Does the right to dignity and privacy expire when we do? What do YOU think?
When people die, other have to rifle through the deceased possessions. As a result, the chances that someone will find your secret love-letters, crack open your diary, or watch your amateur porn productions is kinda high.
While those examples range from likely to extreme, they're not THAT much of a stretch.
If you were still alive, the idea that someone else would have the right to view or share these private details of your life is all but unspeakable.
For some, though, the fact that you've lost the spark of life means that you've lost all claims and there's no need to honor your rights and desires (except those outline in your will, I suppose).
I don't know how I feel about that.
I've been thinking about this topic for some time, but it's really been at the front of my mind since Ken Lay died.
Who?
Think "Enron," baby.
Anyway, he'd been convicted of wrong-doing, in the case, but hadn't been sentenced, yet. He ended up dying of heart-failure, before the proceedings concluded. (Conspiracy theories abound.)
According to an NPR segment I heard, yesterday, there's a legal loophole in Texas that may technically clear his name: Supposedly, if you die before such legal proceedings are concluded, then it's like the slate, with regard to that particular case, is wiped clean and it's like the charges were never even filed!
Now, that particular loophole more or less works in the person's favor (although, conspiracy-theories aside, one would have to expire to "take advantage" of it). Still, there are others that aren't so charitable - especially in the case of celebrities.
What do you think? Should private details and aspects of people's lives be viewed, or even shared, once they've died?
If so, should one wait a certain amount of time or...?
4 comments:
If there's an afterlife and you saw people viewing and/or sharing your more private stuff (like dairies, nekkid pix, etc.), would you care?
For the sake of argument, let's assume that, in this afterlife, you're neither happy nor sad.
I would be pissed if my family didn't fight like hell to protect my privacy after I died. I'm a very private person in life and would expect that they would respect that in death.
Wait a minute ... how could I be pissed if I'm dead? Well, you know what I mean.
chele: I know just what you mean.
A number of the things I don't want people to know, now, are things that I hope they NEVER find out about.
When it comes to historical figures, I enjoy knowing more about them and, fifty years, later, it seems kinda odd to be concerned about their privacy... but I don't know.
Anyway, this is why I wanted to bring it up and see what you folks thought.
-w3m
doug: That's interesting.
Thanks for replying. I think one of the things I like so much about these kinds of discussions on- and offline, is that I get exposed ideas and perspectives that differ quite a bit from my own.
-wm
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