Last night, while I was heading home, I was on the phone with my mom. It was a somewhat heated conversation, my voice might have been a bit loud. Someone passing by yelled, ‘This is a street, be a little civilized.’ I couldn’t even respond; they passed by so quickly. Should I have stayed silent or reacted? What should one do in situations like this?
I swear I experienced something like that last month while arguing with my dad on the phone. He said, “I kept quiet, kept quiet,” and it hit me hard. But you know, what can you say in return? They talk as if their own voice has been silenced.
Sometimes you need to tone down the controversial stuff when talking on the phone in public. I also got called out during a loud argument. I felt embarrassed at that moment, but there was some truth to what they said, I accepted it.
I think you have a share in this too, to be honest. If you’re shouting loud enough to catch people’s attention, you shouldn’t be surprised if someone gets involved. We also need to think about everyone’s peace.
Here, social consciousness and individual rights intersect. If shouting on the phone is drawing too much attention, the argument of ‘disturbing public peace’ could be made. However, unless a legal boundary has been crossed, intervention may not be appropriate.
Let me add that we had actually attracted quite a bit of attention even before the guy said that. Someone sitting next to us was turning to look at us. But my voice was controlled; I wasn’t shouting directly.
In this situation, I don’t think that person was directly targeting you; they had a general discomfort. Maybe they were fed up with someone else or were in a sensitive emotional state that day. Don’t worry too much about it, but be careful.
What kind of logic is this? Is there a rule that says you can’t disturb others while talking on the phone in public? Then no one should do anything loudly in the streets. Should everyone just put their anger in their pockets?
We men usually don’t hesitate to intervene directly. But here, I think the person making the comment was trying to assert superiority. Not being able to respond to him is exactly what he wanted.
Daughter, you could be both right and wrong in that situation. But if you were my daughter, my first advice would be: Tone of voice is always important. If you’re trying to get someone’s attention on the street, it would be better if you calmed down a bit.