Solitude
Help doesn’t exist⌗
ACTION⌗
On the day following The Asshat’s threat to kill me, I called the FBI to report it. Like the failure I am, I trusted them. I didn’t think to record the phone call.
And I should have. That call has left me worried.
It went something like this:
Operator: “What is your name, phone number, address, etc…?”
I gave him these details.
Operator: “Give me a moment to put this in the system.”
I know now that this 1-2 minutes were not used to “put information in the system.” He was reading a set of instructions that had been given to him.
Operator: “What is the nature of your call?”
Me: “I’m calling because a former employer threatened to kill me.”
Operator: “Why did he threaten to kill you, sir?”
Me: “Well, it was a misunderstanding over…”
Operator: “No, he cut me off, WHY did he threaten to kill you?”
Me: Annoyed, I continued, “It was a misunderstanding over something that happenened in 2019, where…”
Operator: “No, WHY did he threaten to kill you?”
Me: Shit. This guy won’t let me speak. Just like The Asshat’s call. I responded, “Because he thinks that I threatened him.”
Operator: “Why does he think that you threatened him?”
Me: “Because in December of 2019, there was a misunderstanding over…”
Operator: “No, WHY does he think that you threatened him?”
Me: “Because I sent him an ambiguous message, and he misinterpreted it.”
Operator: “Why was the message ambiguous?”
Me: “Because it had multiple layers of meaning.”
Operator: “Why did it have multiple layers of meaning?”
Me: “Because it was a coded message?”
Operator: “Why did you feel the need to send him a coded message?”
Me: “Because I am working on a sensitive project.”
Operator: “How do you know you are working on a sensitive project?”
Me: “Because the FBI is involved.”
Operator: “And how do you know that the FBI is involved?”
Me: I paused. “Because it is coming through the technology.”
Operator: “Okay, sir, I think I’ve heard enough. You should seek help. Have a nice day.”
Click.
ANALYSIS⌗
After that encounter, I was horrified to realize that I hadn’t recorded the conversation. What happened here?
At first, I though the operator was agitated with me. The way he kept cutting-off my sentences was reminiscent of The Asshat. The way he would always “read my mind” and try to finish my sentences.
Whereas The Asshat was always wrong, this guy - the operator - he was right. He seemed to know exactly what I was going to say. He seemed to TRULY be reading my mind (prediction, really). Perhaps he wasn’t agitated at all. Perhaps he was simply following instructions.
It seems to me that he was asked to perform a Why-Why Analysis. A Why-Why Analysis is a quality-improvement tool used to identify the root cause of a problem.
In this case, he already knew what caused this situation. He was guiding me down a path. He already knew what answers I would give.
He simply needed me to acknowledge that I understand how this happened. He needed this on record.
He needed me to acknowledge the root cause:
People are fucking with my technology.
And by limiting my free speech in this situation, they were protecting me.