Private? Public? no idea.

It's sort of old news now, but here are some thoughts on the changing face of digital privacy. I would have posted this last week but I fell asleep and then I forgot and so on and so forth.

So recently there's been all this mishagos about folks whose previous jobs have gotten them in trouble at their current jobs. First, and most delightfully, there's the story of "Militia" who is an American Gladiator. P.S.: He also did gay porn (I should mention here that I take the controversial stance that gay people are no more or less awful than straight folk, but the gayness of the porn is probably of material interest to the ostensibly family friendly NBC - and in the interest of full disclosure I should add that I hope one day to freelance for NBC and that while I'm straight, I have to admit that Johnny Depp's a pretty good looking chick for a dude).

The easy joke here is that the real tragedy for that guy is that now he's been outed as a Gladiator he probably won't be able to get back to the relatively highbrow fields of gay porn. And after all, how much life does American Gladiator really have in it? It's only up to #2 because of the writers' strike. No way it'll make it to American Gladiator 14.

The other story is of Ms. Greene, an English teacher (she's in England. I don't know about teaching English) who - before becoming a teacher - acted in a risqué, but award winning, ad for work clothing.

Now the standard advice offered by parents everywhere and my buddy Helen here, is not to put your stupid shit up on the Internet in the first place, Dumbass! However, in these cases that advice doesn't apply well. In both cases it wasn't them who put stuff on the Internet (I don't know if it was or wasn't with the Gladiator (which, in a parenthetical comment inside a parenthetical comment is a pretty gay name to begin with), but that's immaterial since porn is always posted on the Internet and whether Militia (Good grief!) did or not, it would have gotten there eventually).

There are lots of issues in play here. First, is sex shameful, de facto? It certainly is in America, but I was surprised by the case of Ms. Greene because European ads have always flirted with the naughty and no one gives a rat's ass. Over there they recollect that lots of people have a bit of a slap and a tickle now and then and somehow find their way to enjoying it without becoming . . . . I'm honestly not sure what the moral majority is worried will happen if the public acknowledges that folks have sex for fun. You'd think that Ms. Greene, employed at an English school, would get off with a serious tsk-ing and be back to her adoring students in no time flat. It was them who found the vid on YouTube in the first place.

And actually, that's a handy second issue. Just who is in danger here? Her students weren't over on GodTube searching for "Jesus loves me" when they found her video. The parents are making some noise about dismissing her, but it's totally beyond me. She wasn't doing anything illegal or even naked. As a rep from the clothing company that made the ad said, she was just doing her job as a model and actress. As for the gay porn. Man, that just makes me laugh. Actually, it appears that NBC is taking the high road and not firing him. After a little revisionist history (they're saying that Alex Castro, a.k.a. Militia, only posed nude for a few shots - but anyone with an internet and a passing knowledge of Google can learn otherwise) they're going to let the whole thing blow over.

The facts of all this are that stuff on the Internet has a half-life of forever and it knows where you live - or more accurately work. And what's on the Internet? Everything. Or close enough. Have you ever done anything you're not proud of? It could show up.

I think we may be seeing the beginning of a change in the fabric of public life. It turns out that Paris Hilton was sort of a visionary - and believe me I don't throw praise for Paris Hilton around just willy nilly. When she got caught on tape in flagrente delicto, her response was "Yeah? And?" Now at the time she thought she was a sure bet for the gazillions of her grandpa so her livelihood wasn't on the line. But as parents everywhere will tell you, only you have power over you. If you refuse to be embarrassed (particularly by doing a job that society condones enough to pay you for it and buy the proceeds - porn - or the advertised wears - you know, advertising) no one can embarrass you.

I think, and sort of hope, that we will have to start talking our walk. Do you ever go to the men's bathroom in a Minnesota airport and look for gay sex? You probably shouldn't publicly condemn gays then. Have you watched risqué ads on T.V. without exploding and/or calling your elected officials full of outrage? Stop being a hypocrite about Ms. Green then. Your laundry is potentially out there as well.

There's a lot more to be said about the fading line between public and private lives, but I'm lazy for the time being.