School spies on kids through student laptops

[ShadowHM]

In addition, except for what could be used to steal my identity or property, I frankly don't care what anyone knows about me. I have little to hide (nothing I can think of, offhand).

--Pete

I have been thinking about this statement. You are not the first to say this to me. And, while I applaud the sentiment, I can't agree. I do care what people know about me, because it can and always will colour their perceptions of me and mine.

First, there are plenty of places in my life tht are duct taped together, so to speak. I want to chose who gets to see that. I have many layers of friends and acquaintances and I want to retain the right to choose who gets what information about me.

Now it is entirely possible that some of the activities of my mis-spent youth have helped inculcate that feeling. The friend who played bridge with me on Tuesdays didn't need to know about the LSD or marijuana on the weekend. Had she known, I would have lost the pleasure of her company for that weekly bridge game. She would have been sure I was incompetent, at the very least. I would no longer have been judged on the merits of my play or my demeanor while playing. People are like that.

Additionally, I am also scarred by the presence of a few self-serving folks who have been part of my life. Just as in that classic warning: anything you say or do will be held against you. More than that, it will be held against someone you care about. I have learned, via the school of hard knocks, to be very very careful about what information is available to such people.

So while I salute your cavalier attitude, I certainly can't share it. The world is full of people who judge quickly and completely on small bits of information. It is human nature.