I venture into town on the occasional Wednesday (or sometimes Friday) to meet up with some buddies to have a little drink and talk a little treason. Sitting at the outside tables on a recent evening, I spotted the ubiquitous Driving-While-Cell-Phoning motorist and made the usual comment, "Hey lady, hang up and drive your car".
My Libertarian friend contended that I sounded like "a typical Nanny-State Liberal who needs to tell everybody how to live their lives". Something else came up and we didn't get into it, but I've been thinking about that for a while now. His assertion that basically, I was butting in where I didn't belong is one of those great turnaround attacks that tend to stop debate, but here's the thing: Isn't it really the case that the driver talking on the phone is the one forcing the rest of us to live by her standards? Why do all the other drivers and bike riders and pedestrians have to accommodate her? What's so special about her and what she has to do? Why do all of us have to adjust and be a little extra cautious just because she has to "be in touch"?
If I'm a client or a colleague (eg) on the phone with her while she's driving, I know I'm not getting her full attention, and I think I deserve better.
If I'm her friend and I care about what happens to her, then I think I should tell her to hang up and I'll catch her later - or at least I should tell her to pull over for a bit so we can talk. After all, there's a lot of boneheads on the roads these days who aren't paying as much attention to their driving because they're distracted by something like - I dunno - TALKING ON THE FUCKING PHONE!
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