I love you.

I should print some of these: [www.coudal.com]

@pecan 3.14159265: Hey, come to NYC and hang out in Times Square. I don't know, they're just a bunch of buildings.

@Rectilinear Propagation: Here in NYC, the law actually specifies one person, one seat. It may not get enforced on buses, though as I've never seen a uniformed police officer on a bus. And I doubt any undercover officer would decide to it's worth it to give you a summons for doing so.

As for the spread legs, well, it happens. I like to think that I don't block any seats; and if the bus is getting full, I try to ensure I don't.

One of my pet peeves is when someone decides to sit between me and someone else just because there's a cut-out of a seat on the subway. Let's face it; we (and I include myself in there) have gotten larger as we've aged. By squeezing in (and then attempting to read a paper with your arms outstretched) you're only making it uncomfortable for all of us.

@Bhockzer: I just watched the new CBS show with Julianna Marguiles and her character's cell phone has some really annoying ring-tones. She answered them pretty quick (she also explained them by saying that her daughter programmed her phone with them, which was true).

@Pibbs: When they first came out (back in 1998 or so) I would hate getting beeped while I was on the train or bus heading to work or home. Even though it was work-related, I didn't want to have a conversation that way. I usually told them I'd call them when I got to my destination.

As I am unemployed right now, it's a problem I would be willing to have again.

@TheWillow: Yeah, riding the subway is such a fun sport for us. ;-)

Like the 'please don't block the doors' signs are going to stop anyone from doing just that.

A flight pet-peeve i've encountered a few times are the yahoos that hold unnecessarily loud conversations with someone behind them or in the next aisle, while the attendants are doing the safety announcement, and I can't hear a damn thing. Now, granted, i've flown before, so I sorta know what to do, but what about the first time flyers? Worse is that the attendants don't even seem to bat an eye while these people yammer away over their announcements.

I am a seether and tend to use the ever popular heavy sigh and dirty looks, lol. Sometimes things can be tricky, like at the workplace. People thinking it's AOK to bolt out of meetings because their ever so important crackberry rang, or leaving it bouncing and vibrating all over the table...people texting in meetings or training sessions, as if the content couldn't possibly matter to them. And the higher up the ladder they go, the worse they are.

I've also worked with a few people who would benefit from a retrofit with a volume knob. Sitting in an office with a client and trying to have a very serious conversation while someone is shrieking with ear piercing laughter or shouting crap all over the place to someone four inches away, or talking about their sex lives, right outside the door isn't easy. And if you are ten offices away and I can hear your conversation with my door closed, you're too loud. STHU.

In defense of itiswhatitis:

I am confident that most of the people maligning her are not from the NYC area. You see, when people here are rude, we let them know about it. Which is why NYers have a reputation for being "rude" -- cut in front of me to jump on the subway, Mr. Kansas? -- I'm going to tell you just what I think of you. I've been to other cities where merely tapping your car horn (because the person in front of you at the light has zoned out for 30 seconds of green) is considered very aggressive behavior. Here in NYC, people don't sweat it.

The point being that if you want to play contact sports in a crowd in NYC, expect to have it reciprocated. Is this technically assault? Of course it is. But no NY jury will ever convict you for grabbing some jerk's shirt after he elbows you in the face.

No, I don't carpool, but if I lived anywhere near any of my coworkers, I'd be doing it to save gas and reduce traffic, not so that we could carry on conversations in transit. I do listen to music while driving, but the stereo is not waiting for a relevant response from me and doesn't require me to focus on it in order for the sound to enter my ears. Yes, I have eaten in my car in the past once or twice, but haven't done so in years because I am a slob and a klutz and because--*gasp!*--I know it's too distracting for me.

I don't perceive stupidly endangering others as a requirement to feel like I'm "living a little." It's ignorant, self-absorbed attitudes like yours that have made modern American society the abhorrent specter we have become to others. I don't care what you learned on tv or in movies; it is not okay to do harm or risk harm to someone else just because it adds a little to your own fun or convenience.

My two biggest peeves lately are people talking on the phone in public bathrooms (ew!) and people talking on the phone while driving. Thankfully, noise is an easy answer to both: If someone in a bathroom is on the phone, I flush the toilet repeatedly until they have the sense to get embarrassed at whoever they're talking to. (A more bold friend of mine makes even BETTER noises.)

And I like loud music anyway, so whenever I see someone on the phone in a car, I pull up next to them, roll my windows down and CRANK IT. When they glare at me I smile and make "You're a fucking idiot hang up the phone" gestures. Almost always works. ;)

I was on a flight a while back that had been delayed. It was coming into a hub and the majority of the passengers were trying to make tight connections. A woman in row 2 of coach took her bag down from the overhead bin, then proceeded to lay it flat in the aisle, unzip it, and start to root through her clothes, completely impeding the whole coach part of the plane from deplaning. I was about 5 row back, on the aisle, and saw the whole thing. I didn't have a connection, but was still so incensed with the audacity and rudeness, that after only a few seconds of this, I said that she needed to either step into the first row or wait until she was out in the terminal to do that. I did get several thank yous from the other passengers, but I just don't understand why the 15 people in between me and her found it perfectly okay to just watch what she was doing and not say anything. For the record, both the offender and me are fairly petite females.

That said, the movie theater at Union Station is a pit of dispair, although I'm told the Cleveland Park one is equally terrible?

On a side note: People, please do not check your phone in the movie theater. It stabs me in the eye with the light and ruins my sense of being in the movie.

He stood up in a huff and stared me down, pumping his arms like it was UFC battle time for 30 seconds, them he went down to the exit area and stood there until the movie ended 5 minutes later. Anyway I guess he got tired of waiting for me and instead punched/kicked the thin plywood wall of the theater about 5 times, so hard it sounded like a bomb went off.

All because he was a rude ass? What the frick, people?!

The psychology is interesting, and there is a small risk that even a polite confrontation will have a bad result, but most people really don't want to try.

I've noticed many commenters talk about rudely, snidely, or cleverly addressing the problems rather than just be straightforward and polite. Is it really so hard for people to say, "excuse me, would you mind not (whatever)?" Part of the reason people get defensive and even more obnoxious is that the confrontations are every bit as rude as the bad behavior.

I've been handling an automobile for 25 years and I have a hands free device in my car. I have never had a problem talking to someone on the other end. I equate it to talking to someone in the car with me. Of course you sound like one of those people who doesn't car pool, who doesn't listen to the radio and who has (G-D FORBID) never eaten in their automobile either. My advice? TRY LIVING ALITTLE!

