The Utility of Privacy

[Duncan Frissell]

At 06:54 PM 11/18/96 -0500, Black Unicorn wrote:
>> Not long ago, a college education was essentially a death warrant 
>> in Cambodia.  Prior to that, a degree was considered a good thing
>> there.  People saw no reason to hid the fact that they had been
>> in school.  Trouble is, things changed.
>
>Oh, come on.  That could never happen here.

Where have I heard that line before?  Sandy was giving an actual example of
a general problem.  Educated people were executed in Cambodia.  That may
not happen here but it is very common for innocent legal activities or
characteristics to later become very illegal and subject to punishment.

Examples:

Judaism in Germany in 1900 vs 1940
Smoking in America in 1950 vs 1996
Spanking children in Sweden 1950 vs 1996
Owning gold in America in 1930 vs 1933
Publishing and distributing "Discovery of the Orgone" in the 1940s vs the
1950s 

The problem is that you can't always guess in advance which of your
behaviors or characteristics will get you in trouble later.  

The fewer people who know your affairs the less trouble you will be in when
things change.

DCF

"When I was born, smoking was a virtue and sodomy a vice."