Saturday, the four of us plus dad went downtown to eat at Coney Island (428 W. Main) and then stop by the Oklahoma City library. We rarely go to the downtown library as there are several other city libraries closer to us, but since we were in the neighborhood we decided to swing by.
The downtown Oklahoma City library has a lot of two things: books, and homeless people. Walking up to the library’s entrance we saw several ragged-looking individuals hanging around out front, and several more wandering around aimlessly inside the library. Two of them were trying to figure out how to use the computer system. At least one other individual was sleeping in the library.
After checking out our books, the boys (Mason, myself and Dad) went outside while the girls (Morgan and Susan) finished checking out their books. As we left the library there were two obvious places to wait for the girls: the two park benches out front, and the small alcove next to the front door. On the park benches, homeless people had spread out bread and were making sandwiches; we opted for the alcove. As dad and I stood, Mason sat down with his back against the wall, pulled out one of his books and began reading.
Within 30 seconds, a security guard exited the library and approached Mason. “You need to stand up,” the lady said. At first we thought she was joking. “He needs to stand up,” she said, motioning to the sign behind him — “No Loitering”.
“You’re kidding, right?” I said. She was not kidding. As I began to question both her authority and her sanity, she turned and walked away from me. (I suspect she’s heard it before.) I was not proud of the string of words that then proceeded to spew from my mouth. All I remember saying was something about “morons justifying their minimum wage jobs” and “that’s nice, picking on the one person at the library who is READING.”
You know, I get it — rules have to be applied unilaterally across the board and there’s never, every any room for exceptions, but seriously, I doubt the public library hires security to protect its patrons and the public from roving hoards of seven-year-old children reading books outside the library. If you really must flex the poorly stitched security patch hanging off the side of your ill-fitting jacket, why not start with the bums who have turned the benches out front into their food prep table or the homeless fellows inside sleeping on the furniture intended for kids to sit and read on or standing around trying to figure out how to use the computers.
Surely there has to be a better use of the Oklahoma City Public Library’s security efforts than to harass young children simply trying to read at the library. Sheesh.
The thing to keep in mind about situations like this is that The Powers That Be trust their low-tier gendarmes only marginally moreso than they do the riff-raff the guards have been hired to police. This guard probably lives in fear of “checkers” – outside persons hired by management to come by and create a scenario wherein to determine whether or not she’s doing her job. Trust me, she was more afraid of Mason than he was of her.
Libraries are the Taj Mahal for homeless people.
I think the guard needs to be reminded what loiter means:
–verb (used without object)
1. to linger aimlessly or as if aimless in or about a place: to loiter around the bus terminal.
2. to move in a slow, idle manner, making purposeless stops in the course of a trip, journey, errand, etc.: to loiter on the way to work.
3. to waste time or dawdle over work: He loiters over his homework until one in the morning.
–verb (used with object)
4. to pass (time) in an idle or aimless manner (usually fol. by away): to loiter away the afternoon in daydreaming.
Reading a book outside the library does not qualify as “linger[ing] aimlessly”, moving about “in a slow, idle manner” or even to “waste time or dawdle over work”. It certainly is not sitting in front of the library reading. I wholeheartedly support your response. You go…gir…um..guy!
The only time I’ve seen a homeless man (or maybe he was just a really poor man with really bad hygiene) was at the provincial library in downtown Montreal. he was in the DVD section and his reek was following him around. *ewww*
And that library sounds completely gross. I hope you can bring the books back at another branch!
Don’t be too embarrassed about what you said. I’m sure you were much more eloquent than I would have been in that situation.
The appropriate way to handle that situation, would have been for her to inform you politely that you had to move. You, not Mason.
Needless to say, I would have done a bit of barking too.
Rob, you need to start taking photos for posts like this.
not that you needed evidence, just would of been nice to see what kinda sandwhich they were making
I hope Mason had a couple dollars in his pocket. God forbid they hit him with a vagrancy rap too!