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Maybe just don't be a pervert? If my search history were leaked I'd still go about my life happily.

annodomini2019 8y ago
Ah, the old “I have nothing to hide” argument.
brianpgordon 8y ago
You can't think of any reason why someone might not want everyone they know to be aware of what they're searching for? Do you think someone's who's been sexually assaulted and tried to search for resources online would like their coworkers to find out about it? Do you think someone with HIV, or depression, wants everyone in the world to know? What if someone is in an abusive relationship and they reach out for help online and their abuser finds out before they can safely get out? What if you have some teenager who's homosexual or atheist in a conservative religious community and people find out through their search history - they could be killed, or cut off from their family. I could go on and on. At some point in their life almost everyone is going to run into something that they need to educate themselves about and that they don't want the whole world to know about. What's your suggestion, that they go to a library and try to check out a book about it?
slavak 8y ago
What if I _like_ being a pervert? If I like midget porn, or have a foot fetish, why exactly should I have to suppress that? It's not illegal, and it's not immoral, but I'd still prefer my coworkers not be aware of the specifics of how and why I get my rocks off.
intertextuality 8y ago
"I have nothing to hide" has got to be the single worst argument I have ever come across. If you think about the implications here for even 5 seconds you'd see what a terrible, shortsighted, untenable argument this is.
ben_w 8y ago
I know people who have felt shame at being asexual and deep relief that their spouse accepts them as such. I don’t understand that shame, but my non-comprehension doesn’t invalidate it. Conversely, I know people who grew up hiding that they were bi, in one case because they grew up in the Middle East. That fear is much more comprehensible, as it could’ve literally killed them.

annodomini2019 8y ago

Ah, the old “I have nothing to hide” argument.

You can't think of any reason why someone might not want everyone they know to be aware of what they're searching for? Do you think someone's who's been sexually assaulted and tried to search for resources online would like their coworkers to find out about it? Do you think someone with HIV, or depression, wants everyone in the world to know? What if someone is in an abusive relationship and they reach out for help online and their abuser finds out before they can safely get out? What if you have some teenager who's homosexual or atheist in a conservative religious community and people find out through their search history - they could be killed, or cut off from their family. I could go on and on. At some point in their life almost everyone is going to run into something that they need to educate themselves about and that they don't want the whole world to know about. What's your suggestion, that they go to a library and try to check out a book about it?

slavak 8y ago

What if I _like_ being a pervert? If I like midget porn, or have a foot fetish, why exactly should I have to suppress that? It's not illegal, and it's not immoral, but I'd still prefer my coworkers not be aware of the specifics of how and why I get my rocks off.

intertextuality 8y ago

"I have nothing to hide" has got to be the single worst argument I have ever come across. If you think about the implications here for even 5 seconds you'd see what a terrible, shortsighted, untenable argument this is.

ben_w 8y ago

I know people who have felt shame at being asexual and deep relief that their spouse accepts them as such. I don’t understand that shame, but my non-comprehension doesn’t invalidate it. Conversely, I know people who grew up hiding that they were bi, in one case because they grew up in the Middle East. That fear is much more comprehensible, as it could’ve literally killed them.