[Leica] Re: Privacy

[walt at waltjohnson.com (Walt Johnson)]

Larry:

 I thought George was speaking about. public baths in Japan, as is buck 
naked and co-ed. I can't imagine anything comparable in NY. Don't 
forget, in  the 50's Ozzie and Harriet had twin beds. ;-)     In 1939t 
Clark Gable saying "damn" on the screen was  racy as hell.  Lewis Hine 
and Jacob Riis did a marvelous job of documenting those unprivate 
situations you listed. I might suggest these situations were visited 
upon the great unwashed,  not on our more fortunate countrymen. Privacy 
has filtered down (or flowed downhill) but it isn't a recent invention, 
the price tag just put it out of reach for many.

Walt

p.s. If you every get to Savannah don't miss lunch or dinner at Mrs. 
Wilkes Boarding House. You will sit next to strangers and eat from 
common serving plates but the food is marvelous.

Lawrence Zeitlin wrote:

>
> On May 18, 2006, at 9:40 AM, Walt wrote:
>
>> If you  want to let your imagination run wild then  picture a public
>> bath system in a large American city. I think our culture has a long way
>> to go before attempting to adopt the Japanese attitudes toward privacy.
>> Our culture, it seems, lacks  respect for much else besides consumption.
>> That, and the fantasy of spreading "democracy" throughout the world.
>
>
> The concept of privacy is a recent phenomenon in American culture and 
> is absent in many world cultures. New York City had numerous public 
> baths which were in use until the 50s. They were large, well 
> constructed buildings with warm baths and swimming pools. A good 
> example can be found on 23rd. St. between First Ave. and the East 
> River. Public swimming pools are still in use. Tenements in the late 
> 1800s and early 1900s were shared by multiple families, with perhaps 3 
> to 4 persons to a room. Often boarders were taken in to provide extra 
> income. Strangers eating from a common serving plate was common in 
> American inns and boarding houses through the early 1900s.
>
> I recently returned from a trip to Williamsburg, VA. We stayed in the 
> Brick House, a colonial era hotel in the center of the restoration 
> area. The hotel had 16 rooms dating from the 1700s. These rooms, about 
> the size of a small modern bedroom, were rented to commercial 
> travelers. The first three or four in each room got to share the bed. 
> Late comers, bedded down on mats on the floor. On a busy market night, 
> perhaps 6 to 8 strangers shared each room.
>
> The idea of an individual having an inviolable "personal space", 
> exemplified as one person to one room and/or total control of 
> information about onself, is very recent and dates from the post WW2 
> era. Despite what the Supreme Court says, there is no "right to 
> privacy" in the Constitution. The implied "right to privacy" is a 
> modern interpretation of the Framer's intent.
>
> Still, I don't want the NSA monitoring my telephone calls.
>
> Larry Z
>
>
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