Invasion of Privacy Without Ever Leaving the Comforts of Your Mom's Basement

In the wake of the celebrity photo hacking scandal, I witnessed some rather disturbing perspectives that arose afterwards. Putting aside the idiotic extremists who seem to exist solely to remind us that there are still a large number of morons who continue to earn a handsome living (a.k.a. virtually every on-air personality at Fox News), it's the next group over that troubles me. These otherwise rational minded people haven’t out-and-out bashed the celebs who had their images hacked via their iCloud accounts — but they’ve espoused a mindset that declares, “if you don’t want nude pictures to get out there, just don’t take them at all.” 

Apparently, legal activities women choose to do in the privacy of their homes — others can now cluck their tongues, wag their fingers and shrug their shoulders because those celebrities used what has become common technology that is used universally. The pervasiveness of iPhone/iCloud usage has made the most egregious invasion of privacy acceptable.

If these women took these pictures old-school-style -- snapped polaroids and kept them in a shoebox under their bed — and someone broke into their house, stole the photos and published them, would it be the same? Would those who choose to take the “oh well, sucks for you” attitude towards these women still feel that way?  Almost more pious than apathetic, are these righteous head shakers living in some Nathaniel Hawthorne novel?

Let's assume they DO see things differently if a burglar physically broke into these homes and stole such deeply personal items. Since some fat-assed schmuck didn’t leave the comfort of his mom’s basement to prey on these people, does that makes it less disgusting, less horrible an act? In the era of WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden, hackers now are seen more as heroes than villains, and what should be a serious crime gets to be treated like a joke.

Using that limited mentality, I presume you shouldn't use a credit card online, because you’re making your credit card information available for anyone to steal. In fact, don’t engage in online banking at all, since all your financial information is out there and thus can be hacked, stolen and exploited. In fact, best to never lay hands on a computer keyboard ever, since once your digital footprint is out there, you’re now prey to everyone looking to commit identity fraud, credit card fraud and a complete invasion of privacy. And then, whatever happens happens, and you've only yourself to blame. Guess you had it coming. Long live both the bottom feeders and the NSA.

I don't think this is a grey issue; it’s clear-cut, black & white, no doubt about it. Saying that the women involved share any of the fault or responsibility for such heinous behavior -- no, it doesn't make you as bad as the scumbags who commit the crimes, but it sure as hell doesn't make you a good person either.