In fact, it was hardly anything personal. As I observed the behavior of others, I found that staring seemed to be some urban cultural attribute, as though the close proximity into which we'd all been forced had somehow also diminished the invisible barriers restricting inappropriate eye contact.

Beyond that, there are many who have drawn the same deduction in terms of physical space. For my purposes, a stranger who does not have any personal goal or reasonable aim in terms of engaging me directly should not be closer than three feet away. And when this does occur in a public space due to the largeness and density of a crowd, it is understood that all individuals are intended upon making greater distance between themselves as soon as the opportunity arises.

I have also gained an appreciation for the reality that certain decisions strip us of our rights to personal or...
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