Boy, I could have just died and gone straight to hell in a handbasket tonight. The librarian about whom I have written before almost got his a$$ handed to him in a sling tonight. He was all puffy and snotty about these two little girls who are always at the library because both their parents work -must, to live in Verona. They make a lot of noise sometimes, but they are only 8 and 12 years old. They are cute and can be very sweet. I find them much less offensive than senior citizens who come in and talk your ears off at the top of their voices, or packs of toddlers after storytime. Anyway, he-who-shall-not-be-named (let's use hwsnbn) was ticked off at their noisiness in "his" space (in this case, the reference room). Now, nobody has ever complained about the kids inside... We've only called on the police when they start throwing things or do something where somebody might get physically hurt. Hwsnbn called the police. An officer came over and talked to the girls and hwsnbn. Then the cop left. The girls came back in and went back into the reference room. Then they stalked out. Short time later, cop comes back and askes me if I thought hwsnbn would grab one of the girls and tell them to get out. I replied something along the lines of "Yeah, he would". Then I explained to the cop the attitude hwsnbn has had about middle school kids since I started there - and it's been nearly 20 years. He leaves, then the girls' mother comes in. She's pissed and asks me where the "gentleman" (yeah, there were italics in her voice) is that touched her daughter. I point toward the reference room. I heard some loud voices... The cop came back and left with the mother. I was seeing handcuffs and flashing lights in my mind, but no, they left hwsnbn there. The yelling at the kids was assault - the touching would have escalated it to battery, even if she wasn't injured...
I hope perhaps the rules may change at the library, seeing as how it is technically a public building and does not belong to either hwsnbn or any of the adults who wish to restrain non-injurous behavior because it "bothers" someone. I'm saying this mainly because this particular incident could blow up in the town's face, since the two little girls are part African-American (their mother is full African-American, possibly just the African part from her accent). Should the mother press charges (and, if I were her, I would), she might consider adding that her children were prejudiced against, because they have been. But that's just my opinion and you all know how bad I'd like to see hwsnbn get his ass kicked out of his position and possibly out of the town and, for that matter, the state!
I just pray that God will take care of him. And if any of you have heard my story about the Rabbi Schmeerson (G-D rest his soul), you know what I mean.
Yes, I am especially mean tonight, but gleefully so....:-}
Update, Friday morning: Seems the director wrote a letter to the parents and sent it yesterday (OMG!) saying that leaving the kids here until 9 pm. sometimes was a bit much. Just to amend a point mentioned above, in reading the Observer (a local "newspaper"), there is a report on a resident being verbally harrassed, so maybe that's the term instead of assault, which is threat of physical violence, IIRC...
UPDATE, Friday afternoon : My fellow coworkers were ashamed of me and thought the little girl should have been locked up. It’s embarrassing. They want him around because he’s a suck-up and will do anybody’s work, so they don’t have to. "He’s such a help," one of them says – well, it’s because she doesn’t do what she’s paid to do… Sorry. I have no life, so I guess I shouldn’t be passing judgment on these people who are so over-involved in their own and other people’s lives….
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