Sorry, Asshole. That's private.

Me making final purchases, big box store.

Cashier=C Me=M

C: And may I have your email address in order to send you our weekly deals?
M: Sure! You first.
C: Excuse me?
M: I said "You first."
C: I don't understand, m'am.
M: Share and share alike, I want your email address for my email address.
C: But I am wanting it for the Store records.
M: No problem! You first.
C: But ... I can't give out my personal Email.
M: Then why are you asking for mine?

Now- how many of you, especially females, just instantly blab out your phone number, email address or personal address upon request by anyone halfway officious looking, like the pimply faced 18 year old behind the counter with a store name pin on his blue vest?

This is a good occasion to practice saying 'No, thank you' or 'That's private' to requests for personal information. The situation may be totally innocuous- the store totally innocent- but do you know who is standing in line with you within hearing? And what do you know of the kid asking for the information? Rapists and creeps usually do work somewhere and usually at places that don't pay top rates or do police checks on their cashiers.

How I handled the Bloviating Blowhard on the plane. (3 posts down)

First, after he got loud enough to override my headphones, I leaned over and said "Excuse me, you are loud enough for the entire plane to hear you, would you mind keeping your voice down?"

He apologized- which I ignored. Don't freaking apologize for being an idiot after someone calls you on it when you are old enough to know better.

When we got off to switch planes he spotted and approached my husband and I, at which time my husband blatantly took his picture. When he came near me I put my hand out at arms reach and loudly said, "Do Not Speak With Me."

If he had approached closer I was lined up and prepared to kick him in the groin. That is just how creepy this guy was.

I then stepped away while my husband berated him for speaking so rudely about his girlfriend to everyone within hearing and breaking the law by publicly exposing her medical condition.

There you go, asshole, you wanted publicity and you got it. I only wish the pic were clearer.

So ladies, moral of the story. It is time to get tough with yourselves- and with others. Stop feeling the need to put yourself out there in personal information, dress, lifestyle, emotions etc. Screw the utter stupidity of current social 'norms' and learn to only share yourself, your essence, with those whom are carefully chosen.

Learn to say "NO- Thats Private."

Don't play the IDIOT (Intimate Divulgence Instantly On Tap) game with anyone- ever.

Your privacy is the last thing you really own. It is the only thing that keeps you strong and keeps you from being a vulnerable target of the many cretins out there - on or off the net. Familiarity does breed contempt - that is an absolute truism that everyone needs to be more aware of. The more lightly you treat your personal privacy the more it harms you and, potentially, those around you.