Can You Hear Me Now? In Tierra del Fuego?

Last Thursday in this space, I wrote about modern telephone etiquette. Part of that dealt with the importance of not loudly broadcasting your "private" conversations via cell phone for all the world to hear. As usual, I posted a link to the blog post to my Facebook page, and my friend Richard posted this comment:

I know this isn't the same thing, but this morning, sitting in the line at McDonald's, the car behind me was blasting his music so loud that it felt like it was inside my head. It was actually uncomfortable. I wanted to drop a "flash/bang" in his lap, but I didn't have one with me.

To which Gonzo Dave added his two cents:

Sounds like a topic for another Bilbo post.

And how could I pass up such an opening?

Yes, broadcasting one's music at top volume is another one of those things that makes Bilbo really cranky*. Back in the late 1970's, I worked at an Air Force unit on a small kaserne in Germany. Our offices were in a building that faced onto a large parking lot, with two dormitories for single enlisted personnel on two other sides. During the summer, on any given day at least one person would have his stereo speakers - each about the size of a Stonehenge monolith - perched in his open windows so that he could share his favorite music** with everyone within a ten mile radius. No matter how often we complained about it, the problem never went away and we were forced to put up with the deafening din of someone else's music. You have probably suffered a similar problem if you've ever lived in an apartment or a college dorm.

And, as Richard pointed out, there are people who have stereo rigs in their cars that would drown out the end of the world. When you're sitting at a traffic light and some ass clown is sitting next to you with his windows rolled down and his stereo volume cranked up high enough to rock your car on its springs and wake up the neighbors three Zip Codes over*** ...

... you wish for something useful, like ear plugs or an acoustic homing missile with a ten megaton warhead.

What is it with some people that they have to blast their music at such tremendous volume? Certainly a complete and selfish disinterest in the feelings of anyone but themselves plays a role, but what can you actually hear when the sound is so loud that it makes your ears bleed?

These are the people who can't carry on a normal conversation⁺ because their hearing has been wrecked.

Dear Readers, I love music ... but I don't need to have it blasted at me as if from a firehose, and neither do you.

Have a good day. And have a little compassion for those who may not like your thunderous musical offerings. Someday, it may save your life⁺⁺.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* If you want to know about other things that make me cranky, check out this post from October of last year.

** In those days, usually acid rock.

*** NASA has learned that the mysterious lights on Ceres are in the homes of aliens awakened by deafening music played by bass-deafened dumbasses on Earth.

⁺ Other than teabaggers.

⁺⁺ Because you never know any more who may be packing heat and ready to demonstrate it for you.