Bring on Chicago's new area code

We will survive the switch to 872.

Our dialing fingers won't fall off. Our identities won't be irrevocably damaged.

Like the plagues we've survived before this, Chicago can handle a new area code.

In case you missed it (unlikely since it was big scary news Monday and Tuesday),
Chicago is getting a new area code, 872, starting in November.

You don't have to give up 773 or 312 if you already have it. The new code, 872, will be an alternative.

I'm most interested in the news that 872 won't be tied to a particular part of town.

If you get a call from 872, it won't be clear where the caller is from -- a far-flung neighborhood or a potentially tony downtown address? We love to label, so that's a loss.

But, precisely because we like to label and judge, I rank it as mostly a plus.

In this age of Caller ID and Google -- when we can know everything about a person before we even pick up the phone -- we could all use a little more anonymity.