# You're not exempt, asshole. (Bus/trolley music rant) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 17, 2006, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071 "2006-05-17T04:04:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/1 "2006-05-17T04:04:32Z")
There are but three rules on the busses and trolleys of the San Diego MTS that are important enough to have their own little drawings/symbols with the red circle and red slash in every single bus: [ol] [li]No smoking.[/li][li]No eating or drinking.[/li][li]No radio or tape playing.[/li][/ol] Now, granted, the third rule could stand a little bit of a technological update, but the picture is of a boombox playing music audibly and the general idea is pretty clear: don’t play music loud enough that other people can hear it. That means you, asshat with the laptop who had to show your buddy the latest hip-hop hits. Or maybe just one hit–I couldn’t tell the difference, it all sounded exactly the same. And I _like_ (some) hip-hop. And you, hardcore skinhead rocker on the trolley who wears headphones and then blasts your death metal so loud that you might as well have brought speakers. I can make out every riff and every word loud and clear, as though the headphones were on _my_ head. Hey, buddy, I’m not saying I don’t appreciate Dimebag Darrell’s guitar skill, but if I wanted to hear about mayhem and destruction at high volume on the trolley I would’ve invited laptop boy to ride with me. And you, sappy-R&B girl on the bus who wears headphones and then blasts your shitty, meaningless, sugary mass-produced shit, every beat of which was calculated from focus-group data by some white pencil-pusher at Viacom. Fuck you and your bland backbeats, your worthless lyrics that are the exact same in every song, and your need to share your “musical” taste with the world. Go ahead and be a sheep, but don’t drag me along. And you, bus drivers (two different ones)–are you even paying attention? ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/2 "2006-05-17T04:16:02Z")
Next time, look at them and say with a huge, goofy grin that you just bought that album, and all of the guys in the chess club agree that those tunes are\* far-out\*. There would be extra points invovled if you were a nerdy-looking white guy, but the same effect can be gained by people in business suits and elderly ladies. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/3 "2006-05-17T05:06:06Z")
Give the guy a neck pinch that knocks him unconscious, so that his head falls on the stop button on his tape deck. Yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/4 "2006-05-17T05:16:22Z")
> [@fetus](#): > > And you, bus drivers (two different ones)–are you even paying attention? They might not be able to hear it. Bus drivers sit in a different section of the bus than you do, with a barrier behind them. Have you tried complaining to the driver? ---
**Author:** ![sleeping\_mud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58f4c7/32.png) [@sleeping\_mud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping_mud)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/5 "2006-05-17T05:49:30Z")
I may have complained to the driver, some are good; have you thought about writing to the company trying to tell them to remind the drivers of this? Riding buses is fun! Just the other day, I sat 2 rows behind a man who kept looking at his reflection in the window next to him and talking at it, not very nicely, either. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/6 "2006-05-17T06:26:23Z")
Maybe next time you should take your limo; saves you riding with the masses. Once? I’m playing my headphones on the bus? This lady taps my shoulder and goes, “I can hear your music.” I smile and say, “That’s nice. I can hear you talking.” The day talking–especially on a cell phone, now that I think of it–has to be kept to a level of “silence,” and not overheard by a person close enough to tap you on the shoulder, I’ll play my headphones. As long as they’re not louder than general conversation, keep your finger to yourself and start saving for your chauffeur’s salary. What part of “public transportation” don’t you understand? Sheesh. Some people should just. Stay. Home. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/7 "2006-05-17T06:28:16Z")
:rolleyes: > [@lissener](#): > > [del]The day[/del] \*\*[Until] \*\*talking– ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/8 "2006-05-17T12:18:43Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > What part of “public transportation” don’t you understand? Sheesh. Some people should just. Stay. Home. Yes, some people are just in immersed their little world. Thoughtless, that. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/9 "2006-05-17T12:19:49Z")
And while you’re drawing lines through things, could you correct my post as well, **lissener**? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/10 "2006-05-17T13:26:52Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > The day talking–especially on a cell phone, now that I think of it–has to be kept to a level of “silence,” and not overheard by a person close enough to tap you on the shoulder, I’ll play my headphones. As long as they’re not louder than general conversation, keep your finger to yourself and start saving for your chauffeur’s salary. Translation for those that don’t speak Moron: “I’ll raise my level of rudeness to match those around me.” Yes, cellphone talkers are rude. So are boombox players. So are general loud talkers. The answer to this is for everyone to try to be more polite, not for everyone to claim their own fair share of loudness. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/11 "2006-05-17T13:57:38Z")
