Kudos to the Cellphone Nation writer. Although it seems as if his message fell on deaf ears, it didn't. Several people heard his message, and maybe the cell phone talker got it too but simply resorted to a quick defense.

Societal pressure has to begin someplace. Little vignettes like this is how it all starts.

Kudos for your effort, 146 rider! Would that more of us had the courage to speak up as you did. Too bad these days the "bleep you" attitude is so pervasive. I've lately taken the approach -- and this is the opposite of courage -- that "you can't say anything" about anything anymore on public transit and just have to let everything happen without comment, because you get slammed with a bleep-you or worse. What I need is a tougher skin to ignore the backlash. More and more people are self-absorbed pigs these days and need to hear about it.

Some people, like this one and the people who leave items on an empty seat next to them on a crowded bus, are just only concerned about themselves and too ignorant to behave in a normal manner with other people in society. Courteous is not a word they will ever learn. Some of these people treat the CTA as their own living room sofa, but it's called "public" transportation, so keep the rude, selfish attitude in your own home.

Dang, I thought this was going to be about the loud talker on my #148 the other night, the one night when I didn't have my ipod with me. Not only was the girl speaking loudly, but because all of her words sounded like one big long, drawn out word, as there was no correct annunciation for each word, the person on the other end kept asking "what?" She then repeated each sentence at least 3 times! By the time she hung up, everyone in the extended part of the bus, was well aware she couldn't hang out because she had final tests the next day (her words, not mine, at least, I think that's what she said). Though what she could be studying without knowing how to even speak correctly, was beyond me. I was just grateful for the silence that followed once she said good-bye, for the third time.

Angie B., maybe we need to start a citywide "third time's a charm" movement: what happens is that if someone's on a cellphone on public transit, if they keep repeating themselves, the third time they say a word or phrase, everyone around them gets to join in, in chorus: "Yeah, I'm on the Red Line...I said I'm on the Red Line..." [Here we go! All together now:] "I'M ON THE RED LINE!"

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