Were you the woman driving the purple minivan that had the "I love Jeebuzz sticker" that cut me off the other day? She wasn't paying attention to the road either but was looking back at her kids and when I passed her she was yelling at them.

Btw kudo's to Dooley for taking action. Next time I see someone driving a company car recklessly I'll call too. (Of course I will be using my hands free device and enter their phone number verbally because people like MissTicklebritches are out on the road too. ;-) )

I also do one of two things when students are texting or playing with their PDAs - if I'm teaching, I just walk over and confiscate it. If another student is presenting (I teach a speech class) then I just knock 10 points off the miscreant's presentation grade. They figure out pretty quick that it's ALWAYS noticed and not ok.

I even showed a video of Eric Cantor texting during Obama's speech and said if he were in MY class he would have been asked to leave...lol.

@Laines: these suggestions are WIN.

However, I do have a fairly good look-of-death and am usually able to turn around and glare the offenders into submission, provided they're teenagers or younger.

I'm a Brit, and I ALWAYS "say something". I am far more likely to do so than my American husband (both in the US and the UK). But thanks for the generalization and oh-so-insightful assessment of British society, nonetheless.

@Dooley: A friend of mine did this. He was behind a taxi driver who was driving very slowly straddling 2 lanes. He called the number on the back of the taxi and asked the dispatcher if he could please radio taxi 436 and ask him to pick a lane or at least go the speed limit. About 1 minute later the taxi pulled over and the driver waved at my friend to say "sorry"

You've never met my friend Caroline! There are days we're amazed she can breathe and think simultaneously, bless her. Fortunately for all, she doesn't drive.

oh, but YOU can drink and drive no problem, it's those other talentless morons that are dangerous.

@GMFish: I am. I'll take up the call for you. Then you and I and Larry Winget will live together and raise the politest baby in the land! It will make a hilarious sitcom!

@RecordStoreToughGuy_OwesNigeriaAnApology: Yeah, I have been physically assaulted in public before and would be extremely likely to break someone's nose (or at the very least, spray them with pepper spray or stab them with the small knife I carry) were someone to grab me from behind, before I even knew what their reasons were.
Of course, I also apologize when I run into people.

@Cruc: Not taking away from your larger points, but what on earth are "obnoxities"? :)

I think there is a time and place for confrontation. If you're in a safe position to make others' lives better by politely confronting someone, then by all means please do. However, if you're not in a safe position, or a polite confrontation will have negative consequences for those around you, then maybe the right thing to do is seethe until you can find someone better equipped and able to do the confronting.
Each situation is different and must be considered on an individual bases, I think.

I had a gut cut me off then flipped me the finger......
he had a for sale sine on the car so i copyed down teh number.
later that night i called and asked about the "car for sale" asked normal wuestions , then i asked if i could come and see it and test drive it, he gives me his address " next to the yellow house"....
i i get this info, i tell him im the guy he cut off and i was going to come and kick his A$$ or "do something" to him or his house one day.........
never planed to do anything but sure made him $h!t.
he was apologizing and crying....lol

@jwissick: Amen. PLEASE don't text during a movie, people. Even with the sound off. The light is distracting.

@Tankueray: I think you're right - and it only takes one situation with someone deciding to do the right thing and getting rebuffed (like what happened to you) for them to decide that, next time, it's not worth it.

This is what women are afraid of all the time, all day, because it happens. You can't profile: the "bro," the suit, the laborer, the homeless guy - any one of them could be perfectly nice or a monster in a normal-guy costume. You don't know until you poke the sleeping misogyny beast. It's just not worth it.

@Pibbs: Same. I will always send something straight to voicemail if I am in line. When I worked in retail several years back I hated when people would be on the phone and not paying attention when I was ringing them up. Then when it was time to pay they would ask how much random crap that had been rung all ready.

@itiswhatitis: Whats even more annoying that cell phones is PTT devices. Someone was on one at an upscale resturaunt I went to and when I complained they offered to just move me to another seat. I ended up just leaving and they comped my 2 14 dollar drinks.
Everyone else just shot over dirty looks at the person on it but didn't seem to speak up.

OH And Guess What Folks! I wouldn't be talking on the cell phone in the first place, if you would be the least bit human and willing to talk to someone sitting next to you on public transit. I like having conversations with people on the bus. But it seems the only ones willing to talk are weirdos - and the rest glower and get uncomfortable because oh crap the person talking to them might rape them in front of everyone else on the bus or god knows what.

Well, y'know what, a little decency goes a long ways. You talk with people, be friendly, and odds are they won't feel the need to isolate and talk on their cells.

This is a two way street.

Holy crap I'm on a rant, time to stop here.

I have to say that sometimes being a large, well built man has it's advangates. I am 27 years old, 6'3" tall and somewhere around 300lbs. I am a biker, but that is just a side note.

On more than one occasion, I have asked people around me in the theater to please stop talking. Being a large man, I usually sit on the aisle for the extra legroom. After I asked one young man to please stop talking, he took it upon himself to turn around and confront me. After implying that my mother and I have an inappropriately intimate relationship, he jumped up in the aisle and stood over me trying to intimidate me. This kid was probably 18 or 19, 5'5" and skinny. I let him talk at the top of my head for a few seconds and then I stood up. Because of the angle he was standing at, his nose was about my chest level. My exact words were "Are you going to apologize to the people in this theater or are we going to have a problem." I'd like to tell you that he apologized and sat back down, but he stormed out of the theater and tried to have me thrown out and then told a nearby cop that I threatened him. The cop asked my side of the story and a few witnesses backed me up. The cop then told the kid to "put on his big boy pants and go home." I liked that line so much, I've been using ever since.

I wouldn't blame you for punching someone in the nose if they grabbed you like that.

Although coming from this poster, I am intrigued that she is so protective of her personal space, while seeming not to give a shit about others.

She could get away with it because she was a charming older lady. I never had the nerve because management probably would've canned me for the same phrase.

@Laines: Copy that: rapes happen on trains in the US all the time. I'll ley my mother know that US trains aren't safe.

/snarky

I am our household's designated "Quit It" person. I'm a substitute teacher, so my threshold for bossing around people I don't know is lower than my husband's. We usually only go to see movies in the summer - those big blockbustery ones that really scream to be viewed on the big screen! - and in pretty much every one we went to some person in front of me had their cell phone out to text at some point.

