Nice Review Of My Book In The American Spectator
Thanks, Martin, for spotting it. It's by Christopher Orlet. An excerpt:
As far as Alkon is concerned, over-indulgent parents, cell phone loudmouths, dinner-time telemarketers (I would add leaf blower operators and motorcyclists with the loud pipes) are petty thieves. They are not just inconsiderate and rude, they are privacy muggers and bush league socio-paths, who steal our time and our peace of mind. And, for that, they should be invoiced for time wasted. Worse, they have hordes of enablers who rush to their defense, telling us to "deal," or "give 'em a break," or "if you don't like it, go to the library!" It's like the entire nation has Stockholm Syndrome, Alkon says, "where the hostage goes all cuddly on their kidnappers."Naturally, the Advice Goddess has a solution, one that is equal parts "pay it forward" and corrective justice: treat strangers like neighbors, but do not be impassive victims of rude behavior. Alkon even suggests following the French example of correcting other people's bratty children in public. Confrontation, however, is not always an option. One must pick one's fights, which usually means confronting only old ladies and moms and businessmen. "I...make it my business to just suck it up whenever somebody barking into a cell phone is wearing one of those gangland shower caps or looks like they might be armed," she writes.
Civilization does not come naturally to us, says Alkon. We have to aspire to it. To help us out, Alkon offers one little piece of advice that will make getting along with strangers a lot easier: It [comes] down to this: Your right to have loud, dull cell phone conversations [or to bring your screaming child on a plane] ends where the rest of our ears begin." Let's hope the inconsiderate bastards are listening.
That is very nice review and I agree with 99% of it.
But c'mon - leaf blowers? Unless it's before 9AM or past 6 or 7 PM yard work equipment is fair. Is it pleasant to listen to the droning of a Stihl gas powered blower? No. Not really. But would I rather deal with an afternoon of leaf blowing noise than look at a grody yard next to my house for a year until they rot.
All of my neighbors keep immaculate yards and that is not only pleasing to my eyes, it will be pleasing to my wallet when I sell in a couple of years.
Old fashioned raking is effective if your yard is the size of a shoebox, or if you are young and fit and have 8 hours to spend in the yard.
Gretchen at December 4, 2009 9:33 AM
I love the right-wingers-all pout when it comes to noise from crying babies, and the manners of the hoil-polloi. This is worth talking about!
How about, "your right to pollute the air stops where my nostrils and lungs begin?"
What is the diff between noise pollution and air pollution (except that air pollution can literally cause lung cancer)? Air pollution can destroy property values too. Crying babies? Not so sure about that.
This is another example how the right-wing consistently likes to select silly litle topics to crowd the newshole, obfuscating the real news. Big surprise--media is supported by advertising after all. Buy those pots and pans from Amy!
Yes, I wish people were more mannerly, and spoke to each without chronic invective and expletive. The coarseness yet repressiveness of our society is disheartening at times.
Somehow, moralizing about the lack of modern manners in a Niagara-like flow of four-letter words seems ... off-key?
Mr Big Sphincter in the Sky at December 4, 2009 11:32 AM
To be fair, noisy exhaust on motorcycles is safety thing, so cars can hear them and know they're there, and they get an insurance discount for having it. It is annoying though.
momof4 at December 4, 2009 11:38 AM
I just finished your book. It was great but I wish you had touched on people who park in the handicapped spaces who are not handicapped. I have a handicap and have a sticker to park in those spaces. Countless times I see drivers bounding out of their cars in the handicapped spots with the sticker on their car. You just know they got it from a sick grandmother or a deceased relative. Sometimes they park in those spots and don't have the handicapped sticker. Their excuse... they're just parking in the spot for a minute. I wish you'd do an expose on these people as this is my pet peeve.
Diane Rossi at December 4, 2009 2:20 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2009/12/04/nice_review_of.html#comment-1680654">comment from Diane RossiThanks, Diane -- I almost put a photo of an LA radio host parking in a handicapped space in the book, but I forgot to check to make sure he didn't have a tag on his mirror at the time. I wrote to him to ask and he never wrote back. I have to be very sure before I accuse people of things, but I have his picture at the Bank of America I used to go to, parking his fancy car in the handicapped space. It's awful.
Next time I see somebody doing that, I'll try to get a shot. I have some friends who have serious physical problems and I see how hard it is for them to do the slightest things, and I have a sense of what it means for someone who legitimately needs to park there to not be able to.
Additionally, part of the problem is that many people get these passes from their doctor when they do not legitimately need them. A friend has that problem in her neighborhood...as does one of her neighbors, who legitimately is entitled to the space the city created for him, because they're near St. John's hospital in Santa Monica. Here's the piece on that, on how being cheap (about parking at St. John's) is not a medical condition, by my friend Marie Standing (scroll down in the blog item):
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2008/10/07/the_bullshit_di.html
An excerpt from Marie's piece at the link above:
Amy Alkon at December 4, 2009 2:55 PM
"To be fair, noisy exhaust on motorcycles is safety thing, so cars can hear them and know they're there, and they get an insurance discount for having it."
This is complete, utter nonsense. "Safety thing", my half-million-mile, MSF-and-STAR-schooled butt!
Bikes have been banned from countless communities and national parks because of noise - and it has ALL been brought on by people fitting aftermarket pipes - to V-Twins and sportbikes, you name it. Agents do not have the resources to haul out a decibel meter, which is why blanket bans are in place.
If you ever decide to look up evidence to back your position, you'll find a sea of people justifying their pipe purchase...
...but you don't find BMW riders, among the quietest and most frequent riders, appearing in accident statistics with anywhere near the impact that such an assumption implies. You won't find anyone willing to explain just how noise makes them safer. Hey, the sport ute creeping up on you is nearly silent next to your flatulent blasting. You're safe from it, right?
No.
Loud pipes make the owner feel good, that's all - and it comes with a cost borne by others. This guy explains this very well.
Lots of people mistake noise for power. If your pal has a sooty aftermarket pipe, he's ignorant about how his bike works and quite unqualified to report on other than his or her personal opinion.
Radwaste at December 4, 2009 6:55 PM
The Goddess writes: Thanks, Diane -- I almost put a photo of an LA radio host parking in a handicapped space in the book, but I forgot to check to make sure he didn't have a tag on his mirror at the time. I wrote to him to ask and he never wrote back. I have to be very sure before I accuse people of things, but I have his picture at the Bank of America I used to go to, parking his fancy car in the handicapped space. It's awful.
Next time I see somebody doing that, I'll try to get a shot. I have some friends who have serious physical problems and I see how hard it is for them to do the slightest things, and I have a sense of what it means for someone who legitimately needs to park there to not be able to.
Worse than awful. It's just plain selfish and cruel. And I agree that you have to be extremely careful before you accuse. Not every handicap is readily apparent.
Patrick at December 4, 2009 9:30 PM
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