Is this REALLY "Within the [Moral] Law"?????

As an author I frequently use "Google Alerts" to let me know if there is any new conversation about any of my books or even about me (as when a new article I wrote appears, etc)... so when I got today's "Google Alert - Within the Law" in my email I certainly looked. You see one of my novels is called Within the Law and while alerts often come through based just on the words and not my chosen topic, it CAN happen. Normally when an alert comes through that doesn't represent what I wanted to see I just delete it, but today a headline enclosed in the email really flabbergasted me:

State's Highest Court Says Taking 'Upskirt' Photos on the MBTA Is Within the Law

Boston magazine's Boston Daily (blog)

The “Peeping Tom” laws in Massachusetts only apply when people being
photographed unknowingly are either nude or partially nude in places like ...

WHAT?!

According to this article the Supreme Judicial Court in the State of Massachusetts ruled that "Because the MBTA is a public transit system operating in a public place and uses cameras, the two alleged victims here were not in a place and circumstance where they reasonably would or could have had an expectation of privacy," referring to an incident where a man took pictures up women's skirts on a public train without their knowledge or consent. The man wanted the "Peeping Tom" charge dropped, an appeal which was denied by a lower court in Boston, but was granted by the State's highest court.

In my opinion this is the equivalent of saying a woman asks for unsolicited and aggressive behavior because of what she wears or that just because someone says NO doesn't mean she means NO.

Personally I am furious. I believe I have the right to expect privacy regarding my body parts wherever clothing conceals or partially conceals such parts. 

If I am going through a TSA checkpoint at the airport, my expectation is to be wanded, passed through a metal detector and screened by Advanced Imaging Technology; if I prefer I can request to be patted down and wanded instead of the AIT. And if further inspection is required I expect it to be done in an area respecting and protecting my privacy. Taking an airplane ride and therefore having to pass through such inspections is my choice and my EXPECTATION.

If I am taking mass transit such as a city train to work, waiting on a line at a bank, or standing in a crowded elevator, it is NOT my expectation to allow a stranger to peek under my clothing (especially without my knowledge or consent) to see parts of my body that I should reasonably imagine to be PRIVATE merely for the stranger's unknown and possibly malevolent intentions.

Please forgive my rant, but I think we need to make our feelings of this ruling known before we loose all rights to the expectation of privacy and personal rights.

I am interesting in hearing what you think about this...

*****

Important Update to this story - 

Beacon Hill Officials Pass Legislation to Make Secret ‘Upskirt’ Photos Illegal

The expedited bill came in direct response to a controversial Supreme Judicial Court ruling.

Kudos to the Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick for signing "An Act Relative to Unlawful Sexual Surveillance" into law in the State of Massachusetts. It's a shame that it takes a governor's signature to ensure decency and protect human rights.

Carpe Diem

It’s been a tumultuous week. It began with the horrendous bombing at the Boston marathon, an explosion in Texas that devastated a community, followed by the senseless killing of an MIT police officer and the latest today, a 6.6 earthquake in China in an area still trying to recover from another earthquake a few years back.

Some people say the end of the world is near. They say that mankind has been “naughty” and like Sodom and Gomorrah, life as we know it will be struck down. It’s been intimated that we angered a supreme power and we must now pay the consequences.

I say that these events, heartbreaking  certainly, and overwhelming to families who have lost loved ones, have also allowed human beings to show their resiliency and strength in the face of unremarkable obstacles and threats. In times of calamity, mankind has always found a way to unite with fellow man.

The world sent messages of support, prayers, hopes and good thoughts to the city of Boston. Die-hard Yankee fans cheered for the Red Sox just because. Just hours after an explosion shattered the community of West, Texas, cars and trucks were lined up on the highways bringing supplies and offers of help. And back to Massachusetts, where cheers were loud and boisterous and emotional when the surviving Boston bomber was apprehended. South China was hit with an earthquake and once again folks huddled around television sets hoping for anything positive.

People care. It is the acts of heroism, compassion, selflessness and demonstrations of strength and calm that fill me with hope every day.

No one is ever sure of what will happen tomorrow or even if there WILL be a tomorrow. This makes it so important to live each day as if it were your last – never miss a chance to tell your loved ones how you feel, experience life and not just walk through it, and truly appreciate all of the good things around you  and the people in your life.

There are no guarantees and in a way that’s a good thing – why else would we force ourselves to live each day to its fullest and savor each delight that comes our way?

Laugh often, revel in the sounds all around you, enjoy the beauty of nature, and always give shelter and compassion to people in need. We can all be there for each other and sometimes even when you might ask for help, it does more than just make you feel better, it makes another person less frustrated and feel necessary.

When we do face adversity, intolerance, cowardice and terrorists, and hate – know that these are thankfully fewer than the good people around us and certainly not as vital to our communities as we are. Don’t live in fear, don’t stop living, don’t stop believing in yourself and in the good of people overall.

Be there. Live. Rejoice.