Kudos! I love this story.

That's like the time someone cut me off -- harshly -- on the freeway. They had an ad on the side of their car for "computer support services" and a local phone number. I called it, and saw the guy in the car in front of me pick up, and I said, "You shouldn't cut people off like that."

I speak up. Grant it I don't fly too much anymore but I take public transportation alot (MTA buses, express buses and the LIRR). My biggest pet peeve is cell phones. I learned that I can't fight the masses when it comes to people blabbing on for hours on end about jack shit so I bought noise canceling headphones.

However on the occasion that I can hear you over the noise canceling feature I turn around (usually they are behind me)and I ask them to be quiet. If that doesn't work I continuously stare at them making them really uncomfortable until they move, say something or end the conversation. You wanted attention, you now have my full, undivided attention. It is quite embarrassing for them.

Kudos to this man! Good show.

When I was in England, people were just "too nice" or too unconcerned to say anything to anyone. I was once on a bus that had no AC coming back from Stanstead, my boyfriend and I knew everyone on the bus was dying of heat stroke, but we also knew they would say NOTHING.

So, we had to tell the bus driver to open up the escape hatch!

This, of course didn't work that well, but at least we did SOMETHING. Also, when on a train, there was a teenaged couple bascially fornicating in front of everyone. There were hands under clothing! All the business people on the train with us as well as the families were upset, but wouldn't do anything. So, my boyfriend went up and kindly asked them to stop. They blew up and were pissed off, but they stopped and went and found separate seats (the train was pretty full).

no option 3: Fisticuffs?

Heh! I've had this in a theatre before! A crowd of idiots a few rows behind decide they need to talk through the move Grudge.

Halfway through I get tired of it, and during a quiet moment, I turn around and loudly inform them that there's a bar across the street where they can talk uninterrupted by the movie.

I got a round of applause from the other patrons, and a relatively quiet movie after that. :^D

I've also done the same thing to some idiot laughing so hard during a comedy that, I, across on the other side of the theatre, couldn't heat the dialog! WTF?!?! Went up to his seat on my way to the can with my penlight shining on him and said that I expect he'll shut up once I return. That mostly fixed the issue.

@shepd:

*sigh* hear the dialog, obviously

@Dooley: Please, please tell me you were on the freeway at 2 am on a dark and foggy night, and that your car had an unfortunate scrape with a red wall and as such, looked bloody on the front.

@Jakuub: I'm surprised what that guy did didn't lead to option 3... There's a difference between "politely confront the rude people" and "snarkily confront the rude people."

Planes should be equipped with voting buttons on every seat.

Before and during the flight the passengers should be allowed to vote people off the plane.

Especially during the flight.

If you don't like it? Think you're likely to get voted off? Take the effing bus.

@TheWillow: politeness doesn't always work. I live in NYC and I find I will say excuse me to get by and people don't move, I say it again, louder, they don't move. Then I say "get the fuck out of my way" and suddenly they hear me loud and clear. Sometimes you have to be brash with people because otherwise they will stay trapped in their own self-important world.

@Jakuub: putting up your dukes?

Personally, I prefer to passive-aggressively mutter to myself towards their retreating back.

A woman elbowed me in the face on her way off of the train this morning, looked back and saw me, and then kept walking without so much as an 'oopsie!' I grumbled something snarky and the guy sitting down near me looked at me like I was nuts.

I think it really depends on the situation. Some things are worth speaking up about and others aren't.

@shepd: I'm guessing that you're a woman. If a guy were to shine a flashlight on a moviegoer and tell them to shut up, there's a good chance that he would get a fist in the mouth in reply.

Were I a woman, and knew there was no way I was going to get punched in the face, I would have no problem telling someone when they were being an annoying a**hole.

@TheWillow: you are a patient person. I have snatched people back that have hit me. Im pretty solid and I know you know you hit me, so don't be a dick and keep walking. I normally grab the back of their shirt or coat and then say to them " you don't understand the word excuse me?" The shock that someone actually confronted them about their blatant rudeness overrides the fact that i grabbed them back towards me. 100% of the time I have gotten apologies but using this method.

@eccsame:

Nope, a man. Just a 285 lb man (mostly fat, but that doesn't stop me from being able to be a pain in the ass) who gets told by his wife to stop looking so angry/imposing as I'm scaring children/young adults/ladies behind the counter. :^)

If I'm in public, I'm almost embarrassed to answer my phone. I keep my conversations discreet, to the point, and quick. If I'm in a store, and my phone call goes over a minute, I'll push the other party to get off the phone, asap.

