more on my favorite pet peeve

In case you hadn't gotten it from several of my previous posts, my favorite pet peeve has to be cell phone use. This post is going to be more about sharing two different news stories – yes, real stories that have been in the new somewhat recently, not just my own rantings on the subject.


The first story has to do with the 'fact' (I will use that term loosely for now, because the general population is not in agreement that this indeed a fact) that cell phone usage is ultimately dangerous.

A young woman in Toronto was killed and the only reason for her death was her cellphone usage. Her death was 100% preventable, and in my opinion 99.9% her own fault. Don't get me wrong, I am not at all happy in her death, I think its very sad, and very unfortunate. But it was also preventable. I feel especially bad for the driver of the truck, who couldn't possibly have seen her, as she was the one who walked into the truck. But maybe 0.1% was his fault, because if it were me, I would have noticed the woman on the corner chatting away on her cell, and honestly (this might be the saddest part yet) I probably would have expected her to do something stupid, like walk out in front of my car. I have been driving enough to see cell phone users (both pedestrian and drivers) do really stupid things, simply because they are not paying attention. It is sad that other drivers and other pedestrians now have to be prepared for even more craziness on the roads because of cell phone usage.

This story only affirms my belief that cellphone usage is too disruptive and too distracting to be in place 100% of the time.



The next story has a different twist, no one dies, no one is injured. However, this story also affirms my belief that cellphone usage is very much disrespectful. I do not like it when I am almost side-swiped, cut-off or rear-ended on the streets by cellphone using drivers. But I also don't like it when I am hit in the grocery store by a cellphone using buggy pusher. If you are anywhere and other people are around, YOU must be aware of your surroundings, and YOU must not infringe on other people's rights to be safe while upholding your own supposed right to talk on the phone wherever you want.

The setting is a high school in BC. Like many schools it has a cellphone ban in effect. And like many schools, the students (and even some teachers) are not respecting the rules. Putting effective disciplinary measures in place proves to be challenging, because (for some reason) these kids (and the few teachers) believe it is their “right” to use their cellphones whenever and wherever they want.
You may have guessed that I certainly don't agree that this is a RIGHT... A privilege maybe, but a RIGHT?? Nope, not in my books.

But back to the school. Seems the teachers and principal were at their wits end with this. The principal did something that is rather brave, and something that I could see myself doing if I were in a similar position, but unfortunately it was also something illegal. He went online and bought a cellphone jammer from China, had it delivered then installed it in the school.

Didn't take long for the students to notice their phones weren't working. I ask – if you (student) was obeying the cellphone ban, how would you have noticed the jammer? Its pretty obvious to me that the only way you could have noticed the jammer was when you went to use your cell and it wasn't working.
Unfortunately though, two wrongs don't make a right. The principal had to unplug and stop using the jammer. I agree with that. What I don't agree with so much are the rest of the arguments made by the students (and some parents, some teachers, even some government officials).

1. It's illegal to use the jammer. I agree with this, and understand why it is illegal.
2. It takes away the rights of the cell phone user. Not agreeing with this – its NO ONE's right to talk or text whenever they want, with complete disregard for their surroundings.
3. It takes away their ability to contact parents/guardians in cases of emergency. Not agreeing with this – there is always another way. Its called a regular phone, as old-fashioned as it might seem. Or a pay phone (even though they now cost a whopping 50 cents!) In cases of emergency, the school office should already know and make that call to the parent/guardian. And if the parent needs to reach the kid – again, call the school office, that is what they are there for.
4. It is archaic and contrary to the social develop needs of today – Though I understand why this argument is made, I still don't agree. I don't agree that society today should be so wrapped around their little gadgets. And they speak of social development... the last time I spoke in person to someone that does about 95% of their communicating electronically, well, lets just say that it was actually very hard to carry on a conversation with them – its almost as if they didn't even know how to talk in real-life. They kept saying - "wow, communicating is so much easier online." Though I myself use email as my primary method of communication, I am not inept in regular personal face-to-face encounters. And my preference towards email usage has a lot more to do with the fact that email allows both me and the recipient to communicate at a time most convenient to ourselves.

I guess I just wonder about the whole “its my right to use my cellphone” deal. Is it really your *right* to potentially danger yourself and others? Is it your *right* to be distracting? Is it your *right* to be an impaired nuisance or worse? If it is really your *right*, then it should also be MY RIGHT not to be bothered, inconvenienced, endangered or killed by your cell usage. Unfortunately your rights seem to outweigh my rights.

I remember something about my mother – who never had an answering machine or voice mail. She used to say “if its important enough, they will call back.” If its an emergency, someone will find some other way of reaching you, and you can find some other way of reaching them. Unfortunately for that woman in Toronto, she lost her life for her *right* to her cellphone use. And our children are giving up their right to a proper education, because for some reason their *right* to chat with their friends (which I believe is the MAIN reason for their cell using, NOT to call parents in emergency situations – because emergencies just don't happen that often) outweighs their right to be educated.

And this might even stem into another blog entry – what constitutes an emergency these days? I guess that since luxuries have turned into necessities, and privileges have turned into rights, that anything can be considered an emergency.