I just tap them and say "Put that away." or "Quit doing that, please." They are inevitably super embarrassed and meekly comply. I think there is definitely an element of social engineering in having the confidence to stand up to someone like that - but they know they are breaking the rules and are shamed when you point it out.

I only do this with people who are sitting near us - if it's behind me, obviously the little blip of light doesn't bother me. And I don't holler down to people in the bottom rows either. But I always feel 100% better after I kick someone's texting ass in a situation like that. :) Especially when I have a stranger sitting next to me lean over and say in a very relieved way "THANK YOU."

I don't fly very often, so yeah, can't comment on that. But definitely don't seethe, people! Manners are important!

P.S. The volume button on the side of your phone is the button that silences the ring. You can let the person leave a message and check it later or even silence your ring until you stop fumbling your phone to answer it.

Ever been in the bathroom when someone in the stall next to you is on their phone and you start answering their questions? Headsets can produce the same results.

As far as different venues in different parts of town, if I'm surrounded by people who are all being loud and rude and no one else seems bothered, then obviously the problem is mine, and I say nothing. (This is more of a hypothetical because the last time I experienced such a situation was a showing of The People Under the Stairs and I wasn't much more than a kid myself.) But if it's still just a couple of offenders, I'll probably try to speak up.

Or, there have been a few times when I do fully cooperate and wait around to be a witness and the police never show.

When seconds count, the cops are only minutes away?

-doesn't cook
-doesn't clean
-won't get a job
-won't go to marriage counseling
-he wants a divorce, etc. etc.

So the entire car is listening to how this guy's marriage is falling apart while his kid is in the bathroom. Guy hung up as soon as the kid came back. I just felt dirty.

The guy then followed us through the airport giving us a creepy look. The camo pants and tough-guy look didn't make us feel any better. We managed to lose him eventually, but it was spooky.

Then when I told friends the next week, a bunch of them claimed there was some based-on-a-true-story movie that showed something similar only the guy caught up with the person who reported him and killed them.

So...um...yeah I'd probably report a smoker again but I'd demand some security about the whole thing. And I wouldn't say much about someone just being loud. I don't need to die.

@Dooley:

Reminds me of the armoured car that blew through a red light at the intersection.

Yes, logically, if something was truly wrong yada, yada, yada I could justify the actions.

But then I watched as the armoured car pulled into the bank on the next block. I guess they were late for their pickup.

Too bad.

The armoured car company was....how should we say... less than believing of my complaint.

However, the president of the bank lives seven doors down from my home. He believed me. His written complaint based upon "a number of bank customers who witnessed the event" (yes the number was one, one is a number) resulted in the driver being suspended for a period of time and ultimately terminated for cause when the driver was involved in a minor parking lot fender bender at the same bank branch.

I love it when a plan comes together.

It was a wrenching act of creative expression. When he reached the climax, Marsalis played the final phrase, the title statement, in declarative tones, allowing each successive note to linger in the air a bit longer. "I don't stand ... a ghost ... of ... a ... chance ..." The room was silent until, at the most dramatic point, someone's cell phone went off, blaring a rapid singsong melody in electronic bleeps. People started giggling and picking up their drinks. The moment-the whole performance-unraveled.

Marsalis paused for a beat, motionless, and his eyebrows arched. I scrawled on a sheet of notepaper, MAGIC, RUINED. The cell-phone offender scooted into the hall as the chatter in the room grew louder. Still frozen at the microphone, Marsalis replayed the silly cell-phone melody note for note. Then he repeated it, and began improvising variations on the tune. The audience slowly came back to him. In a few minutes he resolved the improvisation-which had changed keys once or twice and throttled down to a ballad tempo-and ended up exactly where he had left off: "with ... you ..." The ovation was tremendous.

I said, "Really? You're really going to hit me in front of your kids? What kind of lesson do you think that would teach them?"

Then he said he doesn't hit ladies but I'm no lady. So I said, "Go ahead. Hit me. Do you want your kids to see you get dragged off by the cops?"

He just muttered and left with the kids, who looked terrified.

@Pibbs:
It's become a habit to groan loudly when I hear the PTT noise. My boyfriend is on call nearly 24/7 and I've had that noise interrupt many a dinner, religious service and social function.

So now whenever I hear a PTT beep, I groan insufferably- whether its my BF's or not.

I dimly recall that back in the 80's and before, people who were disrupting the movie were kicked out. That doesn't seem to happen much any more. the "ushers" just take your tickets and halfassedly sweep the theater between movies.

Well, not in court it wouldn't be, because as Lannister pointed you, you are guilty of battery when you do that. Is someone being a jackass really worth a potential fine/jail sentence?

I was on a plan this weekend and encountered someone similar. They were sitting in the last row of the plane, I was 1 row ahead of them. They were in their 20s (2 guys and a girl) and the guys were being just obnoxious and rude. They were hasseling the flight attendant about moving, talking loudly, etc. Finally one of them decided to shove thie bag into the bin above my seat disregarding my laptop bag which was there. They shoved it in, which just shoved my bag (holding my laptop, 2 cell phones, chargers, etc) to the back and crumpling it up. I confronted the guy and told him to quit being a dick and told him he should have some respect for other stuff regardless of what he thinks is in a bag or what he thinks about others.

People like this just piss me off.

I find that some people are too sensitive though. Once I was on a Metro North train talking to someone on a phone - it was a fairly brief and important call (arranging picking me up). Some guy across from me is glaring at me like he would love nothing more than to slit my throat. That said, he looked a bit unstable, so I didn't respond to him. Just said what I needed to say and got off the phone.

But I too have had experiences with people who just don't understand that there are other people. Everyone from people who treat their cell phone like an 80's boombox to those who think that EVERYONE wants to hear about their trip to the bathroom this morning.

@itiswhatitis: Since it's burning you up inside to know: I usually ignore people in theaters unless they're being obnoxious. I am polite whenever I say something, regardless of their race/socioeconomic standing. I don't assume the offenders are a member of a particular race/socioeconomic standing beforehand, and most people who are obnoxious enough for me to actually say something are usually White teenagers. Do you feel better now?

@Tankueray: Mr. Pi and I both have iPhones, and we have friends who do as well. When we're all out together, and we hear that chime, we all look at our phones because we all have the same chime.

The reason for that is that the other chimes are really, really annoying. And I can't figure out how to add a chime to the list of noises you can use for texts.

@mrfr0g:
I agree to that.
It no longer makes us anonymous assholes.

