Perhaps it is because I grew up as an only child. Perhaps it's because I don't give two hoots about the value of other people's opinion and see no necessity to give them a chance to comment. Whatever. But I detest people taking for granted my things and treating them like their own. I absolutely HATE! HATE! HATE! it and I will not apologise for it. Nor would I feign acceptance and spew sweet "never minds" and "oh, it's ok. I dun mind" for the sake of propriety. because I DO MIND!!! The way I see it, propriety itself starts from not overstepping your boundaries.
I've had this problem since as long as I remember. My sisters rummaging through my pencil case looking for that pencil (I was the only one still in school so I was the default stationery girl), Friends looking into my folder for test papers. Cousins sifting through my wallet for a look-see (looking for a boyfriend photo, I think). On every ocassion it happened, I blew my top and made the person understand what is MINE is definitely MINE AND MINE ALONE. And now it's happening again.
It may seem like a privacy issue. But it's not just that. It goes waaay deeper. I personally think it is about respect. Respecting someone's rights. Respecting someone's basic right of ownership and tailoring your actions to display it. It doesn't matter if that person is your child, your sibling or a friend.
I know for a fact some parents (mothers mostly) go through their teenage children (daughters mostly) drawers and even skim through their diaries. They think they have a right to do so by virtue of being the ones who brought them into this world. I sooo dun buy that crap. Thank god my mother is not a freaking, kay-poh mom. I know when I have children I won't do that. And I won't let The Don do it too. If I have reasons to suspect anything amiss, perhaps I'd rummage through their things but only in their presence. I don't believe in snooping.
Sometimes out of necessity, you place an item of importance in someone's care with the words, "In case of emergencies". Apparently emergencies comes in many a varied form. Some thinly disguised as so. The way I see it despite having the item, since it is not an emergency (not in the dictionary sense of it anyway, self-definations don't count) permission still needs to be sought. Just because you have been entrusted with something, it doesn't give you blanket permission to use it whenever you want.
Even my Don thinks I am being trivial. Well different strokes for different folks. Maybe most people do not view this invasion of personal rights so severely. Unfortunately I do. This is important to me. Non-negotiably so. People around me will know how fiercely I guard my personal rights. Those who don't know just yet will find out soon. Very soon.
1 comment:
God, i pray to you the day i got to know dis fren of mine... that no body, head, soul, arm or leg will ever have to face her 'sumpah sebakul' wrath by doing this very costly mistake.
God, now i pray that if such a thing happens... may the hapless fellow be enlightened.
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