Privacy
This constitutes the beginning of my expressing how I feel about privacy. It started as rough notes and ranting and it is not finished. Much of it remains unformed and disjoint. However, a couple of people have brought up privacy issues recently and I thought that I’d just post it. Here goes.
I am an outgoing person. That doesn’t mean that I’m always open to communication and interaction with others. There are circumstances in which I have
no objection to approach by a stranger. Those circumstances are when I
have agreed (however implicitly) to be open to such in advance.
Meetings, parties, even bars count.
The facts that I have an outside door to my dwelling, that I have a
telephone, that I have an e-mail address, that I am, at times, in the
street are not an invitation to all and sundry to take my time.
Expecially, in the case of requests for my time for the purposes and
probably the benefit (possibly indirect) of the requestor, such as
begging or proselytisation
One might describe it as drawing a distinction between being approached
by a person and being approached by an ideology (or a meme).
Ideologies and businesses do not have personal rights, regardless of
how we may anthropomorphise them (e.g. in the law). People have personal
rights and those rights end where my nose begins. This is a simplistic
version of the nebulous ending point of others' rights. Yes, they may
make some (probably incidental) noise/smell/sight/taste/feeling in my presence without
automatically impinging inappropriately but when sensory input is aimed
deliberately at me or at any individual or group present, I think that that's a good
rule-of-thumb personal space beginning-point.
Initiation of business should not be available to all strangers at all
times. Business should be compartmentalised into a stated portion of
one's day or set of circumstances.
A person may approach me to warn of immediate and local danger. If
there is immediate danger that is far away, then I cannot offer immediate
help. It the danger is local but not right now, then then there is no
urgency to override my injunction against initiating inappropriate
contact.
A person may also approach me for interpersonal reasons. That is, for
friendship, social interaction.
Begging is not social. Begging is business. A beggar is trying to
sell me salve for my sense of generosity in exchange for money (and to get money, of course) . See above about initiating business exchanges.
I believe that it is axiomatic that personal privacy exists and that it
is inappropriate to infringe upon it without permission. This may not
be an axiom for everyone but...
I am an outgoing person. That doesn’t mean that I’m always open to communication and interaction with others. There are circumstances in which I have
no objection to approach by a stranger. Those circumstances are when I
have agreed (however implicitly) to be open to such in advance.
Meetings, parties, even bars count.
The facts that I have an outside door to my dwelling, that I have a
telephone, that I have an e-mail address, that I am, at times, in the
street are not an invitation to all and sundry to take my time.
Expecially, in the case of requests for my time for the purposes and
probably the benefit (possibly indirect) of the requestor, such as
begging or proselytisation
One might describe it as drawing a distinction between being approached
by a person and being approached by an ideology (or a meme).
Ideologies and businesses do not have personal rights, regardless of
how we may anthropomorphise them (e.g. in the law). People have personal
rights and those rights end where my nose begins. This is a simplistic
version of the nebulous ending point of others' rights. Yes, they may
make some (probably incidental) noise/smell/sight/taste/feeling in my presence without
automatically impinging inappropriately but when sensory input is aimed
deliberately at me or at any individual or group present, I think that that's a good
rule-of-thumb personal space beginning-point.
Initiation of business should not be available to all strangers at all
times. Business should be compartmentalised into a stated portion of
one's day or set of circumstances.
A person may approach me to warn of immediate and local danger. If
there is immediate danger that is far away, then I cannot offer immediate
help. It the danger is local but not right now, then then there is no
urgency to override my injunction against initiating inappropriate
contact.
A person may also approach me for interpersonal reasons. That is, for
friendship, social interaction.
Begging is not social. Begging is business. A beggar is trying to
sell me salve for my sense of generosity in exchange for money (and to get money, of course) . See above about initiating business exchanges.
I believe that it is axiomatic that personal privacy exists and that it
is inappropriate to infringe upon it without permission. This may not
be an axiom for everyone but...