Fight the mobile phone invasion at 30,000ft

Financial Times ^ | 3/28/2006 | Jagdish Bhagwati

[Under30Conservative]

I have no problem with cellphones, I use one all the time. The problem I have is with jack@sses that insist the rest of us listen to their usually inane conversation.

[stuartcr]

I'm all for that idea.

[LIConFem]

"These days, I'm more annoyed by people using the "walkie-talkie" features on their cell phones in public."

I hear ya. But ask yourself this question: If two people, both of whom were present (as opposed to one present and one on the other end of the phone), were having the same loud conversation, would you be as annoyed?

[AxelPaulsenJr]

were having the same loud conversation, would you be as annoyed?

Yup.

[NaughtiusMaximus]

Must get incredible mileage too.

I wouldn't know about that but the robot chauffeur has never complained.

[finnman69]

There will be outbreaks of air rage if cell phones are rampant in coach class.

[Spiff]

Rude people who talk loudly on their cell phones should always be told that they are rude, whether they are in an airplane at 30,000 feet or in a restaurant. People who let their phones ring loudly and disrupt others are boors. I have always wanted to see someone yank the phone from their hand, and throw it onto the floor and stomp it into a million pieces.

Please get over your obsession with cell phones. It should not be the cell phone that is the measure of rudeness here. People who talk loudly in public are often considered rude, whether they are in a restaurant, an airplane, or whatever. It doesn't matter if they're talking into a cell phone or not. I've been quite annoyed by loud talkers on airplanes and they were not talking into their cell phone.

What difference should it make to you or anyone else if I'm having a quiet conversation with my seat mate on the plane or my wife a thousand miles away and 30,000 feet down?

[TommyDale]

"Judging by the replies on this thread, the conservative principles of freedom and self-reliance are absolute unless it's inconvenient - but then it's only okay to stifle other people's freedoms."

Your freedom ends when it intrudes on my freedom to enjoy peace and quiet. Rudeness comes in many flavors, one of which is hearing someone's obnoxious (and usually their self importance) phone calls.

Screaming babies should be taken to the rest room or held to keep them as quiet as possible. If a mother sits idle while her baby screams at full volume, she is also being rude to others.

People need to be re-educated on public manners.

[AlexW]

"cuz cell phone towers radiate and orient EMF laterally, not vertically."

Most cell towers actually have down-tilt to keep the signal from passing overhead.
That being said, I would not want cellphone use on airplanes.
I enjoy the normal peace and quiet of a flight and would hate to have a dozen or so morons yakking away on the phone.
They are obnoxious enough in restaurants.
I never quite understory why people have not learned to talk on a cell phone with the same voice level that they would use in conversation, or even a land phone.

[TommyDale]

I don't have an "obsession" with cell phones. I have a problem when people talk twice as loud as normal when they have a cell phone to their ear, ignoring others in the vicinity. Poor manners are not limited to cell phones.
See my previous post where I said people need to be re-educated on public manners.

[stuartcr]

Sweet

[MineralMan]

"If two people, both of whom were present (as opposed to one present and one on the other end of the phone), were having the same loud conversation, would you be as annoyed?"

Yup.

[stuartcr]

Just remember, if you tell someone on a cell phone to shut-up...your chances of getting your ass-kicked are half as much...

[freebird5850]

My coworker has a cell phone and the ringtone is set to this horrible nursery rhyme and is turned all the way up. I have asked repeatedly for him to turn it to vibrate, which he said no. The other day it was siting on his desk and went off. I took the phone and gave it to my supervisor. It went off again. The coworker, after getting reprimanded by the supervisor, blamed me for loss of productivity while he was loking for his phone. I corrected him in saying he was responsible for my loss of productivity due to his negligence and noise.

[stuartcr]

How come your freedom gets to trump someone elses?

[texasbluebell]

You will never fly again without some type of ear plug, once you try them. This muffles most of the noise from the plane and the annoying passengers. When I've forgotten to bring some along, I just roll up kleenex wads and use them instead. Try it, you'll be glad you did.

[Doohickey]

Your freedom ends when it intrudes on my freedom to enjoy peace and quiet.

You want peace and quiet? Stay home.

[arizonarachel]

Hilarious.

[Petronski]

You shouldn't call others "moron" while you are laboring under your own mistake of fact.

The proposal is to put gear onboard planes that will permit cellphones to work normally at any altitude.