The EU, in a move characterized by staggeringly short-sighted stupidity, has approved the use of mobile phones on planes in EU airspace. Interestingly, while the story has been reported in the US news under the travel or news sections, the report from the BBC was relegated to the technology section. If I had a newspaper, I’d run it under the “people who run our world are complete monkeys” section, this being an example of what must be late-night decision making by drunken monkeys.

When I wrote about the prospect of phones on planes earlier this year, I was worried but didn’t really believe it would happen in a sane country any time soon. My criticisms were real, but tongue was firmly planted in cheek.

Now I’m just pissed. The EU is encouraging airlines to set limits on 1) number of calls, 2) duration of calls, 3) timing of calls (as in no calls at night), and encouraging providers to set limits on 4) price. Nobody has mentioned anything about setting a limit on 5) the number of people irritated passengers can strangle. Goody. Do they really think that terrorism and safety are the only issues, and the annoyance factor only an afterthought?

I know some people out there don’t think this is such a big deal, but let me ask you this: in your frantic race to establish all sorts of rights for yourself to stay in meaningless contact with people who can surely wait a few hours, did you ever stop to consider others’ rights to peace and quiet?

I’m sick of decisions like this. I’m a lover of vast, quiet places, serene nature, old trees, massive mountains, silent lakes. I spend travel time searching for these increasingly rare spots. There is almost nowhere in the world I can go anymore to find them. Always, the rights of people to drive ATVs and snowmobiles through quiet woods, to gun pointless speeding motorboats through lakes previously unpolluted by petrol or noise, to blare music along stretches of gentle beaches, and to chatter inanely and loudly on mobile phones while in transit, always, these supposed rights take precedence over the right to quiet. It’s a world run by extroverts who can’t shut up and can’t stand a moment of silence.

Contemplating a trip to Europe next month, I was holding back because my baby is teething and I was concerned about the effect his relentless crying would have on my fellow prisoners in a tin can. But now I’ll take him gleefully. Anyone who thinks that I can’t complain about their right to make one more unnecessary business call or who forces me to listen to their previous night’s sex exploits deserves to have my son screaming in their ear for six hours.

That is, until I board a Lufthansa flight. That airline has, thankfully, decided to sit mobiles out and will be simply providing fast Internet access instead. For you, Lufthansa, I will soothe my son to sleep. What goes around comes around. Shush.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 at 10:06 am and is filed under Antonia projects, Europe travel, bad trips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.