“The fantastic advances in the field of electronic communication constitute a great danger to the privacy of the individual.”
~ Chief Justice Earl Warren ~
Privacy?
“All human beings have three lives: public, private, and secret.”
~ Gabriel García Márquez ~
I have been thinking a lot about privacy lately. I have never been an anglophile; and frankly when the stories about the Duchesses of Cambridge, sunbathing topless, began to inundate the airwaves, I paid little attention. But after a good week or so, I noticed the headlines regarding an injunction, in favor of the British royals and against the salacious seeking magazines; I decided to read the story.
I had assumed that the pictures of this woman were taken in her youth, perhaps on a collegiate holiday, at a clothing optional beach; but they were not. The photographs in question were snapped at a private home, miles away from anyone else, and while on vacation with her husband! Should she have had the expectation of privacy? Should she be able to enjoy a romantic vacation with her husband? Should she be permitted to sunbathe in peace? Yes!
In an age where it seems that the majority of people are connected to some apparatus that instantly ties them to the rest of the world, should we expect privacy? Should we assume that every word we speak is being recorded, and that our image is constantly being captured? Do we simply throw in the towel and realize that it is no longer just big-brother keeping track of us, but in fact anyone in the world?
In the last few months I have met more than one person, who after a few minutes of speaking with me, have said: “Oh, I have read about you”. There has then been a change in their face, while they try to align the person in front of them with the woman they have read about. It has indeed been an odd situation for all parties. These people have not read about me on this webzine; rather they have read what others have been publishing about me.
Perhaps, it was fortunate that I came across these publications, before beginning to meet the people who had been reading about me. I now am at least able to understand them as they try to process the information, much of it erroneous, though all of it completely heart-felt by the people writing it; and I will also say the things I have read about myself, have been devastating, which I am sure will make the writers happy to know.
These revelations come on the heel of having had my privacy and trust violated in ways I never imagined possible. It has left me quite shaken. I am of course forced to re-evaluate relationships and confidants, as I try to understand who people are to me and what I have meant to them; but I am also left to ponder what it means when people lie about you? When there is enough truth in the tale to make it appear plausible, your enemy or sadly your loved one, has managed to craft the perfect story. Why do people do such things? I wish I had answers.
However, even more troubling has been the things which have been published about the person most dear to my heart, in a format that has left this person unable to respond. What I have realized, as I meet these total strangers who know more about me than many of my dearest friends, is if they have read about me, they have also read about the person most dear to my heart. I do not understand. I have been left in a state of utter dismay, as I have seen this persons’ life used as public fodder to gain – what – sympathy? When did we decide that the people in our lives were no longer entitled to dignity, honor, or respect? When did we decide, as a society, that we could write anything we like, without the thought of accountability? When did people who claim to live by a more divine standard, decide that it was perfectly acceptable to defame the unprotected? How can we not believe that in times of distress we should protect and not attack? Why do we not think that people are entitled to privacy?
It is no secret that regardless of his leaning to the left and having publically supported Fidel Castro, I am now and always will be a devoted aficionada of Gabriel García Márquez’ work. I will never forget reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, and thinking it the most brilliant piece of fiction created. Though García Márquez is not often mentioned in the many news feeds I read, when his name does come up, I always click, to learn more. Through the years, it has most often been stories about upcoming books, how he works, or where he will be traveling to, with plans to share his poetic stories. From my incredibly limited knowledge, he appears to be a private man who had managed to keep his personal life his – almost.
Last year, in what has to be one of the most hate filled stories I have ever read, from what I am assuming is a very jealous brother, the world was told information about Gabriel García Márquez which we had no right to know. The brother claimed he could no longer hold this information in confidence that everyone had the right to know. Who is this brother to decide that Gabriel García Márquez has no right to privacy? Why is the brother not discussing his own life and revealing his own secrets? Why did the brother wait to attack, when Gabriel García Márquez may be defenseless? It is not right.
If you have a burning need to discuss your sex life, then go ahead. If you have an uncontrollable urge to deliberate your bum, then okay. If you are overcome with a desire to talk about your health, fine. Go right ahead and but leave others alone.
When I first started to post pictures of the people we write about, on these pages, I went to great lengths to contact them and get their permission, to share their likeness. Anyone who objected was simply not published; a policy I still follow when posting someone new to ThatIsAllForNow.Com. I strongly believe that everyone is entitled to control their own image. Likewise, I took great care to ensure that anything written about anyone, who was not a public figure, painted the individual in an honest and positive light. After all, who wants to read a story about one of my family members, friends, or neighbor’s faults? I am in no way suggesting that I have succeeded, but I have tried. What we publish today will be with us, in some form or the other, and available for anyone to see, forever! The power of the pen, if you will, should also come with responsibility. That is all for now.
“The real danger is the gradual erosion of individual liberties through automation, integration, and interconnection of many small, separate record-keeping systems, each of which alone may seem innocuous, even benevolent, and wholly justifiable.”
~U. S. Privacy Study Commission, 1977 ~
Great quotes on privacy, food for thought: http://librarianbyday.net/2010/05/05/my-favorite-privacy-quotes-a-top-ten-countdown/