@itiswhatitis: I'm not cool with assault as a means of calling attention to rudeness. Like PriceIsWrong, I think one's own rudeness in reaction to someone else's rudeness makes it worse.

One wrong is not an excuse for another.

What I can't stand is the freaking loud chime of an iPhone text message! I can sit in a busy bar and hear it dozens of times. Everyone within a 20' radius looks to see if it's theirs. Mine is Majel Roddenberry's voice, so the only one I know it's not is me. (There is an unnatural and very much planned saturation of iPhones here.)

Probably not the brightest thing to do. And I'd love to say I am not proud of that sort of behavior, yet here I am bragging about it on the internets.

@Tankueray: How do you look up a license plate number?

@MissTicklebritches: uggh.

"Survivor: LAX-BOS" I like it!

@itiswhatitis:

Welcome to America 2009, where many go out of thier way to be offended at any possible thing. Sigh.

IMO: It's not about race. It's not about economic status.

It's about culture, pure and simple. Thugs, maggots, criminals, obnoxities, societial leeches and other goblins come from every race and economic status, just as good people do.

Sure there's correlating data here that may help to foster larger amounts of these goblins in certain environments, and certain forms of goblinism may take on differing shapes depending on thier genesis.

But that's it-correlation is not causation: families/peoples that instill (and demand) good values and personal responsibility from themselves do so regardless of race or poverty level (it is what it is...ahem:)), and are people we'd all like to be around or at least, have around us compared to the opposite.

That said, on my work commute I've taken public transportation for the last four years now in the form of bus and train, and it's really starting to refine my general dislike for people as a whole.

So, forget I said anything. :D

I can tell you for certain in both of my cases race didn't play any role.

In both cases I decided to chastise the people BEFORE I looked at them. In the first I turned around specifically to do it, and in the second I made a trip to the OTHER SIDE of the theater to do it.

I was committed before I even looked. :-)

And that being said, in the first case I don't have a clue what race they were as I couldn't easily see them in the dark theatre. In the second case, due to my use of the penlight, I know they were a white male about 15-18 years old.

Lady, I like your style.

LOL Funny how "itiswhatitis" is an African American woman and you are calling her out for being "racist."

And of course proving that no cultural issue is too sensitive to exploit, there are now women who will ambush men standing next to them and threaten to accuse them of chikan, and extort money out of them, to the tune of several thousand USD.

Actually, I think more people than just him carry that same opinion. Your actions, by your own admission, constitute something worse. Is the person that ran into you a jerk for not apologizing? Of course they are, but you could easily have called them out without grabbing them.

If you had grabbed me, I would have thought you were trying to mug me and I likely would have punched you in the nose. But that's because I don't deal with people grabbing me very well.

A tap on the shoulder and an excuse me, you bumped into me you jerk, is thoroughly more embarrassing for the person you're talking to. Intimidating someone into apologizing just makes you a bully.

You'll have a hard time getting an honest apology from anyone that way.

@h3llc4t has a slow work day: The only thing I really hate at malls are slow people. There is a flow of traffic, people. Don't stop in front of others to talk. For some reason, we get a lot of tourists at our Tysons and Pentagon City malls, and on the weekends, they're stopping in the middle of the path, they're oohing and ahhing, and window browsing, and arrrrrgh!

@Lauchlin: Most people don't do that. Most people hold it up to near their face, and it's very, very bright.

@itiswhatitis: I think I was being unclear, then. I did try to answer your question...but my answer was that race doesn't necessarily guide people sometimes, it's perception about the reaction and sometimes that's race (i.e. all black people are loud and prone to confrontation) and sometimes it's about where you are (being totally out of place in less affluent areas).

@RecordStoreToughGuy_Is_Ista_Licious: I saw a comedian do that..can't remember who though. May have been Stephen Lynch.

@RecordStoreToughGuy_Is_Ista_Licious: I've had professors that stop class very quietly. When they notice someone is on their cell phone (said person is usually in the back), the prof would stop talking, raise his hand so that people would know there was a reason for it, and he'd just stand and stare at the person talking on their phone.

One of professors who had hawk eyes would take the phone and have a conversation with the person on the other end. There's nothing like public humiliation to snap someone out of their rudeness.

I personally wouldn't grab the phone out of his hand, but I would call the entire audience's attention to him. It's fun being the one on stage, sometimes.

@pecan 3.14159265: No they're northern Iowa McGees

@itiswhatitis: Yes, socioeconomic status does play into it, but this isn't a "lets hate the poor" thing - impoverished areas usually include more violence, more crime, more confrontation, and less civility and emphasis on resolving differences through words. The worse off a neighborhood is, the more likely that the people in it (especially of a certain age) have some kind of affiliation with violent individuals or violence in general. Rude people exist everywhere - the difference is, those who have had more resources tend to words to diffuse situations and are also more likely to use words to fight. Those who have fewer resources are less likely to use words, and more likely to use physical means of solving a problem, because that is bred from the culture of poverty, a culture of crime, and the need for survival.

Race, to me, doesn't play into it. It's perception about the likelihood that the person would respond with an apology, rather than something more confrontational.

I guess I'll have to be more careful about that in the future.

@Meiran: Personally, I feel rudeness should be a capitol offense. I always ask nicely first, then get loud and nasty if ignored or treated rudely. Hubby just puts his cane on the rude one's toe and leans on the turns. Working on getting him to stop that one

@Pinget: Uh, just a cultural difference, but after living there for a freaking YEAR, I think I have the ability to comment. And, just FYI, Britain is just great. Notable cultural different. Americans are loud and Brits won't speak up.

@Traveshamockery:

oh the texters. Of all thenasshole moves, that's the one that reeeeeally bugs me. Sit in the fourth row, shining your iphone shaped flashlight back at everyone.

@CFinWV: On that note, I have a very bad back, chronic pain from it, arthritis in both knees and hips, and I still get up and allow someone who's having more trouble than me sit down in my place. I'll still call an inconsiderate jerk out for this.

Years ago I'm at the post office in a long line trying to get a package sent out. A lady in front of me was talking very loudly on her cellphone to a friend about this older guy she's seeing...and how his wife is dying from malignant brain tumor. He's been thinking of calling off the affair, and cellphone lady's worried he will and wondering what she should do to keep the affair going. Everyone around her was horrified at what she was saying.

I do admit, there was a small part of me, that although horrified, wanted to keep on hearing what this lady was going to say next.

