<font color='black' size='2' face='arial'><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: large;">Privacy</b><br>
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<div class="MsoNormal">“Opening up and reform” is Deng Xiaoping’s mantra that
opened 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 selves
in speaking about their objective selves, feelings expressed, thoughts
articulated, and willful acts openly planned and shared, through a foreign
language. I request them to be more
public and be less private.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">In the last three months, close associate called my attention
to the issue of privacy. Surfing in
cyberspace can easily distort personal images.
I wrote an article where I mentioned the Chinese word “ni ge” sounding
like the racist word “niggah” in relationship to a widely seen clip of the
Clippers’ Donald Sterling. I also
mentioned 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.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">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 in
having her children be identified by real names. Last week, I mentioned my four grandsons by
name in this column and was quickly reminded that cyberspace has people who
take advantage of real identities, and my narrative could serve my purposes as
well with just fictitious names.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">I do not think there was disapproval nor reprobation
intended by those who expressed their preferences, as another colleague clearly
stated that he did not doubt the nature of my intent, but nonetheless, in a
time when media bombard us with images of the bogeyman lurking not too far
afar, it is not surprising that our reflexes go on defense, and be vigilant on
offense when necessary.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">The contrast is stark.
Chinese culture needs to open up to the value and virtue of being truly
a real individual rather than just be a peon in a crowd, or digit in a unit of
a roll call. Conversely, we have a
digitized world where one can cheaply access the record of everyone in the
public domain, on one’s profile and those of others, much to the chagrin of
those who would rather keep certain information private.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">As a journalist, I am aware how easily a distortion in
perception can be manipulated, if not abused on the printed and broadcast
media. Many a writer and a broadcaster
takes cover behind “reliable sources” to disguise blatant slants for the sake
of favored sensationalized story. It is
thereby understandable that many would rather stay away from exposing their
details on open public stare. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Privacy, however, is an internal state of integrity rather
than an antiseptic slate of social standing and privileged psychical space. It is not a territory to be guarded by anxiety-filled
defense granted the sordid intents of others.
There is the disturbing trend to turn into protected public face, where
privacy is equal to keeping a socially acceptable, or even safe profile without
the gauge of authenticity, truth, and reality.
That’s when anxieties override the carefree but authentic living of our
lives, to defending and refurbishing our public image.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">There are programs in the Internet that provide introductory
99 cents’ offer to access all the public record of a bioprofile (civil and
criminal), plus identified relations; they even a list the number of attempts
made by others to access one’s record.
(A disclaimer: I had not availed of the service so I do not know if the offer
identifies WHO accessed my record.)</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Still, I do not mean to invalidate the fears of many with
regards to the perceived invasion of their privacy, nor will I discard their
fears. Privacy is a legally protected
terrain 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 matter
of personal right. Many in the west are getting
used to the objective accessibility of information on public records now made
available in the digitized world.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">With incidences of young children suing their parents so
they 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 real
names in their recollections, memoirs, and personal narratives. That’s what this grandpa was called to
account when I casually mentioned actual names of, <i>inter alia,</i> my children and grandchildren.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">This column has, however, been clear that we do not write
about a theme or a topic to inform or conduct a cognitive discussion, or mention
our self so others can know us, but to elicit from readers their own
reflections of their circumstances, personal and social, using my own
experience and relation to trigger the reflective exercise.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Privacy, a slippery slope, heads in many directions. In the west, it is spilling out into the
public domain with the visualizing capacity of drones equipped with cameras, and
fears of invasion of privacy have become rampant. On the other hand, where there is a long
tradition of hiding behind veiled doors and great walls, we know that opening-up
is the only option for reform.</div>
<br>
<div style="clear:both"><i>j'aime la vie</i><br>
<a href="mailto:pinoypanda2031@aol.com">pinoypanda2031@aol.com</a><br>
<div><i>yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. In all, celebrate!</i></div>
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