Each of us has an Identity of many components: gender identification, sexual orientation, political ideology, age, ethnicity, ableness, religion, geeky obsessions, and more.
Who we share aspects of our identity with should be a personal choice. Our information should be private by default, and public when we choose.
Privacy is essential. However, in this opinion piece, I argue that private people never get civil rights. In order to be included, we must be heard and counted. Sometimes being heard is easy, often it is hard, and sometimes people are killed because of their identity. In a city like Santa Monica and a campus like SMC, it is relatively easy to be out about your sexual orientation, or your ableness, or your cosplay obsession. When we choose to be out we create community, awareness, and ultimately work toward greater civil rights.