@itiswhatitis:

Actually, no. Your rudeness isn't justified. Its also not legal in most areas. Just because you think its right doesn't mean it is. Personally, I think the ide aof grabbing someone's shirt and demanding an apology is much worse behavior.

That's why more people don't do things like this.

@fredfreedom: Whoa! I didn't attribute the writer's authority due to his skin color. He's a very big dude, and such, people would not necessarily mess with him. But you assume that it's about his race, and you say that someone of another race in a similar situation wouldn't be nearly as lauded.

Your assumptions on race are unfounded. Everyone complaining here about rude people comes from different backgrounds and cultures. Your blanket assumptions on the race of people on this board are ludicrous.

@microcars: You're probably thinking of the tragic death of Kitty Genovese, in NYC in 1964. Unfortunately, that's not an example of the bystander effect; it seems the myth of people standing around and doing nothing was created by police speculation (which wasn't actually true).

There weren't a lot of people around (they were in their homes, asleep, with windows shut).

The 2 people who did hear something immediately called the police.

More information:
[www.onthemedia.org]
[www.mindhacks.com]

However, the bystander effect does exist - but it's unclear if that's what takes place on planes, trains, busses, etc. The key is whether or not the individuals in the place feel that they are a group. Without the group, there is no bystander effect - just a collection of individuals.

Now all I did was ask a question, but I guess since I brought up race all you can do is pick apart what I said. Let me ask you again, would you still turn around and be bold and tell them to shut the fuck up?

@h3llc4t has a slow work day: Is Sandypanties McGee related to Eyebrows McGee?

I answer this question in my book that comes out November 27, "I SEE RUDE PEOPLE: One woman's battle to beat some manners into impolite society," in which I recommend Consumerist, my very favorite blog!

@RCheli: But where in Chicago? There are good parts and bad parts to every city. Unless you've had a great theater experience in the worst part of the city, I think you probably live in the nicer parts of Chicago. What we're talking about is the areas to avoid past dark.

@burnedout: This worry - that I'll just get a dirty look and they'll keep chattering away, perhaps even louder - keeps me from saying anything. But then I just sit there and seethe and get very, very annoyed.

This happened to me on two separate long train ride recently. First, the woman right in front of me was on her cellphone for more than an hour. On the way back, two college students were talking across the aisle for 2 hours about their fraternities' hazing (they were in different schools and catching up). They were speaking quite loudly - and were directly behind me.

So aggravating - I wish I had said something. But what? I'm leaning towards just jumping into the conversation and seeing what happens.

When I'm on public transit, I don't fight for seats or anything unless I'm feeling bad or my bad knee is acting up. But since I go from one end of the line to another, I often am already seated when the crowds start. By that point, I'm usually lost in a book or a game, or just zoned out and staring out windows. I might even have my eyes closed. I'm usually not sitting and avoiding people's eyes to keep my seat, I'm just really exhausted and don't pay attention to anything outside my personal little sphere.

But on more than one occasion when people have asked politely, I've happily vacated for them. Sometimes I notice, and sometimes if my stop is coming up soon I'll just stand up anyway an offer my seat to whoever is closest.

I look a lot younger than I am, a lot of people have mistaken me for a high school student, especially since I carry a bookbag. So I know some people have probably thought I was some seflish, self-centered little brat but in the end, I actually have a lot of health problems and I'm just an exhausted wage slave and grad student trying to get home.

Moral of the story: please just ask. If people refuse after you ask politely, and don't offer up some sort of reason, then they're jerks. But I've noticed on public transit the big culprit is ennui.

@subtlefrog: That is sort of like driving along the interstate with some jerk tailgating when there are two or three lanes with no traffic at all, yet the jerk just has to stay on your bumper. I get really tempted to lock the brakes...

Yeah, Im basically a chicken.

The reason I don't speak up more is that by the time I am upset enough to say something I'm going to be fairly rude in response. Plus, I wouldn't doubt that some of the rude people in my area are under the influence or prone to violence.

@consumerwise: Citation, please.

@milkcake: It was at the Riverview (aka near the IKEA), in Philadelphia.

[www.phillymobile.com]

Or maybe there's more than one instance of this?

Reminds me of the time I was at Disney on the Haunted Mansion ride and yelled at the people in the car next to me to stop taking pictures. After about the 10th flash into the dark I hollared, "Enough with the flash." I'm not sure if the understood me perfectly but, there were no more flash pictures. This was after their large group couldn't keep together and the front part just stopped and I sort of ran into them.

If I am in Battery Park city and a couple is talking during the movie usually by someone say "shh" or asking them to be quiet, they comply. If I am in Co-op city in the bronx and a couple is making noise (talking loudly at the screen, texting, laughing obnoxiously) and someone says "shh" or asks them to be quiet the response is very different. Either a. they have some nasty remark to say to you, b. they get louder or c. they turn around and are ready to fight.

I wish I was making this up but im not. I have seen young teenagers act silly at a movie theater in Port Jefferson long island (white, middle/upper middle class area) and they stop their disruptive behavior when it is called out.

@mrsultana: Hey! We're not that bad in Kentucky! We aim for the kneecaps first. :D

Also, there's the risk that the person will decide that an assault charge would be worth it.

I'm sorry, maybe the world would be better if we confronted people with their rude behavior, but I don't feel like risking it.

@Rectilinear Propagation: Do I make it clear to the people that I'm making fun of them? Nope. Because it doesn't annoy me as much as it amuses me that they're acting like idiots in public.

@SpruceStreetPhil: I've had similar experiences in that theater, but actually my worst movie-going experience was at one of the Ritzes in Center City (independent theater chain, showing mostly foreign/indie films). The crowd there used to be super serious and very, very quiet - now the evening shows seem to be filled with mostly young women who CONSTANTLY text and ask each other what's going on in the movie.

I'm not going to speculate about their race, income, or where they live, but it definitely was not the kind of behavior I expected at that theater.

@itiswhatitis: @SpruceStreetPhil: I agree with SpruceStreetPhil. Consumerist ate my comment. I was saying that it's not about race, it's about the neighborhood. Less affluent areas are less inclined to have the resources to have "nice" things - and as such, may attract the less desirable members of society.

I purposely avoid going deep into the Southeast and Northeast portions of DC whenever possible. If you stroll down those streets and happen to note that it's more or less filled with black people, don't call me racist. The fact that it's filled with gang violence and homicides is the reason I stay away. DC is 55% African American. It's not about race. It's about poverty, gang violence, homelessness and drugs.

