I ask my Rosenthal relatives,
i.e. members of this Rosenthal List,
however remote and circumstantial our relationship might be,
to refrain from making more difficult
the well-intentioned efforts of Dr. Busch
to elaborate the history of our family.
Dr. Busch will respect the request
of any of us that her or his name not be mentioned 
and that her or his photo not be displayed in his publication;
but the presumption otherwise to impose conditions,
and to instruct Dr. Busch what he is permitted to say,
or what he is permitted to show, strike me as unacceptable censorship.
 
We live in diverse parts of the earth.
My own judgment is strictly contingent on the circumstances
in Massachusetts in the United States with which I am familiar.
I can well imagine that life elsewhere is more difficult than here
in Belmont where the annual publication of "Yearbooks"
with photos and biographies of students in Middle School and
in High School, whose ages range from 12 to 18 years
is an established industry actively supported by the Town.
If you're interested, take a look at
http://www.jostens.com/ 
The hypothetically dangerous year books
you don't even have to purchase.
The Public Library invites you to peruse them
on the Internet without charge:
"You can now view Belmont High School yearbooks online. 
They begin with 1922 and go up to our most recent graduates in 2016." 
On the official website of Belmont High School,
https://www.belmont.k12.ma.us/bps/bhs/News-Events-Schedules/BHS-News/Article/1556/News-from-the-2017-High-School-Yearbook-Editors
the public is invited to participate:

News from the 2017 High School Yearbook Editors 9/7/2016	

"Dear Classmates and Parents,

"Sarah and I are really excited to be editors for the 2017 Belmont HS yearbook.
 We are looking forward to making this the most memorable book ever. 
But we need your help, if you aren’t in the yearbook,
then we haven’t told your story.  Please
 use replayit.com to upload your favorite photo of you and your friends, ..."

Given these circumstances it would be irrational to suggest that in Belmont,
Dr. Busch's publication of photos of my four charming grandchildren
would pose to them a danger of any kind.

So far as the second objection, the issue of identity theft, is concerned,
I would lament the poverty of an existence which relies for its identity
on a date of birth,
on its forbears, on the names of its relatives, specifically on the mother's
maiden name, not to mention the various publically documented digital 
designations on licenses and permits of various kinds.
I should like to consider my identity to be something more than that.

The confidentiality of inward experience is unassailable.
Yet it is no secret that in our society, privacy has been
irreparably and irretrievably compromised.
Capitalism has made a business of providing, 
of course, for an appropriate fee,
whoever applies, with the most intimate "facts"
in the life of anyone residing among us. 
If you're interested, take a look at
http://www.truthfinder.com 
In this context, the efforts of Dr. Busch to tell us about ourselves,
descendants of Isaac and Jakob Rosenthal such as we are,
seem to me harmless and devoid of danger,
at least for my children and myself.

Ernst Jochen Meyer
174 School Street
Belmont MA 02178 USA
ernstmeyer@earthlink.net
http://home.earthlink.net/~ernstmeyer