Boundaries, privacy and your home

[AFPheonix]

I will grant you that the fact that many providers are confused about what they are and are not allowed to do under HIPPA is a problem. Unfortunately, it's one of those things where employers need to do a better job training their staff before they go interacting with the public. It can be a little confusing for those of us constrained by it, and I imagine there's a lot of people out there who figure it's better to be safe than sorry concerning people's information.

[Boozy]

I was trying to make a point about how if a person gets comfortable giving up one aspect of control over their lives then that little crack can be wedged bigger and bigger.

I do understand what you're saying. For example, you and I agreed that society needs to be careful about small violations of rights causing larger problems in the case of freedom of speech.

But I just don't see a slippery slope with this particular issue.

Like I said, its easy for an individual to screen their calls if they so choose. You don't have to accept calls from those who don't identify themselves; there's no law that says you have to speak to anyone who calls your home.

Seshat made a good point about the economically underprivileged, many of whom find themselves living with people they barely know and/or don't necessarily trust. Laws have to protect the privacy rights of those who don't have the economic power to do so themselves.

For the record, I don't really see a problem with someone calling from a doctor's office and saying, "I am calling for Dr. So-and-So"...as long as they don't then identify what kind of doctor they are or divulge any information like "I am calling about Boozy's anti-psychotic medication refill."

[rahmota]

Boozy: Maybe I did overreact a bit on this in the way I projected things. Some of it was the attitude on CS and needed to vent here without causing a scene there.

And yeah there is no law or other thign saying you have to talk to someone who clalls your home. In that regards its more of a respect or attitude thing to me. If they dont respect me or are polite enough to identify themselves then they shouldnt expect me to talk to them. And some of the people get rather bent about it when you ask them on it.

And yeah Seshat made a good point. I still shudder to think about living like that. I was serious when I said I'd rather live in my car or under a bridge or something than be stuck in a hell hole like that. Might as well kill me.

AFP: I suppose but overreacting in somecases can be a bit more irritating than under reacting.

[Seshat]

And yeah Seshat made a good point. I still shudder to think about living like that. I was serious when I said I'd rather live in my car or under a bridge or something than be stuck in a hell hole like that. Might as well kill me.

I had a chat with a homeless person once who pointed out to me that without an address, a contact phone number, a place to shower, and a place to keep your work uniform, it's almost impossible to get and keep even the most low-status job there is.

And to the person I talked to, a share house has more privacy than a spot under a bridge. You at least have a room to yourself, and can close the door when you try to get clean.

There are two categories of people who commonly share-house where I am: students who choose to live in shared housing to keep costs down while they're studying, and people who are avoiding homelessness or digging themselves out of it.


As for the privacy-of-phone-calls issue, any of the following would be acceptable to me: 'this is Jill from Dr Nameless' office, calling for Sally' or 'this is Jill calling for Sally, on a private matter' or 'on a medical matter'.

However, 'this is Jill from the Moorabbin Mental Health Clinic calling for Sally' would not be, unless the clinic had been explicitly told that anyone at the number could know Sally's info.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

I had a chat with a homeless person once who pointed out to me that without an address, a contact phone number, a place to shower, and a place to keep your work uniform, it's almost impossible to get and keep even the most low-status job there is.

Having been homeless at several points in my life, I cannot stress how important this statement is. People who complain that homeless people should get jobs have no idea how hard it is to hold a job without a home. There are not even enough temporary shelters for homeless people to go to. In some cities there are only enough beds for 10 percent of the homeless on their streets. The rest sleep outside, wherever they can find, and are harassed by the cops because it's illegal to sleep in public parks or under bridges---so they sleep an hour, then get woken and chased off, find another place, sleep an hour, get woken and chased off, all night long.




Rahmota, do you realize that you live in a completely different culture than many of the people here in the US? You do. I spent my teenage years living among rural farmers, after growing up the California suburbs, and I really suffered from culture shock while there. A lot of Americans, both rural and urban, don't realize that the culture has diverged in the last 40 years. I have come to the conclusion that this is the cause of most disagreements and misunderstandings between Americans. People simply don't realize that we no longer have one main culture---we have two.

In a rural environment, your choices are your own. It's up to you to decide which trees to cut, which mines to dig, which fish to catch, and which crops to plant. Your challenges are weather, wildlife, and the natural elements. So are your resources. This lifestyle fosters a sense of independence, epitomized in the image of the pioneer.

In an urban environment, your choices are contributions to group choices. Urban life depends on other people---often other people you don't know. Finding a job, a place to live, ways to spend your leisure time, all depend on successfully interacting with other people. Your challenges are competition from other people. Your resources are also other people. This lifestyle fosters a sense of interdependence.

In a rural environment, the rules are nature's (or God's) rules. It's not up to you how long the seasons are, where lodes of minerals are located, or what wildlife lives where. Laws are nature's absolute laws. In an urban environment, the rules are humans' rules. Zoning codes, labor laws, interest rates, and traffic laws are human inventions. Laws are human, relativist laws.

In a rural culture, citizens want to be left alone. Regulations, such as privacy laws, are intrusions. In an urban culture, regulations are inevitable. Urban culture is impossible without regulations, so the urban issue is which regulations we should live under.

Please understand, I am not disparaging either culture, they are both equally valid---just very different. In urban culture, living with people you don't know very well is just a fact of life for many; that's what you do to get along there. The majority of people are not wealthy enough to be completely independent, so they spend their lives interdependent on others.

I have lived with many roommates, although I am lucky in that most of them have been friends, and I have never had to put a lock on my bedroom door. Of course, those medical privacy laws are not only to protect me, they also allow me to be courteous to my roomates. I've had male roommates and I know they wouldn't be interested in hearing a message from the doctors office that my pap smear came back irregular, could I please call them?

[rahmota]

TPG:

Rahmota, do you realize that you live in a completely different culture than many of the people here in the US?

Yeah I am begining to realize that thigns are a bit worse than I thought. I mean i always knew there was a somewhat different outlook between rural and urban on stuff. But lately its like you said two different worlds.

I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm disparaging on city life and all. i grew up on the farm here, spent my youth on the farm. Have basically lived on the farm all my life, heck I even commuted to college from home. I've worked in the city but my heart's always been in the country. Its the way of life I know and love and understand.

*shrug*

[ThePhoneGoddess]

There's nothing wrong with the fact that you prefer the culture you grew up in, Rahmota, as long as you recognize that urban people also tend to prefer their culture over another.

A lot of the problem between American "liberals" and "conservatives" is the fact that they often refuse to understand each other's point of view, and that causes so many prejudiced opinions regarding each other.

[rahmota]

TPG: Oh I am well aware that people are most comfortable and prefer a culture closer to what they are used to than not. I have nothign really against urbanites. I just wish they would stay in their zone and let me stay in mine and we both live our lives the way we wanna and not get in each other's business. Much.

And as for the prejudice between liberals and conservatives or whatever. Thats one of the factors in it.