[www.telegraph.co.uk]

Fairly crowded theater and throughout the movie a kid of around 8-10 talked throughout the entire movie.

At one point I looked back and a mother with another child behind me (who was behaving) was looking at the trouble kid as well with a WTF? look.

After listening to it the entire movie and the credits roll, I stand up and say in a loud voice (later described by friend as the 'Voice of Satan') "Hey Kid, ask your parents why its rude to talk through an entire movie." and sit back down.

It's fun to do, and (usually) no one gets too mad.

HOWEVER, people who act like that woman on the plane should be fed to the nearest woodchipper.

These cellphone yakkers are some of the worst offenders against public decorum. My gym has a "no cell phone" policy, but that doesn't stop these jokers from holding forth any way. Some of these conversations are so loud that I can hear them clearly across a large room, even though I'm listening to rock & roll with my ear buds on. And are these conversations urgent? No, from what I've overheard, they're mostly of the "what time shall we meet later?" variety. I won't cry for these folks if it is discovered in twenty years that excessive cell phone use causes brain cancer...

@Hate_Brian_Club_I'mNotOnlyThePresidentI'mAClient: Bravo! I think that was actually a decent solution to the situation.

@thrashanddestroy: That is also my pet peeve. From both sides of the counter. If I am standing there and waiting to check out and the phone rings, by all means answer it...BUT put them on hold and take care of the person right in front of you. I have, on a couple of occasions, actually left what I was going to buy dumped all over the counter in front of the person being so disrespectful to me, the customer. In addition, if I receive a call while they are checking me out? I don't answer it. There is plenty of time to call them back when someone else isn't needing my attention to do their job properly.

I've been there twice (one was paid for by a coach) and won't go back. I pretty much hate going to movie theaters in the city where it seems the less affluent don't know public etiquette or any manners whatsoever.

@itiswhatitis: Yea sorry for any confusion, I couldn't quite make out the avatar.

Haha that's great to hear though, I would love to see you put some annoying cell phone user in his place!

I always think bc other people aren't speaking up, they're not as bothered by it as I am. hmmm. This article puts it in a new perspective. On the other hand, I'm worried that the offending party will get angry and just speak even more obnoxiously on the phone to further get on my nerves...

@microcars: Yep, it's called "bystander effect". The more people present, the less likely any one individual is to take action.

@pecan 3.14159265: yep, drunk and disorderly...what a douchbag...

@secret_curse:
Actually, no there aren't a lot of gropers. It is known to happen, but I have never seen it and have only been two degrees removed from it (an employee's daughter had to deal with a serial groper who targeted her, before a sting was set up to catch the perp0.

Similar to rapes known to happen on American trains....known to happen in the US, but you've never seen it it.

@randyfeldman: Sounds like you need some of the country living, get out of the city!

I think when you call someone out on being rude, you have to be very careful when you're rebuffing them. Along the lines of two wrongs don't make a right...someone else's rudeness does not necessarily warrant your returning their rudeness with your own. That makes you a particpant in the behavior you supposedly loathe.

@Katxyz: We definitely don't live in the same city.

I seen the 'louder on the cell' thing in action but I've been around plenty of people who feel the need to ramp up the volume even when the person is there. That or they're yelling across the store.

The volume problem happens enough in regular conversations that I don't see any reason to single out cell phone users. In fact, it was usually an in person conversation when I was riding the bus that was unnecessarily loud.

@JuliB: But it has nice pictograms!

@itiswhatitis: The bus drivers here are pretty aggressive about forcing people to get up, as well as forcing the people standing to move all the way back so those of us standing in the front aren't super crowded. Then again, the driver is sitting about 18 inches from the handicapped seats, so s/he can tell when there's a problem.

Now if I go to the Magic Johnson theater on 124th street or a theater on 42nd street or in the Bronx the experience is much different as well as the clientele (younger, minorities and children). They are disruptive, act like animals and ready to fight over everything.

Do you as the moviegoer still turn around and tell them to shut the fuck up?

I am just curious as to everyone's thoughts on this.

@itiswhatitis: Guy or girl?

The general rule for guys is the same as the jungle; if the guy (ape) looks bigger than you (monkey) you're more apt to back down (or use your monkey cunning to embarass them). So if you're a guy you gotta get up to like 300 lbs to gain some of that instant mean tough biker look

@DriverB: They could have probably called the cops, as he was drunk and could have started an altercation at any time, even without throwing a punch.

If someone ELSE get hurt or killed because of I confronted this crazy person, someone will sue my ass off, for I am not a trained professional authorized confronting rude airplane passengers.

Months ago while walking across a bridge in downtown Chicago someone poked me with an umbrella and scratched my face, said nothing and when I said "EXCUSE ME" the man looked at me like I wasn't worth his time, so I threw his umbrella in the river.

@Traveshamockery: Shepard Book says there's a special level of hell reserved for theater talkers.

@secret_curse: Every seat should also have a little meter as well, like the Woot Off meter. The higher the neon yellow bar is, the more likely you're going to get ejected.

My girlfriend and best friend, however, they both seem to have trouble understanding the concept. The little missus will loudly talk in public places, usually raising the volume of her voice the longer the conversation goes. The best friend? Even worse. He'll just drone on about pointless topics with absolutely NO idea that he's basically yelling into his phone regardless of where we are. Hell, he even attempts to order food or pay cashiers in mid-conversation, my most hated of pet peeves. Its embarrassing to be around, really.

I prefer to shop for shoes in person however I only go to stores where its self service so I don't have to bother the clerk so I can try on as many pairs as I want.

I think the fact that I'm moving helps people notice me if they're not paying attention (the eye is attracted to movement). I might also look like I'm about to walk into them since I'm saying it as I'm coming towards them.

1 - join the conversation. After they say something like "Did I tell you about the party at John's?" I'll answer loudly, "Oh yeah, that's the one where you got really drunk and everyone watched your pathetic crying over how Susie dumped you because you are lousy in bed? Yeah, we're all still talking and laughing at that one."

2 - take their picture. Then I type a bit (usually erasing it, but not always immediately) and comment on how the readers on "stupid people on the train(bus, whatever)dotcom" will LOVE this.

I make my own fun at home.

@katia802: The wost example of this that I have ever witnessed happened earlier this year, and it was shocking. It was rush hour, and I'm standing at the Metro platform, waiting for the train.