I used to get worked up about stuff like this, but then one day I noticed that if I stopped focusing and fuming about it, it really didn’t bug me that much. My life has been much less aggravating since. ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/12 "2006-05-17T14:02:27Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > I used to get worked up about stuff like this, but then one day I noticed that if I stopped focusing and fuming about it, it really didn’t bug me that much. My life has been much less aggravating since. Ah, but if we all followed your lead in our everyday lives, the Pit would be such a lonely place… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/13 "2006-05-17T14:03:12Z")
Look, we all make a certain amount of noise. You’re talking, I’m listening to music. Why the hell–seriously–why the hell are there different standards for different kinds of noise? It’s music, for chrissake. Cell-phone yakking is far more aurally unpleasant than _music_. This absurdity that you can demand absolute silence from my headphones while you yourself may be talking and laughing, a great deal louder, with the person in the seat next to you, makes absolutely no sense. I agree that you should not be allowed to play a boombox on the bus. But headphone leakage is still pretty dang quiet; I’ve rarely heard it achieve the volume of normal conversation. I say it’s quiet enough that I have as much right to make THAT much noise, as you have to speak in a normal volume. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/14 "2006-05-17T14:14:07Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Look, we all make a certain amount of noise. You’re talking, I’m listening to music. Why the hell–seriously–why the hell are there different standards for different kinds of noise? It’s music, for chrissake. Cell-phone yakking is far more aurally unpleasant than _music_. This absurdity that you can demand absolute silence from my headphones while you yourself may be talking and laughing, a great deal louder, with the person in the seat next to you, makes absolutely no sense. > > I agree that you should not be allowed to play a boombox on the bus. But headphone leakage is still pretty dang quiet; I’ve rarely heard it achieve the volume of normal conversation. I say it’s quiet enough that I have as much right to make THAT much noise, as you have to speak in a normal volume. I agree. Technology makes sure that most of us carry around some source of noise. That noise should be appropriate to the surroundings. If you stand very close to me with your noise on a public bus…I might just move, I’m probably getting off in ew stops. JEEZ!! Why can’t we just all suck it up sometimes! ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/15 "2006-05-17T14:20:23Z")
Music on public transportation is the least of my worries. I \*like \* music. I’m much more irritated by people who take up two seats, stand on the left side of the elevator, block the doors, and are generally a pain in the ass. As “inconveniences” go, being able to hear someone else’s ipod doesn’t exactly fill me with angst. After all, it’s a _bus_, not a movie theater. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/16 "2006-05-17T14:51:44Z")
Damn. Lotsa great arguments against public transportation in here. I need to bookmark this thread. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/17 "2006-05-17T14:55:19Z")
Being able to hear someone else’s iPod is not an issue. Having someone else’s iPod (especially those who use open-air headphones versus ear buds) drown out my own iPod (because I’d like to still have some hearing when I’m 60) is an issue. Just like someone having a mostly quiet conversation on their cellphone is no more an annoyance than a normally voiced conversation. Having a knock-down, drag-out pier six brawl, complete with tri-lingual profanity, over a cell phone, is inappropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/18 "2006-05-17T15:19:51Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Look, we all make a certain amount of noise. You’re talking, I’m listening to music. Why the hell–seriously–why the hell are there different standards for different kinds of noise? It’s music, for chrissake. Cell-phone yakking is far more aurally unpleasant than _music_. This absurdity that you can demand absolute silence from my headphones while you yourself may be talking and laughing, a great deal louder, with the person in the seat next to you, makes absolutely no sense. Word. The benefits for public transportation are obvious: it’s cheaper, better for the environment, and you can do something else while getting to your destination since you aren’t driving. The bad part is that you have to be around other people. Other people make noise. If you can’t handle that, then you need to build yourself an iso-cube and seal it up so nothing can get in and interfere in your own little private world. As someone else said earlier, suck it up. It’s only a bus, you’re probably only on it for 15-20 minutes. Deal. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/19 "2006-05-17T15:21:37Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > I’m much more irritated by people who … stand on the left side of the elevator. wha? There’s a rule on where to stand in an elevator? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/20 "2006-05-17T15:32:17Z")
The left lane is for passing. City walking is just like driving, as far as I’m concerned. You stay to the right, and the slower you’re moving, the farther to the right you should be. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071.md?page=2)