Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

The humble public restroom illustrates our tendency to security over privacy, even when we know better.

Privacy: the door opens in such a way that the first thing you see is NOT toilet.

Security (safety): the door opens in such a way to permit easiest exit in event of something bad.

Security means a tiny crack in the door reveals the person using the toilet who forgot to lock the door.

Guess which one Starbucks, and everyone else, uses? Public “safety,” i.e., security, overrules privacy all the time in public buildings. This is so that when the building is on fire, we will be able to escape to safety and security.

When was the last fire we had in a public building? One in a thousand means the building burns down every three years. Ooooops, we miscalculated on that one. One in ten thousand means the building burns down every 30 years. Well, uh, the building was demolished so that a new one could be built after 20 years. Ooooops, we miscalculated on that one, too. And don’t we have dozens of other safety measures in place?

Security takes precedence over privacy. Didn’t someone once say something about security and liberty?

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”—Benjamin Franklin