By the time it comes, the crowd is about six people deep and more people join the crowd as we start boarding. In the first three "rows," there's an older gentleman with a cane. I'm in the fifth "row" of the crowd. After the doors open and people step out, the crowd begins to surge forward. He walks in, and even though I'm pretty far back, I hear him announce that he's handicapped (not that it isn't opbvious).

It's orderly at first, but around the time the seventh or eighth "row" of people get into the car, it becomes clear that there is no more room for dispersion. People are packed in there, and there's no way of getting more space. But these people, it's like a crazy mob mentality took over, and they kept going forward, even though it was obvious that there was nowhere to go. People started complaining and shouting, and they kept pushing. Well, guess what happens? Yeah, the guy with the cane falls down because no one got up to offer him a seat, and he got stuck standing up, at least until the crazy mob decided to push.

Honestly, I think very few people talk as loudly in a real life conversation as they do on the cell phone. I know several people who talk in a perfectly normal tone in real life and then screech into the cell phone so that I have to pull it away from my ear when I'm talking to them on it, or leave the room when they're on the phone.
It's a weird phenomenon, but when people speak at that volume in a "regular" conversation it's just as annoying as on the cell phone. It's not as common.

In my experience, Moms are one of the worst victims of the normal-volume-speaking-voice-appallingly-loud-cellphone-voice affliction.

I think teenagers are often just heedless, not actively obnoxious. By being a little jokey in asking them to be quiet, they get embarrassed and apologetic rather than confrontation because I'm not being their mom.

Peer Pressure is very powerful and if someone is doing something you may think is socially or morally or even criminally unacceptable, you are just not going to do anything about it if everyone else appears to "accept" the behaviour. That and you also figure that someone else would "do something" if it was that serious.

One of the studies involved a woman who was assaulted on a street with many onlookers, no one did anything. They all thought "someone else" would call the police or intervene.

also- most people do not like to "rock the boat" or are afraid of any sort of confrontation. Personally I am not that sort of person, I will call someone out on their bullshit and generally they do NOT like it when someone calls them on their BS. They get all defensive and even more obnoxious because they are used to being left alone to do what they want.

This is another reason why I refuse to go to the Movies. In fact, where most people are assembled, I avoid. Usually places like Malls, Airports, Movies, Concerts. I'm happier this way and the Public appreciates it when I'm not violent.

@johnva: Yes, but lots of Japanese men grope women on trains, to the point that there are female-only cars in Tokyo. Loud cell phone talkers bug me, but not as much as sexual assault...

@lehrdude: I've always wondered if the military in fact has a device like that. It certainly isn't beyond the scope of current technology.

@LadySiren: Now, now, no need to argue. I think the ejector seat would be a perfect method of carrying out the voting results.

Since the poll said what we 'should' do I picked politely say something but I rarely do.

Group of people coming in the opposite direction won't make room on the sidewalk? I just stop walking. They can't tell me to watch where I'm going if I'm not going anywhere. They'll go around if you stand your ground.

Breathing down my neck in the self check-out? Why, you must be wondering how this machine works. Don't worry, I'll go really, really slow so you can see each step. I can't help you with the card reader though; I'm covering that up.

I have started saying something if someone is kicking my seat in a movie theater. For some reason talking isn't an issue in the theater closest to me.

As far as the seat thing goes, I found that if you stood closer and closer to them they eventually got up. Also my friend would solve the problem of people not moving or standing too close in line by farting on purpose. That definitely gets butts out of seats. Tell more old people to fart.

@burnedout: You are accurate in your observation. The guy from the NYT article has a slightly scary appearance and could probably get away with more than most...

@shepd: I have done the same thing. It was during cloverfield, and a group of 12-15 year old girls were pretty much talking the whole movie. So at one point it got really quiet, I leaned over and said "Hey, the movie is playing, could you shut the hell up?" which was met with applause. It is a wonderful feeling I must say.

I've always dreamed of one day owning a cell-phone jammer that not only blocks annoying people from receiving a signal, but that could fry every electronic piece in the phone making it useless...

@shepd: That action is the start of a fight in many places...

@itiswhatitis: I used to use the clipped and loud "PASS THROUGH, PLEASE!" as if I was carrying radiactive material but yet the "PLEASE" let them know I was being nice to tell them.

25% discount if you mention the flight number?

@Etoiles: I have issues with loud teens, too, even if they're not on the same car as me. I never have any clue whether they're laughing, fighting, or what, and since it seems like every day someone's getting shot at a Metro station and there aren't any metal detectors at any of the stations, I usually make it a goal to locate where the noise is coming from, and get out of the way. My concern is never that I'm going to complain and get embroiled in the problem, but that if it really is some kind of altercation, it may escalate and spill out - toward wherever I am, and that's a problem.

How interesting that you were able to talk to the person cutting you off.

@Rectilinear Propagation: People who talk on their phones at normal or loud volume, listen closely. If you are standing next to or near me, I won't complain. I'll just listen very closely to your conversation and make fun of you to my friends. Via text message or email, of course. Me getting on the phone to make fun of you would not only violate the entire premise of me making fun of you, it would also make it difficult for me to hear your conversation.

@GMFish: Tease.

My favorite line (and one which I've used many times in movie theaters) is, "Please stop talking. This isn't your living room."

The strange thing is that people seem honestly pissed when they're called on it -- as if they actually think that talking through a movie is completely acceptable and that you are in the wrong.

Amazing.

I don't know why we're so rude about it here, but a lot of Americans act like it's their unimpeachable right to be an inconsiderate ass. It's about time the pendulum swung the other way on that. I don't care about "decorum", but I would like some consideration.

@CFinWV: There's laughing, and then there's being obnoxious.

@jayse3000: There's a difference between being nonconfrontational and not caring. I have no doubt that a great deal of the people on that train could care less that a fellow human being was in danger. Didn't they begin instituting "female only" trains after it became extremely apparent that the assaults were becoming more common?

I'll offer my seat to someone who's elderly, injured, disabled, or a mom with a baby. A couple of times I've embarrassed someone in the handicap section into getting up and letting them sit there.

you, sir or madam, are amazing.

I've know a number of "loud" people in my life, my wife being one of them (which is kind of funny since she's a short, little petite person). I've often found that they have hearing problems and don't even comprehend how loud they are. Then they are somewhat taken aback when confronted, so a "gentle touch" may be called for.

