We Be Jammin'

Noise Pollution is Environmental Pollution
What’s more annoying than a crying baby? Ruder than tossing a butt on the street? More disgusting than an airsick neighbor on a plane?

Cell phone chatter.

BLAH, BLAH BLAH….why don’t people GET it? Nobody wants to hear what you’re saying into your mobile phone! I don’t care if you grandfather is dying, your dog pooped on the floor, or that you got a raise. I JUST WANT SOME QUIET!!!!!

And now that I know these details of your life, I HATE YOU. Even though I’m sure if I met you at a party over a wine or three, you’d be my new best friend.

Yes, I know I should be a more zen person, content to let life’s annoyances float over my head with nothing more than a nod and a beautific smile, but damn it, no matter how hard I try to achieve the zen there’s always a person on a phone to challenge me anew. And it’s a battle I rarely win.

If noise pollution is environmental pollution, then inappropriate cell phone chit-chat should be treated like the toxic crap it is. Shut it down and contain it. But how? These people rarely respond to rude looks and shushing.

Now there’s a pollution solution.

Jammers Unite!

This article in the NYTimes (OK, so I’m now officially behind the times, yuk, yuk, but I really didn’t know about these being so easily available) shows us how we can all start blocking cell phone signals in a significant area around our persons. Cell phone jammers block the signal between the tower and the phones within a given area and calls are cut off. I can’t wait to use this on the train, judiciously, of course. Only obnoxious a**holes who can’t follow the rules (on my train it’s simple; speak in a low and civil tone, and go into the vestibule for extended conversations).

If a significant percentage of the population does this, soon we’ll have a little peace and quiet where before there was just constant jabber. Let’s do it!

Shout out to Bri for hooking me up with this article.