The Matzav Shmoooze: “I’ll Hang Up and Listen”

22
>>Follow Matzav On Whatsapp!<<

radioDear Editor,

I was recently listening to a talk show on the radio and I heard a caller tell the radio host after sharing his thoughts, I’ll hang up now and listen to your comments.”

And then I heard another caller say that. And another.

Why is it necessary for people to say, “I’ll hang up now and listen to your comments”? Firstly, of course you’ll hang up. What else are you going to do?

And who cares? Who cares if you are going to hang up or not?

How comes people say such silly things all the time and no one seems to notice?

And why do people say, “Thanks for taking my call”? Huh? The guy took your call because that’s how he fills his program time. How silly is that to say?

Thanks.

Harry Fantine

{Matzav.com Newscenter}


22 COMMENTS

  1. The reality is I read this article and thought “Why is this person so agitated by the idea that someone is just trying to get through a different experience and does the thing that is clearly a way of means”. Indeed it is probably annoying if all you do is listen to talk radio and you think there is a better way to part company.

    Indeed, my next thought was “why isn’t this writer using his time more effectively to Study Torah”. Torah does not teach us to be caretakers of the material world and that is exactly the thrust of this above article.

    So be good to the world, Harry and break out your own devices of dignity and trust and then pray to Hashem for guidance. I do not think that Hashem wants to alert the Torah world to inspections of Radio Attitudes in America. But I am glad you wrote the article so that you might indeed find your pet peeve a pet peeve that the Torah world will indeed consider as a possibility that can be modified with, of course, Torah.

  2. “I’ll hang up & listen” means I won’t stay on the air and argue if I don’t agree with your response until you have to cut me off….

  3. Talk about people saying stupid things….This is one of the stupidest “letters” to the editor ever written.
    People say “thanks for taking my call” because there are screeners who decide who gets to speak to the host & who doesn’t.
    Also people make their comment to the host & instead of waiting on the line to have a further dialog just let him/her know that they’re hanging up to hear the reasponse.

  4. Because there’s a long, confusing time delay between the radio-broadcast sound and the telephone-delivered sound. This is a known issue in broadcasting.

  5. For your information every talk show host has a screener that vets all callers . When you call in the screeners asks you your name and what you plan to say Some shows have hundreds of calls and only about 10 percent are put through .therefor you are right in thanking him .

  6. It’s not Purim; what’s the excuse for being drunk?

    Many people stay on the line so that a discussion ensues between them and host. By announcing that they are instead hanging up, they are telling the host that they will not be getting into an interactive discussion.

    As for the “Thank You,” you should say thank you to your check-out person at the supermarket also. Or you physician after treatment. Despite the fact that they are profiting from serving you. Hakaras HaTov based on relative benefit is inimical to good midos.

  7. Saying thank you is good manners, especially when the radio station and host receives many calls to choose from. They could have easily picked a different caller to put on the air. I find that people in general lack common courtesy and never say thank you and you’re welcome. Instead of critcizing people who display manners, you should teach yourself and other people who lack manners to learn some. When people do things for you, it’s nice to show appreciation. As an example, at a Shabbos meal do you help the host serve or clear the table or do you do nothing because you think it is comming to you?

  8. are you serious? Did you ever try calling a radio program with hundreds of others calling at the same time? Even if you do get through and the screener decides not to hang up on you after hearing what you want to talk about, you could wait for an hour on the phone listening as the host takes caller after caller before you. He might even decide to change the subject before he gets to your call and then hang up on you because your subject is no longer relevant. So what are you talking about?

  9. Its a lesson for todays day & age. When you are around people, hang up your dumb phone and listen to what another human being has to say! Stop texting, googling, snapping pictures, and start listening to your fellow neighbors & family. You might learn something.

  10. Actually, there WAS a very good reason for saying that phrase (“I’ll hang up and listen”).

    One of the most popular talkshows on radio was the Larry King Show. It ran from 1978 to 1994. The show was a national show and calls were made from all over the country.

    In those days telephone calls were expensive. There was no flat-rate service for either local or long distance calls. Long distance calls were VERY expensive. Therefore people calling the show (long distance) would simply make their comment and then hang up rather than wait for the response while they were paying for the time.

    While those days are long gone and the cost of long distance has dropped, the people who grew up with that high rated talk show still have that habit ingrained in them and continue to repeat what they used to hear night in and night out for all those years.

    I do admit that saying “thank you for taking my call” is a dumb thing to say.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here