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[Rachel Cox <rachel AT hesketh.com>]

At 02:26 PM 6/12/2002 -0400, Gina Norman wrote:
[snip]
 >>  I think the issue is one of someone in the grocery store obviously making
 >> chit-chat someone and forcing their private conversation on everyone 
 >> around
 >> them in the public space. This is rude behavior since you have little
 >> choice, but to stand there in line while they chat.

And if there were two people standing there having a conversation,
would that be equally rude? That's not a rhetorical question, either,
but if it wouldn't be equally rude, can you say why, exactly?

 >>Surely they could wait
 >> until they get somewhere else to use the phone.
 >
 >But what's the difference between B&C having a "private" conversation in a
 >public space and A talking to someone on a cell in a public space.  In
 >each case there's a conversation that doesn't include you or involve you,
 >but in one instance it's with a person and the other it's with a little
 >box.  Why is one bad and the other not?

I'm with you, Gina. I don't like folks talking on cell phones in
restaurants because then they are clearly ignoring the people they're
with and it makes me uncomfortable, though indeed it's none of my 
business, and as such, though I don't like it, I wouldn't classify
it as a felony offence. But talking on a phone at the mall, at the
grocery store, in the Circle K, at the liquor store... none of that
bugs me. And I'm baffled by why it bothers others. I mean, as you
point out, two people might be having a "private" conversation
standing next to each other in line, and no one finds that offensive,
but the only difference between that and a cell phone conversation
is that the people around them have to hear (or get to hear) both
sides of the conversation if both people are present.

Now, if the person on the cell phone is talking overly loudly, or
about topics that'd be offensive even if they were talking to a
friend who was right there with them, that's one thing, but it's
a separate issue from whether cell phone usage in public is rude.
Until someone can tell me why it's more rude to talk on the phone
than to bring a friend along to talk to, I'll continue to have
quiet conversations with my mom on my cell phone at the grocery
store about what kind of wine she wants me to bring for dinner,
as well as about whether the cat is still being clingy and weird.

Cheers!
Rachel



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