[Oe List ...] Jaime for Thursday ST

[via OE]

Privacy


 
“Opening up and reform” is Deng Xiaoping’s mantra thatopened the economic floodgates of the Chinese market.  I ask my Chinese students to leave their“faces” outside the classroom door so that they can meet their authentic selvesin speaking about their objective selves, feelings expressed, thoughtsarticulated, and willful acts openly planned and shared, through a foreignlanguage.  I request them to be morepublic and be less private.
 
In the last three months, close associate called my attentionto the issue of privacy.  Surfing incyberspace can easily distort personal images. I wrote an article where I mentioned the Chinese word “ni ge” soundinglike the racist word “niggah” in relationship to a widely seen clip of theClippers’ Donald Sterling.  I alsomentioned an associate of African descent.  He indicated that he preferred his name not be associated with the word,an occurrence known to happen when googling.
 
I wrote a “one year, one page” bioprofile for my grandsons,and ended up sharing the output with the net of my immediate family.  One of my relations was not too keen inhaving her children be identified by real names.  Last week, I mentioned my four grandsons byname in this column and was quickly reminded that cyberspace has people whotake advantage of real identities, and my narrative could serve my purposes aswell with just fictitious names.
 
I do not think there was disapproval nor reprobationintended by those who expressed their preferences, as another colleague clearlystated that he did not doubt the nature of my intent, but nonetheless, in atime when media bombard us with images of the bogeyman lurking not too farafar, it is not surprising that our reflexes go on defense, and be vigilant onoffense when necessary.
 
The contrast is stark. Chinese culture needs to open up to the value and virtue of being trulya real individual rather than just be a peon in a crowd, or digit in a unit ofa roll call.  Conversely, we have adigitized world where one can cheaply access the record of everyone in thepublic domain, on one’s profile and those of others, much to the chagrin ofthose who would rather keep certain information private.
 
As a journalist, I am aware how easily a distortion inperception can be manipulated, if not abused on the printed and broadcastmedia.  Many a writer and a broadcastertakes cover behind “reliable sources” to disguise blatant slants for the sakeof favored sensationalized story.  It isthereby understandable that many would rather stay away from exposing theirdetails on open public stare. 
 
Privacy, however, is an internal state of integrity ratherthan an antiseptic slate of social standing and privileged psychical space.  It is not a territory to be guarded by anxiety-filleddefense granted the sordid intents of others. There is the disturbing trend to turn into protected public face, whereprivacy is equal to keeping a socially acceptable, or even safe profile withoutthe gauge of authenticity, truth, and reality.  That’s when anxieties override the carefree but authentic living of ourlives, to defending and refurbishing our public image.
 
There are programs in the Internet that provide introductory99 cents’ offer to access all the public record of a bioprofile (civil andcriminal), plus identified relations; they even a list the number of attemptsmade by others to access one’s record. (A disclaimer: I had not availed of the service so I do not know if the offeridentifies WHO accessed my record.)
 
Still, I do not mean to invalidate the fears of many withregards to the perceived invasion of their privacy, nor will I discard theirfears.  Privacy is a legally protectedterrain though anything in public record is fair game for the asking.  There lies the scare; we teeter between the“public’s need to know” as well as guard “privileged information” as a matterof personal right.  Many in the west are gettingused to the objective accessibility of information on public records now madeavailable in the digitized world.
 
With incidences of young children suing their parents sothey can chart the course of their own destiny over and above parental wishes,parents and grandparents can no longer be cavalier in their mention of realnames in their recollections, memoirs, and personal narratives.  That’s what this grandpa was called toaccount when I casually mentioned actual names of, inter alia, my children and grandchildren.
 
This column has, however, been clear that we do not writeabout a theme or a topic to inform or conduct a cognitive discussion, or mentionour self so others can know us, but to elicit from readers their ownreflections of their circumstances, personal and social, using my ownexperience and relation to trigger the reflective exercise.
 
Privacy, a slippery slope, heads in many directions.  In the west, it is spilling out into thepublic domain with the visualizing capacity of drones equipped with cameras, andfears of invasion of privacy have become rampant.  On the other hand, where there is a longtradition of hiding behind veiled doors and great walls, we know that opening-upis the only option for reform.


j'aime la vie
pinoypanda2031 at aol.com

yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. In all, celebrate!

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/pipermail/oe-wedgeblade.net/attachments/20140630/04ca19fa/attachment.html>