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December 29, 2006

Sex in the city blogging

Ethel C. Fenig
The oh-so-primitive days of he said, she said are about to sink to the sub sewer as they transform to the oh so sophisticated 21st century mind set of he said, she blogged, he sued. Back in the last century, long before the internet, women would confide to their (written) diaries or maybe even to some of their best friends, sharing a  tidbit or two of their intimate personal life.  (Uh, yeah guys, women do do that.)  Now they're maintaining online blogs and sending e mails containing the details.  So with the flick of a click here and the flick of a click there  potentially the entire planet can know them also.  

While a blogger might not, should not  expect privacy once send is clicked what about the privacy rights of the people so nakedly--literally--described?  This question and more might soon be answered in a case involving a Washington blogger and one of her many, uhm, vivid lovers.
Lurid testimony about spanking, handcuffs and prostitution aside, the Washingtonienne case could help establish whether people who keep online diaries are obligated to protect the privacy of the people they interact with offline.
As a result
If the case goes to trial, its outcome will be important to bloggers and people who chronicle their lives on social-networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said he may teach the Washingtonienne case this spring during his class at Georgetown Law School. 
And all that "lurid testimony" will, of course, attract avid followers, more than if the case concerned oh say, a detailed blog about a real sewer contract.

However, during the pre historic technological age, about 40 years ago, a Peace Corps volunteer learned she had no privacy rights when a post card she wrote criticizing her host country caught the eye of a local mail carrier, angering their officials.  She ultimately left the country.

But the issues of privacy rights and gossip were settled thousands of years ago within Judaism.  Lashon hora, literally evil tongue, is considered so wrong that in the closing days of the Jewish New Year, Jews promise multiple times to avoid gossip and try to seek forgiveness from those they may have damaged with their evil tongue.

This is illustrated by a Jewish parable.  As the New Year approached a man went to a rabbi  to repent because  he had gossiped during the past year.  The rabbi told the man to slash open a feather pillow, allowing the feathers to blow about and then return the next day.  Puzzled,  the man nevertheless did as he was told.   The next day the rabbi instructed the penitent to now gather up all the scattered feathers and stuff them back into the pillow case.  "But" the man protested "the feathers have blown all over, far away.  I'll never be able to find them." 

"Exactly" the rabbi replied.  "And the same is true with gossip. Don't do it." 

Hmm, perhaps King Solomon was right when he observed "There is nothing new under the sun."

Posted at 11:49 AM | Email | | | Share Share