# A Perfectly Reasonable Amount of Schadenfreude about Things Happening to Trump & His Enablers (Part 3) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 20, 2025, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175 "2025-01-20T19:23:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 209
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4162 "2026-06-25T21:48:59Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Dopers gonna dope. Back in the 80s and 90s, we pretty much answered every single phone call, at least until we got Caller ID, but my family wasn’t big on answering polls either by phone or through the mail. If somebody called me and a show was on, I would miss it if I took time for a poll. No streaming or DVR back then. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4163 "2026-06-25T21:57:35Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > There’s a lot of study that’s been done on polling design and how to make them representative. The better ones do a good job on the whole. > > But there are a few issues otherwise. > > One is there are some polling firms that aren’t interested in accurately gauging public opinion. These tend to be focused more on conservatives. They’ve already got an idea of the answer they want to hear. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ahgjEjJkZks/maxresdefault.jpg "For and Against National Service | Yes, Prime Minister | Comedy Greats") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahgjEjJkZks) ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4164 "2026-06-25T21:57:38Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I never understood not answering the phone because you don’t know the number. I always answer the phone, if only out of curiosity. If it’s someone I don’t want to talk to, I say “no thank you” and hang up. These days, an unknown number is almost certainly someone trying to sell me something. Or perhaps they want to speak to me about my car’s warranty. If the caller feels as though they need to hide who they are then I figure I don’t need to talk to them. At the very least they can leave a voicemail. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4165 "2026-06-25T22:08:55Z")
A voicemail? I haven’t gotten an actual phone call-based voicemail in at least a decade. I didn’t know they still existed. Sure, an unknown number is probably spam, but hanging up on people is literally the easiest thing in the world, not to mention emotionally satisfying. And there’s always the chance that the call is something business related, or a delivery guy who wants me to let him in the building, or maybe my wife or son lost their phone and borrowed a strangers’. The probability it could be something important is greater than zero, so I have a responsibility to answer. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4166 "2026-06-25T22:14:06Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Sure, an unknown number is probably spam, but hanging up on people is literally the easiest thing in the world, not to mention emotionally satisfying. The negative is that by answering, you confirm the number is active and an actual person is available. If you’re going to do this at all, don’t speak at first and hang up immediately if/when you realize it’s a spammer. That leaves the possibility open they flag it as not an active number to keep calling. And maybe figure out how to text so deliveries and family and such can still contact you. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4167 "2026-06-25T22:18:30Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The probability it could be something important is greater than zero Even so, I don’t answer an unknown number. If it’s important, the caller can leave a voice mail. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4168 "2026-06-25T22:34:34Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > A voicemail? I haven’t gotten an actual phone call-based voicemail in at least a decade. I didn’t know they still existed. Employees not leaving me a voicemail when they call is one of my pet peeves. Especially when they call me back and ask, “Why didn’t you call me back?” I can’t tell them it’s because they didn’t leave a fucking voicemail, so I just assumed whatever it is they wanted wasn’t important. If someone is calling me from an unknown number and they don’t leave a voicemail then the call wasn’t important. At least it wasn’t important to me. If it’s a legitimate call they’ll leave a voicemail. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4169 "2026-06-25T22:43:45Z")
At this point in time, at least 95% of my communications is via WhatsApp. People whom I know mostly call when it’s urgent and I’m not answering my messages. I honestly don’t know if my iPhone can even receive voicemails, or how to access them if someone left me one. > [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > The negative is that by answering, you confirm the number is active and an actual person is available. When was the last time you encountered an inactive cellphone? People keep the same number their entire lives. There’s no way to avoid being contacted. And really, it’s more work for them than it is for me - if they call me again, I’ll just hang up again. I find it amusing. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4170 "2026-06-25T23:33:11Z")
It’s not that the phone is inactive, its that the owner is willing to answer. That’s more valuable than a number that never answers, so you will get more spam calls, even if you hang up. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4171 "2026-06-26T00:46:56Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > When was the last time you encountered an inactive cellphone? As above, it’s not that the number is inactive, it’s that there is no active listener on the other end. If all you do is pick up but you do not say anything, that’s still better - there’s a chance whatever bot is monitoring might not take you for a live human being. > [@Alessan](#): > > And really, it’s more work for them than it is for me There are these things called computers these days. I guarantee it is not more work for them than it is for you, even if all you do is hang up immediately. It’s not going to accomplish what you think, but if it amuses you to continue to receive calls, go nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4172 "2026-06-26T03:33:23Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > At this point in time, at least 95% of my communications is via WhatsApp. While I have used WhatsApp it is not used commonly on a daily basis by most people in the US. My use has mostly been limited to when I am traveling out of the country or communicating with someone not in the US. And most of the people I deal with under the age of 30 NEVER answer their phones. Texting is much more likely to get a quick response. Again, that may be mostly in the US. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4173 "2026-06-26T04:01:39Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > the explosion in spam calls means that most people won’t answer the phone if they don’t recognize who is calling, getting a good sample in phone research is very challenging. Plus there’s the factor I have: You are asking me to give you something of value to you. What are you giving me that I value in return? You can call it mercenary if you like. I call it late-stage capitalism. More simply, the Rule of Acquisition 74, _Knowledge equals profit._ ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4174 "2026-06-26T04:48:26Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Absolutely, and those who do go to malls now are not nearly as close to being a representative sample of Americans as it was back in the '80s and '90s. I went to a mall today. It was a ghost town of empty stores and few shoppers. And yet Spencer’s continues to thrive. It is a mystery. