Cell Phone Use Citation Note Pads

This is great.  We wish we had thought of it. It’s a pad of “citations” for rude cell phone users.  Fill one out and hand it to the offending cell user.

You can order Cell Citations here: Perpetual Kid.

Device Paralysis

Much like a Digital Yawn, there are other phenomena that occur in the presence of our digital devices.

Today, we coin a new phrase: “Device Paralysis” – This is the opposite of “Text Walking” – i.e. walking obliviously down the sidewalk while typing away on your BlackBerry or other mobile device. By the way, this is apparently such a problem in London that they have considered installing padded lampposts to protect absent-minded texters.

Back to the point: Device Paralysis is when someone is so engrossed in typing (or reading) a message on their device that they stop dead in their tracks. Apparently, the compelling content of the message takes so much energy and blood flow to the brain that the rest of the body’s functions close down and the person stops moving. Unfortunately (for the rest of us), this tends to happen to people when they are in doorways, or on stairs, or generally in my way.

Besides being utterly annoying, the condition is harmless, so if you bump into someone who is in the middle of a Device Paralysis episode, don’t be alarmed. And don’t bother to say “excuse me” – they probably won’t notice anyway.

Rudeness in Boston: Don’t be an Asshole

Caroline Roberts did a nice piece in the Bostonist called Manners Police: No Assholery Allowed.   I love Bostonist’s Golden Rule: “Don’t be an asshole.”

Good Luck, Toby Hatchett

Commando Civility is not alone.   Even in New Hampshire, they need to be reminded about civility now and again.  Toby Hatchett is doing her part.  She wrote a nice piece entitled 2008 Wishes for Port City in the local paper.  Here’s a bit of it, but please check it out.

I want 2008 to reflect a return to civility and nice manners. Why, oh why, why, why, must you people walk abreast on icy streets in groups of three or four or more? Can’t you realize there might be someone behind you, in front of you, who needs to pass? This sense of sidewalk entitlement must be eliminated in 2008. Let us make it a priority.

Ahem, OK, bear with me. You cell phone users, we love you. You are so cute. You are so very important. We really do love you. However, may I just say one thing? We sincerely do not want to hear intimate details of your sex life and/or medical treatments. Don’t let us be subjected to this. Puh-lease! Give us all a break. If we wanted to hear such lurid details, we would not be out, but home listening to Dr. Phil and Oprah and soaps. Give us our quiet times.

If you really must divulge such details, can you just, please and thank you, step outside of the line you are in, INSIDE, and do it outside, so no one is captive to your drama queen life? Thank you.

We feel your pain, Toby, we feel your pain.

Maybe you need some help forcing people to be civil…

Maybe you don’t feel comfortable handing a rude person a card that says “You realize that you’re in public, right?” when they’re clipping their toe nails at work – in the cubicle next to you. Or maybe you just don’t have a card on you.

Maybe that rude person is a loved one, but you can’t bring yourself to tell them that they shouldn’t litter by handing them a card that says “I think you left something back there.”

Maybe you just need a little help forcing people to be civil. Well, Commando Civility is here to help! We can send them an anonymous email (from commandocivility[at]gmail.com) that includes the appropriate message and link to the blog. They’ll never know that it came from you (we can blind copy you on the email if you wish).

Maybe the offender doesn’t do email. For a limited time, we will send an uncivil person of your choice a postcard with a Commando Civility message. Again, completely anonymous. Just send an email to commandocivility[at]gmail.com with the person’s name and address and which phrase you want on the postcard. The cost of the postcard and postage is on us for the first 30 requesters. In other words, it’s free.

Please note that phrases (either email or postcard) are limited to the ones you can find on this site. Please don’t suggest any phrases. By submitting or suggesting phrases other than those found on this website (via comments to this website, emails, or otherwise) you agree to allow Commando Civility to use the phrase or the idea, in whole or in part, on future cards, blogs, or merchandise (which may be used for commercial purposes) and relinquish any claim for such use. In other words, keep your clever phrases to yourself.

Wait… I still don’t get it.

So, some people are still wondering: what’s this all about? What are these cards? And what the hell are you doing? Well, here’s the deal. They’re cards, the size of business cards. And yes, they mean business. On the front is the clever statement and on the back is the website address and (on the advice of our lawyers) a copyright statement. Since a picture is worth a thousand words…

Can we agree to walk on the right?

OK, this one is really for the New Yorkers among us. We really need people to start obeying the rules of the road (and by road I mean sidewalk) – walk on the right, please.

A Harvard study showed that if everyone in NYC walked on the right hand side of the sidewalk, pedestrian traffic would run so smoothly that the average New Yorker’s daily commuting time would be reduced by 20%. OK, I made that up, but it would definitely reduce my frustration by about 20% and that’s worth it.

Please help the cause by giving offenders a card that says “Can we agree to walk on the right?”

Apparently, when you’re in New Zealand, you walk on the left, but in New York – walk on the right.

Mr. Manners did a podcast on Sidewalk Manners. It’s pretty good. Here are some highlights:

• Make sure others are not right behind you before stopping suddenly, and move off to the side on busy streets if you’re going to stop walking and engage in conversation.
• people tend to walk in one direction on the right, and in the other direction towards the left
• If you see someone on the street drop something, … be a Good Samaritan. … “Pardon me, sir, but I think you dropped something.” [see our take on that if that something is litter]

Nice to see you again.

Hi all.  Commando Civility is back.  The old site is down and we’ve decided to go with a blog format for simplicity sake. 

When we started this thing with the cards, so many years ago, it was fun, but it took a lot of time.  Well, now we’ve got some time, and life hasn’t gotten any more civil out there.  We think that some people need a reminder about how to co-exist in a this world of ours without driving each other completely crazy. 

So, thanks for tuning in.  As always, feel free to let us know about your Commando Civility moments.  Comment on the blog or drop us a line – check out the About page for details.  If its a good one, we’ll send you some free cards.