# 911 hanging up on caller for swearing -- can they DO that? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 4, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308 "2009-05-04T17:22:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/161 "2009-05-06T06:24:11Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Missed the edit, of course the very famous saying was “nobody died when Clinton lied” > > And it was taking that into account that it was clear to me that it was retarded for you to come with this: > > “The difference between you and me is that because he’s my guy I’m willing to see alternative explanations; and because he’s not your guy you are perfectly content to jump to the most damaging conclusion and make accusations of lying when any number of other reasons may be the actual explanation.” > > No, I’m willing to recognize when a leader lies, even if it is on my side. You are incapable of that, so you continue to willfully ignore the evidence that exists against your leaders. > > That is clear to me. Ah…clarity at last. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/162 "2009-05-06T06:33:53Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > Incorrect. 911 is a “magical” system by which you get the help you need. Even if you call it and hang up, the police will come. For all they know you called for help and then passed out, or you called for help and the person breaking into your house pulled the phone out of the wall, etc etc. > > You (and others) can pick apart everything the girl said and did. You can guess what kind of person she is or if she’s got a smart mouth. You can say that she should have just cleaned up her mouth and asked nicely. You can do all of this as long as you want because the simple fact is that he failed to do his job and could have been the cause of a loss of life. No, this time he didn’t cause a death, but had she not complained who knows what could have happened? > > I know good police officers who really are trying to help the public and do the best job they can. They probably get cursed at every single day. They ignore the language and do their jobs because they realize that if they are in a situation with the public, it’s an escalated situation and emotions run high. They don’t turn into Miss Manners to lecture people, scold them, and refuse to help them properly. > > Look how easily he failed to do his job. He was manipulated (if you want to assign her blame) by a seventeen year old! He’s been on the force for over twenty years and he was so easily distracted by the word fuck that he put someone’s life in danger? That’s a pretty piss poor example of a police officer some of you people are defending. Bullshit. It is not magical. You will get a response but without the right information you may not get the response you want or need. The cop was wrong. The is no excuse for that, but calling 911 isn’t like putting in an order at the drive thru. You can’t afford to get pissy when your order doesn’t have the effect you want. I don’t see anyone defending the officer. But two people can be wrong. He should have been able to do his job regardless of the actions of the other person. He should never have hung up. > [@](#): > > Come on, do I have to breakdown everything for you? I stated “Actually, that much was made clear when she dialed 911.” Obviously there are prank calls and some people’s distorted views of what constitutes an emergency. That’s all irrelevant until such information is demonstrably true. Until that point, it is an emergency, for all practical purposes. There is a difference between saying that all 911 calls should be treated like an emergency and that there is an emergency because its on 911. > [@](#): > > The girl is a tool, yes I agree, so are alot of the people who call. Part of why the system is not mired in 2 year olds who burned their finger on a pop tart is that the 911 operators take the time to ask the right questions and determine the correct response. Even with good information 911 responses are often restricted to basic response until an official assessment of the scene by first in units justifies greater response. Which is pretty much what I was trying to say. Being a 911 dispatcher is a very difficult job. I have worked with several incompetent ones. Most do their jobs adequately. Those that are great at the job are great to work with. It makes the job much easier. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/163 "2009-05-06T06:39:02Z")
**Loach** , you need to learn how to quote people because the 2nd and 3rd quote boxes you have were not by me and the way you’ve quoted it makes it appear to be so. Also, you’re still trying to blame the girl for something that it’s not her job to take care of. It is 100% the fault of the person who was being paid to do a job that he is clearly not qualified to do. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/164 "2009-05-06T06:42:54Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Oh really? Can you point how many agree with your positions? Don’t be ridiculous. I never expect people around here to agree with me. If they did, this wouldn’t be a leftie board. I could go to a rightie board however and post the exact same things and be applauded. > [@GIGObuster](#): > > And no, you are wrong if you think that there are no conservatives in this message board. So, given I don’t think that, I must therefore be right. Right? