As I wrote yesterday in my article, On Blog Drive-Bys, DNS Propagation and More, my son and I got into a long discussion about privacy and what can be considered an invasion of it. This discussion was sparked by a remark by a brother-in-law (June) who witnessed part of the event.
Ever since the burglary attempt I wrote about in my article, I Foiled A Burglar This Morning, at least one of my relatives (June, Intoy or his wife Cora) are up between the hours of midnight and sunrise to make sure it doesn't happen. Almost all local burglaries take place during these hours. June was out and about at this time and looking down the creek next to my house (the burglar had scaled the wall next to the creek) when he spotted the sexual acts taking place. He told me he wished he had a video camera at the time.
Would filming an event in a public place like this be considered an invasion of privacy? How public is that creek at 3 am? In my own opinion, yes, it would be an invasion of privacy. The people involved obviously thought they had found a place where they wouldn't be seen by passersby. Had it been 3 pm, during daylight, my opinion would be different because there would be no expectation of privacy.
Speaking of the expectation of privacy, camera phones are frequently being used for nefarious purposes. A few weeks ago, while I was standing next to my car near the market downtown and waiting for my wife to come out of a store, I spotted a male teenager walking past a female teenager next to the open-air market. I had no idea what happened until after it happened. The guy had put his camera phone under her skirt and taken one or more pictures. The only reason I knew it happened was because I saw him looking at the phone after he continued walking. I had seen his arm go down behind her but didn't realize he was doing until afterward. I was too far away to do anything about it at the time. I considered this to be an undeniable invasion of privacy. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just go to Google Image Search and use "upskirt" as the search term.
It all boils down to respect. The reasonable expectation of privacy, in any situation and in any location, should be respected. People who don't respect others do things like taking upskirt photos or making videos of sex acts in places where the party in question expects a little privacy. Are people becoming so insensitive and so disrespectful that privacy is quickly becoming as antiquated as telephones with cords? What do YOU think about it?
