Do we expect a private life these days, (even though we're told it is a human right)?

[grahamg]

Do you expect to have a private life, where what goes on in your own home is no one's business but you and your family, (unless abuse of some kind is going on)?

We're told this is a human right, something we can go to the courts to try to protect, should some government body attempt to intrude but I've read that some experts believe our UK courts apply laws that contravene some aspects of the right to a private life.

The issue of whether human beings need or deserve a private life was commented upon by a Canadian Lawyer called Goldwater some thirty years ago, and she asserted "there was a need for privacy in close personal relationships", (and if she said so, and this has been quoted in various books I've read, then I'm prepared to take her seriously).

Trying to put forward why privacy is required in our homes for a moment, if whatever you say to your wife/husband/child is liable to be scrutinised then the only outcome I can see is that everyone starts to behave differently, (as though they are being scrutinised if that isn't too obvious a thing to say).

I can imagine parents saying to themselves, "I dont want anyone accusing me of not bringing my child up to do this or that", and instead of deciding what is appropriate in your home, and in what are supposed to be close personal relationships, you kind of defer to some concept of what others may think. "I dont want my child saying this or that" means you go out of your way perhaps to please the child rather than hold them to account if they are behaving in a selfish fashion perhaps(?).

Is it anything to worry about, well as I've stated Goldwater says it is, and if you are close to someone you say whatever is in your mind, and they are free to do the same surely, (and this process shouldn't be interfered with unless there is abuse of some kind).

 

[Alligatorob]

Do you expect to have a private life, where what goes on in your own home is no one's business but you and your family, (unless abuse of some kind is going on)?

Sure, but there always have been, and always will be limits...

 

[horseless carriage]

Do you expect to have a private life.

You have to ask why Big Brother is so keen to keep tabs on you. Every purchase you make, unless it's cash over the counter with no record, is recorded on a profile. When you pay by card or electronic gizmo, it gets recorded. Those spending records are bought and sold and so your profile is expanded. When you are on line the cookies keep tabs on you. Privacy? It's a forgotten word.

Next time you do something on line that requires some sort of interaction, just look at the details being asked for, then note the compulsory asterisks alongside the boxes that must be filled in. Private life?

Challenge the intrusion and you will often hear: "What have you got to hide?" "None of your business," would be my response.

 

[grahamg]

Sure, but there always have been, and always will be limits...

We can certainly agree on limits if the limits are where there is a question of abuse, but to simply give away all other aspects of our private lives, (as I'd have to say I've witnessed, with court officials asking intrusive questions, surreptitiously videoing everyone involved it was discovered some years later in the UK family courts), is a different matter, and this "I dont want to be accused of this or that business I've alluded to before seems very damaging thinking to my mind.

We've perhaps all heard the saying, "the personal is political" haven't we, and someone I used to know quite well used to say, "everything is political" in relation to what was happening to her in her personal life she thought.

 

[grahamg]

More on the "Personal is political" point above, (sections taken out to avoid contravening forum rules, and I hope it still makes sense), quote:

"We have not done much trying to solve immediate personal problems of women in the group. We’ve mostly picked topics by two methods: In a small group it is possible for us to take turns bringing questions to the meeting (like, Which do/did you prefer, a girl or a boy baby or no children, and why? What happens to your relationship if your man makes more money than you? Less than you?). Then we go around the room answering the questions from our personal experiences. Everybody talks that way. At the end of the meeting we try to sum up and generalize from what’s been said and make connections. (Break)

I’ve been pressured to be strong, selfless, other-oriented, sacrificing, and in general pretty much in control of my own life. To admit to the problems in my life is to be deemed weak. So I want to be a strong woman, in movement terms, and not admit I have any real problems that I can’t find a personal solution to (Break). It is at this point a political action to tell it like it is, to say what I really believe about my life instead of what I’ve always been told to say.

So the reason I participate in these meetings is not to solve any personal problem. One of the first things we discover in these groups is that personal problems are political problems. There are no personal solutions at this time. (Break)

One more thing: I think we must listen to what so-called apolitical women have to say—not so we can do a better job of organizing them but because together we are a mass movement. I think we who work full-time in the movement tend to become very narrow. What is happening now is that when non-movement women disagree with us, we assume it’s because they are “apolitical,” not because there might be something wrong with our thinking. Women have left the movement in droves. The obvious reasons are that we are tired of being sex slaves and doing sh*t work for men whose hypocrisy is so blatant, (Break). But there is really a lot more to it than that. I can’t quite articulate it yet. I think “apolitical” women are not in the movement for very good reasons, and as long as we say “you have to think like us and live like us to join the charmed circle,” we will fail. What I am trying to say is that there are things in the consciousness of “apolitical” women (I find them very political) that are as valid as any political consciousness we think we have. We should figure out why many women don’t want to do action. Maybe there is something wrong with the action or something wrong with why we are doing the action or maybe the analysis of why the action is necessary is not clear enough in our minds".

 

[fuzzybuddy]

Do we expect a private life? Yes, we may expect it, but as long as what we do, say, or think is data from which others can earn money, nothing about us is off limits.

 

[NorthernLight]

I live in an apartment. There are rules about pets and roommates. I can hear the person in the next apartment snoring at night, or talking on the phone.

In this forum, we've written about homeless people relieving themselves in public.

Privacy is a luxury that many can't expect.

 

[Nathan]

We're told this is a human right, something we can go to the courts to try to protect, should some government body attempt to intrude but I've read that some experts believe our UK courts apply laws that contravene some aspects of the right to a private life.

I don't know what's going on in the UK, but here in the U.S. privacy is intact, as long as you're not engaged in violence or drug and weapons trafficking and such. The main invasion of privacy here is from tech corporations harvesting our data for profit. We can control that, but only if we discontinue use of the technology in question.

 

[grahamg]

I don't know what's going on in the UK, but here in the U.S. privacy is intact, as long as you're not engaged in violence or drug and weapons trafficking and such. The main invasion of privacy here is from tech corporations harvesting our data for profit. We can control that, but only if we discontinue use of the technology in question.

The points I made somewhere above about intrusive questions being asked by court appointed officials, and the secret filming that went on at one time, indicates to me that we are all seen as guinea pigs in this country, to be used and studied as someone somewhere decides, (how can you trust a system that ever allowed such a carry on?).

It crosses my mind that the fact such people are empowered to ask intrusive questions even where there are no questions of abuse being raised by anyone makes me think any parent/father should not act in the fashion they believe is best for their child, but what might please some outside body should they enquire into your conversations with your kids, (as said where there's no question of abuse being involved at all).

I imagine praising yourself as a parent is one way to inculcate in the child's mind the thoughts those court officials will need to hear, and at the same time, as you're not being genuine with your child, I'd guess the closeness that you'd expect, and hope would exist between you and your child goes out the window at the same time.