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/165 "2009-05-06T06:44:24Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > So, given I don’t think that, I must therefore be right. Right? Nah. There are lots of ways to be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/166 "2009-05-06T06:55:04Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Don’t be ridiculous. I never expect people around here to agree with me. If they did, this wouldn’t be a leftie board. I could go to a rightie board however and post the exact same things and be applauded. By a diminishing crowd. > [@](#): > > So, given I don’t think that, I must therefore be right. Right? What **Bryan Ekers** said. And if what you said was correct I would expect at least someone to support your points on Vince Foster for example. The conclusion remains that it is really silly to pretend all those points are coming from your brain when those same points were seen coming from glurge, right wing spam or right wing message boards (Hey, it is good to see that you are expanding your horizons! :)) ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/167 "2009-05-06T06:59:04Z")
If you’re going to continue to accuse me of lying, there isn’t anything more for us to talk about. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/168 "2009-05-06T07:01:04Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > **Loach** , you need to learn how to quote people because the 2nd and 3rd quote boxes you have were not by me and the way you’ve quoted it makes it appear to be so. > > Also, you’re still trying to blame the girl for something that it’s not her job to take care of. It is 100% the fault of the person who was being paid to do a job that he is clearly not qualified to do. No I don’t. I just didn’t want to take the time to go back and type in the names. It wasn’t attributed to you and those that said it will know who I was talking to. The cop was 100% wrong. There was nothing about his actions that was correct. I was trying to be informational rather than place blame. In my experience there are a lot of callers to 911 that demand help and get indignant when they are questioned by the dispatcher. When the dispatcher does not get the information they need it causes delays to the help they want. Often when they get incomplete information they will send a cop to find out what is going on. That will cause delays if what you really need are paramedics. Don’t forget that what I was originally responding to was: [QUOTE=Inner Stickler] She told the officer that there was an emergency and where it was. That’s what you are supposed to do when calling 911, is it not? [/QUOTE] And the answer is “No”. That is not all. More information is needed. The dispatcher should have been able to draw that information out. He didn’t. But you might be surprised how often callers resist giving information when they call 911. Now lets get out of the way. Don’t you know this is the **Starving Artist** show? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/169 "2009-05-06T07:10:43Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Now lets get out of the way. Don’t you know this is the **Starving Artist** show? Yeah, that **Starvey**. He just won’t stop answering people, will he? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/170 "2009-05-06T07:22:47Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Yeah, that **Starvey**. He just won’t stop answering people, will he? :rolleyes: As long as you realize that sometimes you should just let it [go](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=512715). ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/171 "2009-05-06T07:28:49Z")
Well, all right then. Goodnight. ---
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/172 "2009-05-06T08:38:02Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > No I don’t. I just didn’t want to take the time to go back and type in the names. It wasn’t attributed to you and those that said it will know who I was talking to. O rly? > [@](#): > > If you’re going to continue to accuse me of lying, there isn’t anything more for us to talk about. Except that you’re a liar, of course, the discussion of which apparently provides no end of entertainment. > [@](#): > > Don’t be ridiculous. I never expect people around here to agree with me. This may be your only endearing quality. No, wait! There’s also imagining your posts as read by Balki Bartokomous. You have two endearing qualities. I’m sure your mother is proud. > [@](#): > > There are lots of ways to be wrong. And to your credit, you just keep finding new ones. > [@](#): > > Still, maybe you all should prove your point by acting civil, instead of slinging “cunt” around and telling people to shut up in all caps. SHUT UP! ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/173 "2009-05-06T08:42:09Z")
> [@Tenebras](#): > > O rly? Really. ---
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/174 "2009-05-06T08:47:35Z")
> [@](#): > > fuck that Well, as long as that’s settled. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/175 "2009-05-06T09:24:00Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > I don’t think that the claim that civility has diminished in the past few decades is particularly stupid. It has nothing much to do with crime, or racism, or teenage pregnancies, or whatever else. > > The Victorian period was more civil in general than modern society; compare Jane Austen to Andrew Dice Clay, or think about how early presidents got in duels over insults that we would find laughable today. Compare the culture of journalism over the years. The equal time doctrine is dead, but we do have Nancy Grace. > > I don’t know if I agree that our culture is less civil, or if it’s a bad thing if it is (though I do have to say that I find the current state of discourse sad). Still, maybe you all should prove your point by acting civil, instead of slinging “cunt” around and telling people to shut up in all caps. A nice post. Sorry I missed it on the first go round. I don’t think that people here are so much disputing the claim that civility has diminished in the past few decades as they are saying “So what?” In other words, they don’t care. It’s fine with them. Where they think stupidity comes