“There are people in this world who just don’t care about you or anyone else,” said Alkon, the author of I See Rude People (McGraw-Hill Companies) coming out this month. “They are going to inflict themselves on you, and the only way to stop them is to show them there’s a cost.”
Alkon often posts the personal information shared by loud cellphone talkers on her blog, where they will get calls from her fans. Her site is one of many where the affronted can gather online: at CaughtYa.org, people can post cellphone pictures of drivers who illegally occupy handicapped parking spaces, and Holla Back NYC lets women post pictures of men who harass them on the street. Holla Back struck such a nerve when it was introduced in 2005 (and led to more than one arrest) that now there are 20 Holla Back sites.
Of course, most people aren’t built for public confrontation, fearing an awkward moment or perhaps a fist in the face, which is why people like Alkon are probably doomed to fight a losing battle.
But there is hope: For those who prefer a more passive-aggressive form of shaming, there is a company called Pardon Moi that makes cards you can hand to strangers with sayings like, “Can you please take your conversation elsewhere, like the corner of ‘polite’ and ‘appropriate’?”
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