Public and Private

After many discussions of the separation of the public and the private in classes this year, today I am forced to wonder whether the "average" American even conceives of a difference between the two. Case in point:
This morning I am at the Caribou, ready to embark on the "journey of triage-reading" for classes this week. The usual suspects are here - my veterinary school friend who is here as often as I am, the German-born Conservative Republican couple who are always engaged in some kind of Rightist conversation with those around them, the Caribou worker who drives me to feel the need to drink, and, my personal favorite, the older gentleman who invariably feels the need to come to a very public coffee shop to have very private conversations with his family on Skype. Today, however, was a brand new day in "information sharing" at the coffee shop for this man - today he proceeded to have conversations that were so loud that he alienated 3 couples sitting nearby (including said German couple) to the point that they left the shop. My veterinarian friend, unfortunately, was at the table next to him and her earplugs (yes sometimes they are necessary) were unable to perform adequate duty today.
My personal favorite moment was when he told someone on the other end of his "conversation" that he wanted to show them something...yes, the infamous words. He then got up at his table and proceeded to detail the parts of his body, as he turned around, giving the other person a "show" on Skype of his newly acquired 40 pound thinner body....we were informed that he used to be 220 something and is now down to 186, and that he was, and I quote, "trying to be a good boy and eat better and be better." Further conversations, with children I assume, resulted in him making kissing sounds at his screen and blowing kisses to those on the opposite end of Skype.
Now, all of this may sound perfectly fine to some, but caused a lot of discomfort in a very public setting. Aren't these types of conversations generally private? Why would you come to a coffee shop to have this type of exchange? Somehow, I can't imagine myself getting up in the middle of a public space to declare my new "body" to someone on the other end of a video-conversation.
My veterinarian friend commented, "When he said 'I want to show you something' I was just hoping that his pants were staying on behind me." I, myself, was afraid to look in that direction after hearing him say this over and over again.....inevitably showing people his body over and over again in multiple "conversations."
So, I ask, what is public and what is private?

A List to Begin

Lately, I've been pondering the following:
1. The use of disability rhetoric in the Early Women's Movement - having just finished one paper on this topic, and moving to extend the argument into the "Second Wave" and the ramifications of the disability rhetoric, I've been reading about Margaret Sanger (very excited about her papers at the LoC), and the debates between the disability community and the feminist community regarding selective abortion and prenatal testing. Adrienne Asche will be at Temple University tomorrow speaking on the subject and I wish that I could be there.
2. How do my religious and academic beliefs align/disconnect? How much can I compromise? Why is feminism such a dirty word to Christian women? Why is it that single issues cause divides in a social movement but not a political party? (i.e. one can disagree with parts of a political platform and still call oneself a Republican, Democrat, etc...., but the single issues of abortion, divorce, and contraception can divide the Women's Movement, alienating two groups that are concerned about women's issues from one another). Why is it so difficult to find a Christian man who espouses liberal political philosophy? Will it always come down to the "submission" question?
3. How much of dating is really performance? Especially consider online dating as a performance of self. Why do people post pictures of themselves that are not truly representative, when they will eventually be found out in the first meeting? If they are willing to "lie" about things that are easily exposed, then how much more can you expect them to be dishonest in a relationship? Is it okay to walk out on a date if they have grossly misrepresented themselves?
4. After reading Charlotte Allen's blog: http://www.mindingthecampus.com/forum/2009/03/the_latest_pc_fad_disability_s.html
I felt the need to respond to her obvious lack of knowledge and due diligence in representing the scope of Disability Studies, as well as her misinterpretation of the theory behind the social construction of disability as opposed to the pathological and medical models. I did write a comment in response and am waiting to see if it gets posted. Reading "MindingtheCampus.com" should be an eye-opening to experience for many of us in the academic world. I have subscribed to the page, out of curiosity, to see what other nonsense will be posted in the future. I encourage you to do the same, and respond when you feel you must.
A p.s. - I just checked her blog and my comment is listed, as well as the comments of 2 others, so at least she is willing to post criticism of her work. Enjoy :)
5. Finally succumbing to my desire to blog (I've been avoiding it for more than a year now), I am hoping to find this process a good place to work out what I'm thinking and get feedback from others that I hope will help my future work.