Yeah, typical tripe. You know, if you swallow a pound of caffeine or an entire bottle of painkillers it will kill you. We don't need the "enlightened" musings of a New York Times writer to tell us that. Blaring headphones is a similar, if not deadly, case: I don't think there's a single person alive who doesn't know that continued exposure to loud sounds carries a significant risk of hearing loss. I also don't think anybody who was really concerned about it would blare headphones. I'm getting really tired of these "saving us from ourselves" arguments. We get it. There are risks to everything we do. We will decide what's best for us, thank you very much. And if that upsets this author's sensibilities, then maybe she'd better find another place to live.
And before you even try it, NO I am not advocating people engage in destructive behavior, so don't think you can pigeonhole my argument that way. It's not obvious situations like this one I'm worried about. It's the idea that some mook can decide (s)he doesn't like some random thing people are doing, and suddenly we all have to care.