Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for May 11, 2015

Wow. This is one of the few times that I approve of Rat whacking Goat.

Go, Jerk Czar, Go. Restaurants, theaters, the sauna at the gym, anoint ’em all!

I follow the rule that if I can clearly hear your conversation, then I am a part of it and will join in.

I’m with Rat on this one.

Love the Cossack styled costume.

Bet better than half the folks talking on a phone in a restaurant or movie theater are taking an “important call” if asked. And better than three quarters of these “important calls” are merely gossip calls. Which means than less than a quarter are actually important.

I’ll still never forget being in a restaurant and having some woman on the phone all the way across the restaurant. Not some little ma and pa hole in the wall type restaurant, but a nice large place and they were like twenty to thirty feet away. Everyone in the place knew where they were going to go for vacation, about the unfairness of their daughters speeding ticket, what happened when they took their dog to the vet, their dad passing a stone, etc. But you really couldn’t hear the folks at your own table for them talking on the phone.

Oh, yeah! What a rush!Jerk Czar is my new super-hero! Go, Rat!

I never thought I’d be saying that.

Usually Goat is the more sensible one, but the script can flip.

Rat’s gonna be very busy………so many jerks to anoint.

Today Rat rules ! Hopefully those who need to be anointed are reading today’s strip !

Go Rat! And somewhere on your run, if you could find time to stop by at my local Shoprite!

I bet half the folks who complain about “those rude people on their cell phones” do the exact same thing. Oh, and I always keep my Phone on silent in public and always go outside if I receive an important call while in public.

If you say anything to the person who is holding up a checkout line because they are too busy balancing their “smart” phone, digging in the pockets for a penny, etc, etc, They have the audacity to call you rude.

Self-appointed — he should have been self-anointed!

What are all of you thinking? Do you also answer “important” calls in a church? There is no need to talk on a phone in a restaurant or elsewhere others might be bothered. Your phone can take a message.

I’m not sure what’s more rude. Being in a restaurant and yakking on your phone, or doing the same when you’re with guests. Don’t even get me started about those who find it necessary to wear their hat while in a restaurant. Even worse, wearing the hat while in the presence of women. Restaurants have to make it known that phone calls are not permitted while seated in the dining room.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m thinking of becoming a self-appointed jerk anointer as well. Rat has the right idea this time.

It’s like listening to a sermon: the people being criticized think the priest MUST be talking about other people!

I go one step further and shut my cell phone off in a restaurant. Voice mail is a wonderful thing.

go forth jerk czar and anoint-common sense, common decency are no longer common in are self centered ‘me-ism’ raised society. so maybe pastis has come up with the best czar, even if it is rat.

On a flight a few years ago, the flight attendant was making her announcements, and some jerk was talking into his cell phone, getting louder and louder so he (and everyone else) could hear his voice over the announcements that he should shut off his phone for the flight. Loud, trivial stuff like “I’ll be in L.A. in a couple of hours and where do you want to hang out.”

The other attendant snatched his phone, shut it off, and confiscated it for the flight, and everyone else cheered. The jerk hadn’t realized that he had the attention of dozens of complete strangers.

And how about those people who can’t keep still when they are taking a cell phone call outdoors and have to wander around the immediate area?

Reminds me of a Bugs Bunny cartoon. “Arise, Sir Loin of Beef …”

I think this comes from telling a couple of generations of kids that they are “special” no matter how badly they behave.

Can I get the Jerk Czar to come with me every time I go to the movies, out to eat, to the grocery store, etc? Or maybe he can anoint me as his Jerk Knight.

Yes, indeed that’s true. You now see me taking a picture of you which will be posted at the Host desk so as never to let you in again.

Do you have a card?

I hope he is on the bus tonight.

there’s a balance. especially those of us who aren’t tech savvy and don’t know how to silence our phones, at least not quickly. cut us a break, will you

I was in a long line at the Post Office when the woman in front of me took a call on her cell phone. She was yakking away when suddenly a very, very large man in front of her turned around and told her to “TURNOFF YOUR DAMN PHONE”.