@itiswhatitis: oh and I also have no qualms about telling people (loudly) to cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze. Basic fucking manners seem to be a thing of the past. I figure being embarrassed publicly will rectify whatever self-absorbed, nasty habit you have developed.

Larry Winget I love you and want to have your baby. If I was of child bearing age. Or gender. Which I'm not.

I play air cop when I fly (which is a lot). The worst thing is when the flight attendants don't back you up if you notice something against the rules. (Like the woman who didn't understand enough English to be in the exit row...)

@Pibbs: I am this way as well. All my friends know to not call me when I am on the bus or train as I wont talk (it would be hypocritical of me to blab away when I hate it when others do it). Nothing is that urgent that it can't wait until I am off the bus.

Hahahaha, great story. I voted for "Seethe," just because one of my best ways to make friends is to collectively make fun of someone else who everybody doesn't like.

@colorisnteverything: Because the Brits won't say anything, their society is going to Hell in a handbasket. The miscreants have learned that they can do anything with impunity. Americans have to continue to speak up, or just look to Britain to see what we will become otherwise.

I think it depends a little on the situation. If it's something that isn't actually bothering a lot of people, just you, that's your problem and you're less likely to have support from the people around you. If it's something that a lot of people are annoyed about, you can count on maybe one or two people nodding or at least acknowledging that they're also peeved.

@Pibbs: Ditto - i keep my voice low, get to the point and get off the line. I literally cannot understand how people can walk around a store for an hour talking at full volume on their phone about mindless shit without feeling a hint of self consciousness...

@Pibbs: I'm the same way. Just not comfortable with phone yakking in public and making noise. No weird, LOUD or stupid ringtones either (for when it actually rings...which is maybe twice a month).

This story reminds me of this article I read long time ago. A man took out a gun and shot a person in a movie theater because he was talking so loud.

I was in a movie theater and the woman behind me kept yapping. I finally turned around and asked her to stop talking.

She replied,

I paid for my ticket so I can do anything I want.

If you bothered to read the back of your ticket, you'd know that talking is not allowed.

My biggest pet peeve is people who take up the handicapped seats on the bus. Especially now that my husband does need to sit (recent severe back injury, now using a cane). I can understand women with small children, but not 18-*20 yr olds, perfectly healthy, with their little butts planted in the seat and studiously ignoring the elderly lady with the walker as she struggles to stay upright in the moving bus. I have no problem speaking politely, then raising my voice to insure the entire bus knows what inconsiderate jerks they are. Never any physical fights, but a lot of thank yous from bus drivers.

@itiswhatitis: @jonmason1977: I'm glad I'm not the only person in the world like this. Walking through the supermarket is mind-numbing when I see the woman in her mid-40's yammering on about something stupid while grabbing at every package of meat looking for the "right" one.

@Ihaveasmartpuppy:I do actually have customized ringtones made from mp3s for every person that calls me on a regular basis, that way I know if I can ignore it. But I keep them at a low level, and they aren't really obnoxious songs.

@itiswhatitis: Just be careful. That's technically battery.

This is why I don't go to arenas, stadia, or shopping malls any longer. The view of the event at home is better; concession stand is stocked only with stuff I like to eat; also much cheaper. The bathrooms are clean and not crowded. If the game is lousy TV Land is a click away.

I do all my shopping online. Everything! Cars, shoes, houses, mortgages, oh yea, the TV too.

@GMFish: If I worked in that movie theater (I did work as an usher for over a year), they would have been gone in an instant. Go argue with the manager all you like, 1 person is not more important than 150.

I've spoken up sometimes, but only when the rudeness was really egregious. Sometimes it's just not worth it, or the irritation doesn't last long enough to merit the kerfluffle. The last time I spoke up was when these people were talking very loudly in front of me in the movie "Kinsey." Not so great a movie, but still, the dialogue in the seats in front of me was no better. Then they got to the first guy/guy kissing scene, and the man in the couple in front of me began loudly declaring how gross it was. It was stadium seating, so I stood up, leaned way over him and "You need to shut up. NOW." They shut up. After the movie, he shot me dirty looks and was clearly muttering to his girlfriend in an aggrieved fashion, but my only regret was not dumping my Coke down his back.

The protagonist on Breaking Bad handled a seriously obnoxious cellphone user by blowing up the jerk's little sports car. If the Breaking Bad episode had been shown in a theater, the audience would have given that scene a standing ovation.

