Sunday, July 25, 2010

The Newbie Chimes In About Secrecy

The blogs have been talking about secrecy lately.

I understand secrecy

I kept my abuse secretive for many years, only a handful of people have an idea of the type of abuse I suffered. The secrecy was my prison

In my profession, I have been called esoteric/secretive in many ways (some of them 4-lettered). I do governmental work, which involves regulations and sometimes confidentiality.

On more than one occassion, a client has purported that the regulations are esoteric although since its governmental work most of it is public record. Most people dont want to understand the regulation, they just want to be told what to do. People always try to nail down my opinion of things in email or in conversations so if the shit hits the fan, they can put the responsibility on me and my department. They dont want to be responsible for their own failings, ignorance or laziness. I'm good at my job so I have learned to provide the links and/or give them the "pdf" version so they realize that they are responsible for the understanding. If the information is confidential, it stays confidential, no ifs, ands, buts or maybes about it.

I have to know when to stay vague or just keep my mouth shut. Yes, secrecy takes discipline. In doing so, one retains the ethics of a professional.

I can respect and relate to anyone else who understands the duality of secrecy and the discipline required for it.

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