Rules For Everyone

I am watching a CBS special on Hurricane Sandy. It has already pasted the East coast of the United States and they are running short stories about the storm. Among a few of the reports are mentions of people sticking around even though they were told to evacuate. I guess some people think certain rules don't apply to them. We call those people idiots.

This morning I had to catch my weekly flight from Salt Lake to Oakland. I use the flight to catch an extra hour of sleep on Monday mornings. When the Southwest passenger took the middle seat next to me, I knew I would notice him for all of about 5 minutes. Then he pulled out his computer and started working. There is only so long before passengers are asked to turn off electronic devices and so I didn't give that a second thought. Soon the flight attendant asked passengers to shut down computers and cell phones. My neighbor did, but only long enough for the attendants to pass by. Then he pulled his computer out and began to work again covertly during the safety briefing. I thought about letting him know that he should turn it off but couldn't figure out how to do so without looking like an angry passenger. So I tried to get back to sleep. I guess he didn't think the electronics rule applied to him.

Certain rules exist to keep up safe. The electronics rule on airplanes is not because the electronics do anything to the plane or its navigation system. It is there because those electronics devices turn into projectiles during takeoff and landing. My seat neighbor was kind enough to put his computer away before it could cause harm. That was good for me as I hate getting hurt because someone else is an idiot.