Different takes on privacy

Our concept of privacy is culturally tinged. What is sacrosanct or impolite may not be viewed by someone else in a different culture. I've lost count of the number of times a 'well meaning' person on the street has remarked that minibeanie ought to put on a pair of shoes or socks. Nevermind that it's sweltering summer in May and June. I used to reply politely that "it's ok, he's not cold" but there had also been moments when I retorted, "it's no business of yours". Not proud of those times but really, it's NOYBB! More often these days though, I play dumb and not dignify it with a reply.

Privacy, or the sphere of personal space, is a cultural thing. It's a well-known joke that when an Arab and a Finn is standing in a conversation, the pair will 'dance' around the room. The Arab with his much smaller notion of personal space will inch towards the Finn. Then the Finn, who is known for not even wanting to see his neighbour's cottage while in his own, will inch away from the Arab. Hence, the dance. Joke/anecdote aside, I've had many strangers besides proffering their advice, pinch or touch minibeanie. I appreciate the compliment but he's not a slab of pork in Carrefour to be tested for freshness.

The latest incident that spark this tirade is receiving a mail from Haagen Dazs' marketing department. I signed up as a member online but I did not recall anywhere where I check I want to be kept notified of Haagen Dazs promotions. No biggie because there's the "delete" button. But what really raised my heckles was the moron who put everyone's email address on the cc list. My email is private and even though, in all probability most people on that list do not give a hoot who I am, I still don't appreciate my email address being circulated out in the open. And no, there isn't even an 'unsubscribe' line in the mail. This will NOT be happening in Europe or the US so perhaps in a densely populated country of 1 billion, the concept of privacy is a foreign one.

minibeanie is 11 months & 1 week old