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Monday, September 12, 2011

Your Space and My Space and Remembering 9/11

At a restaurant the other day with my 90 year old Mother, 4 men are seated in the booth behind us as we are eating our lunch. They began to talk in very loud voices, wherein we could hear their conversation. Unfortunately it was a conversation full of curse words. F.... him. He's a S...of a B. The job is a b..... She's a c..... And on and on. There was not a sentence spoken that was not full of foul language. I asked the manager if they could speak in a quieter tone. They chose not to. The manger suggested that we move to another table. We were in the middle of our lunch and my mother is on a walker, so moving is not the easiest thing to do. I chose to stay put, but regretted it later.
We do have freedom of speech in this country. Yea!!!! But does that freedom of speech include the right to lap over into my space? I have had a person come up to me in a private club and start cursing at me in front of a room full of people. While he may have the right to say what he wants – does he have the right to come into “my space” and be rude and offensive?

In San Francisco it seems there is no law that a person has to wear clothes in public unless they are a food and beverage server. So people are now seen outside without clothes, they are in restaurants without clothes, on public transportation, etc. Again, it's not against the law.....but somehow it seems to be lapping over into my “visual” space.

On 9/11 there were some people who felt so strongly about their ideas and beliefs that they believed it was necessary to kill thousands of people to reinforce the fact that they are RIGHT. That they have their own beliefs is fine. But to force them on us through killing is the ultimate breach of another's “space”.

We all have the right of quiet enjoyment.