I don’t use Amtrak terribly often, but I’ve always wondered about those so-called “quiet cars” – ie, no cell phones. Lakeysha Beard sat down in one such “quiet car” in Oakland, Cal, got out her cell and started talking, and talking, and talking. Sixteen hours later, in Salem, Oregon, police removed her from the train. KATU News reports:
A woman who got pulled of an Amtrak train by police after passengers complained she was speaking too loudly on a cell phone said she felt “disrespected” by the entire incident.
On the other hand:
An Amtrak official said a number of passengers complained Beard was being disrespectful during her prolonged phone conversations on the train.
A reader at Tim Blair’s website down under comments:
Once a society reaches the point where common courtesy must be legislated, they’ve really just about admitted that they’ve failed.
Ed Driscoll makes this his Quote of the Day. It’s certainly where our societal choo-choo is headed — a world where basic social interactions have to be micro-regulated, and where, for all the hyper-legalisms attending every activity, the enforcers take 16 hours to show up, if at all.