March 4, 2007

   The Ethicist

                               The Phone Ranger

   By RANDY COHEN

   Each  day  people  are  more brazen and rude with their cellphones. My
   husband  bought a device that can block the signals of cellphone users
   who  annoy  him,  although  he knows such gizmos are illegal. Isnt his
   vigilante  behavior  worse  than  that  of  the rudest cell user?
   -- Name Withheld, Connecticut


   Your  husband may not stifle someones behavior merely because he deems
   it  annoying.  So  capricious a standard would mean constant peril for
   people  who  talk  baby-talk  to  their excessively small dogs. Living
   among other people requires us to tolerate conduct we find vexing.

   Or  so my head tells me. But my heart says, Your husband is a hero, an
   acoustic  Robin  Hood who robs from the rude and gives blessed silence
   to the poor in spirit.

   I  propose  these guidelines: If someone is yammering into a cellphone
   on  the  pavement  and  you dont like it, walk away. It is open public
   space,  and  opinions  vary  about  its use. Some people place a lower
   value on quiet than on prattling about what they saw on TV last night.
   (An  immutable  law  of nature: The louder the phone voice, the duller
   the conversation.)

   But  if  someone  is using a cellphone in a closed space on a commuter
   train,  in  a restaurant from which you cannot escape, let the jamming
   begin.  We  properly  limit our freedom when we harm others. It is the
   cellphoners  jabbering  that  prevents  you  from reading your book or
   thinking your thoughts, not the other way around.

   Those who control shared closed spaces a theater, a physicians waiting
   room  should  jam  and  disclose.  Post  a sign that says No Cellphone
   Service  so  people know what theyre getting into. Anyone anticipating
   an  urgent  call can ask to use the land line. For decades, doctors on
   call did just that, and we all survived. Sadly, this solution ethical,
   courteous  and  humane  is  frowned  on  by  the F.C.C., but tell your
   husband Ill visit him every week in jail.