Letter: ‘Telephonic plague’ should be illegal

“Telephonic plague”: The incessant calling by robocallers, politicians, etc., during election years. It should be illegal.

Why do we have to put up with this? Having to answer the phone every five minutes to listen to “Hello! Donald … Ted … Hillary need …” and yes, even “Hi, this is Sarah Palin …”

As if that isn’t bad enough, I get the “Hi, we’re conducting an anonymous survey. Are you voting in the Republican or Democratic election?” Really? My home phone number can be identified by everyone with Internet access. There’s no such thing as anonymous.

This is abuse on a monumental scale. It’s harassment and should be illegal. It’s worse than spam or junk mail. At least I have a filter that eliminates spam. You can’t screen the “telephonic plague.” There is no vaccine to take away the pain of hearing the phone cry out again and again, minute after minute … well short of killing the telephone itself.

The public should not have to endure the political virus that is unleashed every two years. We see signs littering every corner, and political ads on television day and night. Heck, there’s probably even skywriting going on somewhere, so don’t look up if you’re going outside.

I wish I could just give everyone who is spreading the “telephonic plague” a good shot in the rear for every call I receive. I bet that would cure this ailment before it even starts. I’m Fran Heckrotte and I approve of this message.

This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 8:56 PM with the headline "Letter: ‘Telephonic plague’ should be illegal."