in is in criticizing it, failing to realize that greater civility would make their own lives both safer and more pleasant. But of course civility requires discipline and discipline is anathema to permissiveness. The entire purpose of permissiveness is for people to be able to act however they want and everyone else be damned. So when someone comes along saying that it would be better if things were more civil, they get laughed at and derided and called stupid, when what the problem really is is that the people doing the name-calling simply don’t want to have to exercise the discipline that would be required if they were to behave with more civility. A perfect example of this can be seen in all the wailing and hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth that went on around here simply because **Ed Zotti** decided to put a stop to vulgar name-calling in the Pit. The mere idea that people might have to discipline themselves rather than blurt out the first obscenity that comes to mind resulted in innumerable ATMB protest threads, two spin-off boards and the defection of many prolific longtime posters. (It should be noted that **Ed** , who is clearly not a dolt, was also called old-fashioned, stupid, a prude, dictatorial and most of the other insults that I come in for as well.) So this is why I don’t mind when people around here call me stupid. I know that the real problem is that they just don’t want to have to act like grown-ups, but neither do they want to admit that, so they resort to calling me old-fashioned, stupid, a prude, yadda, yadda, yadda. And my apologies, **Loach**. I know I said I was gone for the night, but since my absence seemed to result in little but making way for the trollery of **Tenebras** , I figured it wouldn’t hurt to jump back in. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/176 "2009-05-06T11:44:21Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Heck, if she’d said “My Daddy will sue you!” I’d hope it would trigger some kind of thought process along the lines of “Gee, I better make sure Daddy lives and stop this pointless squabble with the cop. Live now, sue later.” See this is your glaring error. One you assume she’d be acting logical in a scary situation. Unlike you she isn’t an emotionless robot. As such she may use intense langauge without realizing it in a bad situation. Two the threat of a lawsuit was prolly meant to scare the dickhead 911 guy into sending help. It has a certain logic to it. 911’s job is to send help, guy isn’t sending help despite daddy dieing, therefor he must be doing something illegal that can be punished. Maybe a threat of legal action will scare him straight. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/177 "2009-05-06T12:56:30Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I don’t think that people here are so much disputing the claim that civility has diminished in the past few decades as they are saying “So what?” In one case at least, they are disputing the the claim that violent crime increased during the sixties by saying that it decreased during the 90s - shortly after the Republicans took control of Congress for the first time since 1969. 🙂 (Correlation isn’t causality and all that.) But the general breakdown in civility is part and parcel of the end of an ethos. American society in general was much more homogeneous fifty or sixty years ago, if for no other reason than that there was less immediate mass communication. No TV, little or no national radio, hometown newspapers - that kind of thing. The consensus was easy to mock, and it contained a lot of bad things like racism and xenophobia, but it also contained a lot of mores that enforced a standard of behavior that everyone understood, even if they didn’t always abide by it. I rather doubt we can get back to it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t recognize the loss. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/178 "2009-05-06T13:22:39Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > Hey Fonzie will you save us a booth down at Arnold’s? No way! That box that music comes out of just isn’t natural. I think there’s a demon inside it. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/179 "2009-05-06T13:28:15Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I don’t think that people here are so much disputing the claim that civility has diminished in the past few decades as they are saying “So what?” Since you have proven that you simply don’t understand the conversation, you have nothing further to contribute to it. It has been quite clearly pointed out that people under stress have cussed since the day profanity was invented. > [@](#): > > So when someone comes along saying that it would be better if things were more civil, they get laughed at and derided and called stupid, when what the problem really is is that the people doing the name-calling simply don’t want to have to exercise the discipline that would be required if they were to behave with more civility. No, when someone comes along making excuses for an incompetent power-abusing police officer, they get laughed at and derided and called stupd. What the problem really is is that people who make excuses for incompetent power-abusing police officers **are** stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308/180 "2009-05-06T13:39:43Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > Compare the culture of journalism over the years. Which years? The early years of the Republic, in which the most scurrilous accusations flew freely from partisan sources that would put Free Republic and Democratic Underground to shame? The Hearst years, memorialized in the language by the term “yellow journalism”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-hanging-up-on-caller-for-swearing-can-they-do-that/495308.md?page=10)