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4175 "2026-06-26T05:03:53Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > At this point in time, at least 95% of my communications is via WhatsApp. Heheh, I am definitely a person who often doesn’t answer his phone even if you’re in my address book. If I don’t feel like talking, I don’t feel like talking, and you know how to text me. The only time I’m certain to answer my phone is when it’s from the on-call service or my wife is calling. Just about everyone else can leave a message if it’s important. If the message is just “call me back” without a reason to call back, I’m probably not going to return the call. For all I know, they just wanted to bullshit about something. If nothing else, it sure _seems_ unimportant. Then one night I tried to call several of my Indian co-workers in a sort of emergency for work. No one picked up, and _no one had voicemail at all_. I later found out from my boss that voicemail was almost unheard of in India. My other US based co-workers knew this and just used WhatsApp to contact them in an emergency. Well, I don’t have a Meta account of any shape form or fashion, and don’t really intend to get one at this late date. The only solution was to pester one of my US co-workers to tell them to contact them over WhatsApp for me and get them chatting or talking with me over the company system in that rare situation. So yeah, unless you’re someone I dearly miss or absolutely must talk to, I’m probably not answering the phone. I used to love saying “No one by that name lives here” and hanging up when people mispronounced my family name\*. That got boring long, long ago. Hell, even as a child I’d ask my friends “Ok, is that all you wanted to talk about, because I want to go back to doing X” after our first exchange when they called me. My mom thought I was incredibly rude. I’m just not a fan of voice telecommunications. All of that said, I kind of like answering and even giving surveys. I worked for a survey company for a bit while I was in college, and really liked the job. It was fun asking people about salty snacks when they picked up. Not even fibbing, it was a survey about salty snacks mostly focused on southern US states. It was called “Cracker Tracker”. I wonder how they are doing now with that campaign (I doubt it ever stopped). \*It’s a shibboleth: If you read it, you think you know how to pronounce it. If you hear it, you think you know how to spell it. You’re almost certainly wrong. If you’re right, you know me or someone from my extended family. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4176 "2026-06-26T13:57:22Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I went to a mall today. It was a ghost town of empty stores and few shoppers. It’s an odd dichotomy. There are a several malls in town that are empty and even one or two that have been demolished. But a few are still very active. Perhaps it’s because it’s connected to a bunch of office towers and in a fairly well to do area, there’s one near work that is doing ok. Many of the office folks head there for lunch regularly and occasionally shop (helps that one of the end cap stores is a Target). And now that summer has hit, there are lots of parents/grandparents around with kids. I like to do a bit of mall walking on my lunch breaks as well, since there’s the A/C and all. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4177 "2026-06-26T14:43:32Z")
If I don’t recognize a caller, I wait 5 seconds, say “Hello?” Wait another 5 seconds, then hang up if I hear nothing. Most spam calls are robodialers that register silence in the first few seconds as a failed connection and will not respond if I pause before saying anything. The other 5 second wait is to give a real person a chance to respond before I hang up. I get so many legitimate calls from various businesses, medical providers, and other people I don’t recognize that it would be foolish for me to not answer unknown callers. And I get **maybe** one spam caller a month. I’m pretty protective of my number and my carrier has a pretty good spam screening service already, so it’s not a big problem like it once was years ago. On my work phone it’s even more important to answer unknown callers, because as an IT support person I get lots of calls from unknown numbers who are customers. So it’s even more important that I answer. I still do the same 5 second, pause, 5 second screening. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4178 "2026-06-26T14:53:52Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > If I don’t recognize a caller, I wait 5 seconds, say “Hello?” Wait another 5 seconds, then hang up if I hear nothing. I just answer my phone calls with > [@](#): > > I don’t agree with anything that you say or do Over time, it cuts down on spam calls. It cuts down on all calls, actually, now that I think about it. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4179 "2026-06-26T17:33:09Z")
Unless I’m expecting one, I let calls to my mobile from unknown numbers go to voice mail, which tells them that if they don’t leave a message I will block the number; if they don’t, I do. My “land” line (an Ooma) has a short whitelist. Everything else gets an automated block message. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4180 "2026-06-26T18:12:49Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > My other US based co-workers knew this and just used WhatsApp to contact them in an emergency. Well, I don’t have a Meta account of any shape form or fashion, and don’t really intend to get one at this late date. legit - I recently got WA but try not to use it much, but I keep up with peeps in Europe that way. I don’t let it give me notifications, for sure. Meta IS evil, after all. > [@OttoDaFe](#): > > I let calls to my mobile from unknown numbers go to voice mail, which tells them that if they don’t leave a message I will block the number this is smart ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4181 "2026-06-26T19:47:13Z")
If the call is domestic, I pick it up. Some 10% of the time, it’s a legit call I don’t want to miss. The other 90%? “Hi, ” “Uh, yeah…? Do I know you?” _cue some back and forth, where the caller reveals themself to be a spam cold caller_ “Just a second, hang on” _Mutes phone mic, puts phone down_ After some one to three minutes, the caller closes the call. It gives me a petty satisfaction knowing that this wastes some one to three minutes they could’ve used cold calling someone else. One of my favorite stories is from when we still had a landline: Someone calls and asks to speak to my wife, referring to her by her first name and presenting themself by only firstname (“hi, this is nn, can I speak to mm?”). It - of course - turns out it’s a cold caller. I spent the next five minutes lecturing the young woman about common courtesy when calling someone on business. Like, referring to the person by their last, NOT first name, presenting yourself with full name and affiliation, etc., etc., etc. before she finally hung up on me. Not particularlty productive, but quite satisfying. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175.md?page=208) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175.md?page=210)