On a related thought, I do not fly very often, but when I do I never seem to experience any of the horrible service issues you read about in forums such as this. Perhaps I've just been lucky, or maybe my expectations are not that high. I generally think the flight attendents and crew are doing the best that they can. I have more of a problem with passengers who seem to get on a plane with a determination to be as difficult as they can be -- bringing on luggage that should have been checked, stuffing it in the first overhead compartment they come to instead of proceeding to their own seat, and blocking the aisle while doing so. Then once airborne, they are continually getting their luggage down and putting it back as they "need" something in it. And generally, becuase these are often "frequent flyers" they seem to think they "royalty" and are complaining nonstop about something the flight attendants are or are not doing.

I guess for me, flying somewhere ocassionally is a treat in itself; I find very little to complain about.

It is worse in Japan. When I was living there last year a woman was raped on a crowded bullet train and nobody intervened. Just terrible.

But if someone's bag keeps whacking me? I'll ask them nicely to shift or to take it off.

I don't see why one is annoying and the other isn't especially since you hear the other side of the conversation when the other person is there.

As we were exiting the theater I said to the girl I was with (loudly) "You know what I hate? I hate it when people talk through an entire movie - especially when they're describing the movie to the person sitting next to them." At this point her boyfriend decided to defend her honor and turned around to confront the middle of my chest. I'm fairly big, and in pretty good shape. He stood there dumbfounded for a moment with his mouth slightly open and hurried out of the theater. Made the whole thing worth it.

Maybe the surprise that comes from a snarky remark is what gets the desired response??

@TheWillow: On one flight I had the SAME person a) grab the back of my seat for leverage while I was sipping my coffee so that it spilled on my neck (and it was HOT) and b) dropped his suitcase on my head as he was getting it out of the overhead. Both times I shouted loudly in pain and both times he SHH'D me! The second time he shh'd me everyone was standing up and saw what happened so I loudly said, "I think the words you MEANT to say were, excuse me, I'm sorry, is your HEAD ok?" His wife then slapped him upside the head so I felt better, but he didn't say a word...we even stood next to each other at baggage claim and he never uttered a single apology.

I had a blister and a lump for a few days, too...

I've spoken up sometimes, but only when the rudeness was really egregious. Sometimes it's just not worth it, or the irritation doesn't last long enough to merit the kerfluffle. The last time I spoke up was when these people were talking very loudly in front of me in the movie "Kinsey." Not so great a movie, but still, the dialogue in the seats in front of me was no better. Then they got to the first guy/guy kissing scene, and the man in the couple in front of me began loudly declaring how gross it was. It was stadium seating, so I stood up, leaned way over him and "You need to shut up. NOW." They shut up. After the movie, he shot me dirty looks and was clearly muttering to his girlfriend in an aggrieved fashion, but my only regret was not dumping my Coke down his back.

I do all my shopping online. Everything! Cars, shoes, houses, mortgages, oh yea, the TV too.

@Ihaveasmartpuppy:I do actually have customized ringtones made from mp3s for every person that calls me on a regular basis, that way I know if I can ignore it. But I keep them at a low level, and they aren't really obnoxious songs.

My biggest pet peeve is people who take up the handicapped seats on the bus. Especially now that my husband does need to sit (recent severe back injury, now using a cane). I can understand women with small children, but not 18-*20 yr olds, perfectly healthy, with their little butts planted in the seat and studiously ignoring the elderly lady with the walker as she struggles to stay upright in the moving bus. I have no problem speaking politely, then raising my voice to insure the entire bus knows what inconsiderate jerks they are. Never any physical fights, but a lot of thank yous from bus drivers.

She replied,

I paid for my ticket so I can do anything I want.

If you bothered to read the back of your ticket, you'd know that talking is not allowed.

I think it depends a little on the situation. If it's something that isn't actually bothering a lot of people, just you, that's your problem and you're less likely to have support from the people around you. If it's something that a lot of people are annoyed about, you can count on maybe one or two people nodding or at least acknowledging that they're also peeved.

Nope, a man. Just a 285 lb man (mostly fat, but that doesn't stop me from being able to be a pain in the ass) who gets told by his wife to stop looking so angry/imposing as I'm scaring children/young adults/ladies behind the counter. :^)

Were I a woman, and knew there was no way I was going to get punched in the face, I would have no problem telling someone when they were being an annoying a**hole.

A woman elbowed me in the face on her way off of the train this morning, looked back and saw me, and then kept walking without so much as an 'oopsie!' I grumbled something snarky and the guy sitting down near me looked at me like I was nuts.

@Jakuub: putting up your dukes?

Planes should be equipped with voting buttons on every seat.

Before and during the flight the passengers should be allowed to vote people off the plane.

Especially during the flight.

If you don't like it? Think you're likely to get voted off? Take the effing bus.

@Dooley: Please, please tell me you were on the freeway at 2 am on a dark and foggy night, and that your car had an unfortunate scrape with a red wall and as such, looked bloody on the front.

*sigh* hear the dialog, obviously

Halfway through I get tired of it, and during a quiet moment, I turn around and loudly inform them that there's a bar across the street where they can talk uninterrupted by the movie.

I got a round of applause from the other patrons, and a relatively quiet movie after that. :^D

I've also done the same thing to some idiot laughing so hard during a comedy that, I, across on the other side of the theatre, couldn't heat the dialog! WTF?!?! Went up to his seat on my way to the can with my penlight shining on him and said that I expect he'll shut up once I return. That mostly fixed the issue.

When I was in England, people were just "too nice" or too unconcerned to say anything to anyone. I was once on a bus that had no AC coming back from Stanstead, my boyfriend and I knew everyone on the bus was dying of heat stroke, but we also knew they would say NOTHING.

So, we had to tell the bus driver to open up the escape hatch!

This, of course didn't work that well, but at least we did SOMETHING. Also, when on a train, there was a teenaged couple bascially fornicating in front of everyone. There were hands under clothing! All the business people on the train with us as well as the families were upset, but wouldn't do anything. So, my boyfriend went up and kindly asked them to stop. They blew up and were pissed off, but they stopped and went and found separate seats (the train was pretty full).

However on the occasion that I can hear you over the noise canceling feature I turn around (usually they are behind me)and I ask them to be quiet. If that doesn't work I continuously stare at them making them really uncomfortable until they move, say something or end the conversation. You wanted attention, you now have my full, undivided attention. It is quite embarrassing for them.

That's like the time someone cut me off -- harshly -- on the freeway. They had an ad on the side of their car for "computer support services" and a local phone number. I called it, and saw the guy in the car in front of me pick up, and I said, "You shouldn't cut people off like that."