She literally jumped a couple of inches back into me. It was all I could do not to laugh out loud. And yes, she did end her call immediately. So funny….

Anyone see Matt Wuerker;s editorial cartoon today?

http://www.gocomics.com/mattwuerker

Considering it looks like Rat is ‘anointing’ Goat with a flanged mace, I would suggest someone call 911 for this one.

I would like Rat to ‘anoint’ those who call me and only leave recorded messages!

What a nuisance those calls are.

xxx

Suddenly I like Rat a lot more.

I heard a story (reliable source) where a guy was talking to his wife from a commuter train. All the usual drivel – running late again, got tied up at the office, no, I’m not out drinking, don’t hold dinner, etc. Of course, loud enough for the whole train car to hear. .The lady sitting next to him finally said loudly enough for all to hear “Hey, honey, come on back to bed.” .End of phone call.

& the vote is now 43 comments to 3, if you think your call is that important you need anointing. Turn off your @#$% phone.

This is out of character for Goat, the sensible character. The jerk should have been rat and so no surprise.

That seemed a little presumptuous, I’ve seen people take calls in public places in a reasonable and polite manner before. Assuming that the call will be disruptive before it even starts seems excessive. And that is why rat’s the one doing it.

It isn’t that hard to make the effort to talk on the phone at a normal conversation level, so that it is no different than talking to someone physically with you. Some people get their nose out of joint because they can only eavesdrop on one side of the conversation.-I wholeheartedly agree that there are few circumstances where someone should be on the phone (talking or texting) slighting the people they are with.

The arrogance here is that it’s unacceptable for you to sacrifice your lunch, and it’s unacceptable for you to miss your call, but it’s acceptable for everyone else to have to deal with your rudeness. If it’s important enough that you can’t get back to them after lunch, dump the lunch. You should make the sacrifice, not expect everyone else within earshot to make it on your behalf.

the thing is , you don’t need a phone to be rude. i could hear this guy talking across the restaurant tonight, same voice on the phone and off. some people are loud.maybe he’s hard of hearing, maybe he works somewhere loud and can’t stop shouting, maybe he was raised by stentorians, maybe he’s just loud.you can also be on a phone softly, not rude at all.

In the earlier cell phone days when they were much rarer, we were in a diner and a woman at a nearby table had a call. We got to hear the details of and listen to her breaking down about, the death of a best friend’s child. Not the kind of call one should get in a restaurant.

On the other hand, we were almost killed when we were stopped and waiting to make a left turn with no traffic on our side of the street and a car came up and hit us full force at about 50mph (limit was 40) in the rear without ever breaking as he did not see us as he was texting. Car, just less than 6 mo old, was totaled. We were lucky not to be seriously hurt. Worst of all we were trying to turn in front of the house next door and we have to look at the spot every time we walk out of our house.

@Kaffecup It’s called MANNERS!! One does not wear a hat indoors. Period. You’re in the presence of women and you take your hat/cap off. Even the great Paul “Bear” Bryant removed his signature hounds tooth hat if Alabama played a game in a domed stadium.

There is that. Let’s face it, word of mouth has always been a potential danger to businesses, but now there’s Facebook, Twitter, and tons of online review sites that allow folks to post their review of a business. I loved it when I found a review of a local pizza joint several years ago. Reviewer was saying how great the place was, they’d just been there the night before and the food was wonderful, they’d gotten prompt service, etc. etc. Just one problem for me, by that time the place had been closed for five years. Just recently they’ve put up a sign saying their going to reopen. I can’t get how they got positive reviews when they were not even in business at that point. Then I’ve seen some of the folks around here give a place positive reviews if they have a bar in them even though the food is terrible but negative reviews to a place with great food but no bar.

This is one of the very best cartoons this year. i keep having a laugh at it.

Yet Rat was doing this very thing on Apr 8, 2015 comic and it was just fine for him to do it?

Yeah I’m with Rat on this one. Those people suck.

If someone speaks at the same level on a phone or to a person what’s the difference? Maybe we should all just take a vow of silence. Mmm, silence.