Teevee, Teevee, Everywhere, Nor Any Plop to Think

[peristaltor]

A friend of mine did something noteworthy the other day, and forwarded me a copy. He wrote his local eatery with a complaint:

Why does the Bothell, Washington Qdoba have Fox news on the only TV? I would think that offends more people than it pleases. The food is good, but I can't eat in a place with that contemptuous and contemptible garbage on.

Comments

[fortyozspartan]

You should live in KY where every joint has Faux News on 24/7.

[mcfnord]

I had this Republican friend who took me to this pizzaria that played Fox News. I ended up stuffing most of the pizza in my mouth. It made me very ill. Something about the tone made me cram a whole pizza in my mouth, like, WAR! STUFF! OVERCONSUME!

I have objections to most television but really I don't go places that use it. When I do experience it I like talking back as loud as it talks. Especially at commercials.

[peristaltor]

Not going to places with it is one thing. I was at a place with it and unable to leave.

Talking back could work, but I was in uniform. Then again, who hasn't seen a bus driver talking loudly to himself?

[ar_wahan]

Surprise! I'm commenting.

I thoroughly dislike the presence of TVs in anything but spotrts bars (which I don't go to, but I can understand them there).

My auto dealership, where I take my car for most service, has a waiting room, but it has a wall-mounted TV that blares away. I don't even know what channel it is, I do not intend to be glued to it. I look forward to bringing a book with me, but the noise distracts from the reading. (The second place I take my car to has its TV blasting away at a daytime SOAP OPERA. Sheesh! I don't even know what's going on or who the characters are. I kind of wonder of the woman behind the counter chooses the channel because she's bored and listening and is following the drama day to day.)

As for the first plce, I can see how they see the TV as a service for those customers who don't want to read the wsiting room's week-old newspapers, but could they turn the volumne down down a little?

[peristaltor]

For me, the volume is only part of the problem. In that waiting room, for example, there were no chairs that didn't face the screen. What was I to do, rearrange the furniture?

[atlasimpure]

My problem is that I will bring a book with me and then not be able to focus because televisions suck me into them whether I want to watch it or not.

[peristaltor]

That's a big part of my problem. I spent most of my childhood watching. I can't not watch. And then I get pissed off because I'm watching something that makes me want to gouge out my eyes.

[olego]

Somehow, living without a TV for 7 years increased my television tolerance. I can sit with my back turned to the TV for hours, and completely tune it out. It's not the easiest thing, but it's a skill I never want to lose.

Whenever I had to spend time in service centers, if I were the last person in the lobby, I'd sneak in and turn off the TV, then resume reading. It would usually be a while until someone else would turn it on... Then the process would repeat. :-)

[anaesthete]

I'm right there with ya. I have a similar problem with radios, too.

I was very dismayed some months ago to find that my favorite neighborhood deli/wine shop had installed a big flat panel screen. It says a lot about the quality of the people who work there that they happily muted the volume for me during some Allegedly Important Ball Throwing/Catching Competition. Since then, I am pleased to report that I have only seen the tele turned on a few times, during which everyone in the room had their nose in a newspaper or laptop anyway.

I used to have one of these back when I spent a lot of time in airports. It's not much use in a setting like you described, but awesome for situations where the jonesin' sheeple are unlikely to easily find someone to turn the thing back on.