>Intellectually, I recognize that the people making telemarketing calls by and large are in a precarious financial position, with all of the risks to health and happiness that come with that. I think we need to treat them better (even if that's just tersely hanging up, rather than stringing them on).

Those who steal are often not in the best of financial straights. Yet we still punish them. Those who commit even worse crimes are often meeting some unmet need or desire, one which may only exist because they are mentally ill, and yet this means we see them as a danger to society. We may pity them, but we will still punish them.

So, shouldn't the same logic apply even when the wrong being committed is much milder? The punishment will be milder (get yelled at, have time wasted) since the wrong is milder, but they still deserve the social repercussion of their actions.