We elect DAs who have the power to shift mass incarceration in your counties. We elect Sheriffs who lord over the lives of our families in county jails. We elect the Board of Supervisors who have the power to defund the police.

Your #Vote counts. Don't buy the lie that it doesn't. If it didn't matter, why do you think Republicans are trying so hard to take your voting rights away? Food for thought.

This tweet was about my good friend & roommate Louis. Please donate to his freedom fund. He was released October this year after serving 27 years for petty theft! He is an incredible human being and needs all the help he can get. Please donate!gofund.me/1d003f05

Within 4 hours y’all raised more money than Louis had hoped for. Louis says thank you twitterverse! And I say thank you twitterverse for pouring your love on this human being. Good people exist!