Two days ago I had a terse disagreement with a (another) Trump-Deranged relative who kept throwing Axis talking points at me like bread crumbs to pigeons in Trafalgar Square. Then when she was out of legitimate arguments…actually, long after she was out of legitimate arguments, she hung up on me in the middle of my sentence.
I have never been tolerant of that rude, insulting tactic. I regard it as the equivalent of a slap in the face or a punch in the mouth, except more cowardly. She almost immediately called back to apologize with a classic “I’m sorry but…” message, but so far, I am not in the mood to take her calls. I have never hung up the phone on a friend, relative or colleague. Unsolicited salespeople, yes, in fact, almost always. Not anyone whom I respect, however, and I expect the same courtesy.
I know that some of my extreme reaction to that tactic is because my late wife, in the worst of her alcoholic relapses when she was defensive, feeling guilty and hardly in her right mind, hung up on me a few times. Nonetheless, my bias against that conduct is emotional, visceral and, frankly, justified.
Is that a gender-linked thing, I wonder? I have never had a man hang up on me, but more women than I could count on one hand have done it. Grace also had friends and family members hang up on her, to which her response was to call back, then hang up on them.
There’s the mad-hanger-upper calling me again on my cell, fourth time today.
I think I’ll let her stew a bit longer. Yeah, I think that’s what I’ll do…
Ethics Alarms 
In my life, I can only remember hanging up on two people who weren’t cold-call phone pests, both of them were chronic interrupters. I don’t know why, but someone interrupting me mid sentence, particularly when what I’m saying is important and what they’re saying isn’t, drives me up a wall.
It’s really frustrating when making calls online these days because there is often a lag, which means people interrupt now purely by accident.
Serious question: Do women ever apologize?
My mother is strong-willed woman, and apologizes when she knows she’s screwed up. And arrogance isn’t just a woman thing, I know at least one or two men who really have difficulty apologizing.
yep we do.. I have found myself in need of apologizing more times than I care to number. I also have never hung up on a relative or friend. Telemarketers there a different category.
Yes.
Hmmm.
We do and I have. In fact, I’m quick to apologize. I’m nothing if not direct but if I sense that I have misunderstood, or hurt someone’s feelings, or made them feel uncertain, the apologies are fast and profuse. I do try hard not to get myself into that position in the first place, however.
I have never hung up on anyone. My mother on the other hand? She was notorious for it. It made me so angry when she did it that I vowed to never behave the same way. Even with telemarketers I say please, and thank you, and goodbye. I will say this: hang up on me and it will be a very long time before I take your call again.
Oh, and I have had men – in a work setting – hang up on me.