Polite confrontation NEVER works for me - if I ask "could you please keep it down" I usually get a dirty look and they talk louder.

Maybe the surprise that comes from a snarky remark is what gets the desired response??

@TheWillow: On one flight I had the SAME person a) grab the back of my seat for leverage while I was sipping my coffee so that it spilled on my neck (and it was HOT) and b) dropped his suitcase on my head as he was getting it out of the overhead. Both times I shouted loudly in pain and both times he SHH'D me! The second time he shh'd me everyone was standing up and saw what happened so I loudly said, "I think the words you MEANT to say were, excuse me, I'm sorry, is your HEAD ok?" His wife then slapped him upside the head so I felt better, but he didn't say a word...we even stood next to each other at baggage claim and he never uttered a single apology.

I had a blister and a lump for a few days, too...

@shepd: Wow, someone laughing at a comedy! The horrors!

I was in a movie theater once and there was a teenage girl sitting behind me (I'm in my early 20s at this point) who described the ENTIRE movie to the person sitting next to her - and no, her friend was not blind. I had seen the movie before so I was more amused than anything, but I ended up taking a kind of passive-agressive approach when I left.

As we were exiting the theater I said to the girl I was with (loudly) "You know what I hate? I hate it when people talk through an entire movie - especially when they're describing the movie to the person sitting next to them." At this point her boyfriend decided to defend her honor and turned around to confront the middle of my chest. I'm fairly big, and in pretty good shape. He stood there dumbfounded for a moment with his mouth slightly open and hurried out of the theater. Made the whole thing worth it.

@jonmason1977: What I don't get is that no one complains when someone is yakking a full volume to the person standing next to them.

I don't see why one is annoying and the other isn't especially since you hear the other side of the conversation when the other person is there.

@itiswhatitis: You have to be careful about touching people. I usually just yell "EXCUSE YOU!" in an angry tone.

@Pibbs: My neighbor enjoys standing in front of his house using the the push to talk feature to have conversations with his friends. Luckily he keeps volume turned way up and he talks really loud, saves the rest of the neighborhood the effort of eavesdropping.

@pecan 3.14159265: There's also the case of not wanting to be at the center of an altercation. If I'm on the Metro and it's me and a little old lady in the car, and then four large, loud, aggravating teenagers get on and start shouting, throwing food around, swearing, shoving, etc., I'm going to make it a priority to get the hell out of there first and then complain to someone else.

But if someone's bag keeps whacking me? I'll ask them nicely to shift or to take it off.

It is worse in Japan. When I was living there last year a woman was raped on a crowded bullet train and nobody intervened. Just terrible.

I've know a number of "loud" people in my life, my wife being one of them (which is kind of funny since she's a short, little petite person). I've often found that they have hearing problems and don't even comprehend how loud they are. Then they are somewhat taken aback when confronted, so a "gentle touch" may be called for.

On a related thought, I do not fly very often, but when I do I never seem to experience any of the horrible service issues you read about in forums such as this. Perhaps I've just been lucky, or maybe my expectations are not that high. I generally think the flight attendents and crew are doing the best that they can. I have more of a problem with passengers who seem to get on a plane with a determination to be as difficult as they can be -- bringing on luggage that should have been checked, stuffing it in the first overhead compartment they come to instead of proceeding to their own seat, and blocking the aisle while doing so. Then once airborne, they are continually getting their luggage down and putting it back as they "need" something in it. And generally, becuase these are often "frequent flyers" they seem to think they "royalty" and are complaining nonstop about something the flight attendants are or are not doing.

I guess for me, flying somewhere ocassionally is a treat in itself; I find very little to complain about.

@katia802: To be fair, handicapped status does not have to be visually apparent nor is it based on age. There are plenty of young adults with chronic pain or other ailments who may or may not need a cane or other visible device who are in fact legally handicapped.

you, sir or madam, are amazing.

@CFinWV: Thank god Nextel usage has gone way down. I remember when that beep used to trigger a knee-jerk reaction of a dirty look in the general direction of the noise.

@katia802: Even worse are the people who sit in the middle and then either fling their legs apart as far as possible (always a guy) or decide that the small item they're carrying needs it's own seat.

I'll offer my seat to someone who's elderly, injured, disabled, or a mom with a baby. A couple of times I've embarrassed someone in the handicap section into getting up and letting them sit there.