Over the last three years, I have been over-served at the Minor Street Tavern so many times I can’t count them. Shame on me! I must admit that on occasion I have appeared as one of those shady looking characters smoking cigarettes in front of the Sugar Bowl restaurant, but that’s not my point. My issue raises pivotal questions surrounding electronic surveillance abuses committed by private interests, namely the Minor Street Tavern, you know, the disco with the 4:00 AM liquor license conveniently located in the heart of beautiful downtown Des Plaines. Location … location!\r
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It is no secret that every square inch of the Tavern (except, I assume, for the lavatories) is covered by electronic surveillance in the form of strategically placed video cameras. There are even cameras in the back entrance room and parking lot. The feeds emanating from this multiplicity of cameras terminate at a variety of local and remote computers and handhelds where bar activities and operations can be constantly monitored, and they are. Make no mistake, the Minor Street Tavern owner/managers are energetic, smart and aggressive first adopters of electronic audio and video technologies. This can be verified by listening to “Big Green Tractor” played loudly on the juke box.\r
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One day a while back, as I was walking past the bar’s office accompanied by a couple of friends, we were collectively summoned into a small office space to view a video featuring a regular customer who, unable to access the one-person-at-a-time men’s room, was motivated to urinate outside the back door of the lounge. The viewing of the video was generally framed as a joke; a little management fun shared with friends of the bar. Adding insult to injury, this egregious invasion of privacy was extended to include more than one female employee. After suffering a measure of embarrassment my friend was finally shown the video on that very evening.\r
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Please don’t misconstrue my meaning. I believe a business owner certainly has the right, if not the obligation, to protect his/her business and the integrity and safety of his/her employees by employing any and all practical means. That said, I have become increasingly sensitive to potential abuses relative to electronic surveillance by private interests who have not implemented socially responsible policies and practices. As ordinary citizens, we are aware that we live in a society where we are photographed and/or videotaped as many as 300 times every day by governmental agencies, municipal and other authorities, and private interests.\r
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Most surveillance is somewhat innocuous due to the nature of the activities we are performing at the time surveillance occurs; walking down the street, driving, shopping in the grocery store, not paying a toll, etc. Electronic surveillance in a bar, however, has the potential to be far more sinister. Electronic surveillance in a bar opens obvious avenues for serious potential abuses. At Minor Street Tavern, management seems to believe their security videos include the added bonus of providing exclusive entertainment to a select few. Shame on them!\r
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If you decide to have your favorite beverage at Minor Street Tavern, and it’s a nice place to have one, remember that there are two distinctly different echelons of friendly persons there; those who are “in” the video, and those that “control” the video. This is not to say you will end up on YouTube if you go to the Tavern, but while there, if you pick your nose and someone thinks the video is funny, entertaining, disgusting, or whatever, don’t be surprised if your friends see it before you do. As for me, I’d rather pick my nose without fear and pass gas politely and quietly. Oh no, please don’t even suggest that Minor Street Tavern is wired for sound!\r
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