tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847902007209931042.post6828176324050817989..comments2024-01-05T05:46:30.140-08:00Comments on Angie's Desk: Flailing Snobs, Offended Racists, and Some Really Cool People Ending HungerAngiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11920578701763415331noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847902007209931042.post-64493498026406104422009-08-06T16:09:31.999-07:002009-08-06T16:09:31.999-07:00Caryn -- When I worked in a bookstore, I watched n...Caryn -- <i>When I worked in a bookstore, I watched numerous times as a family would pass and the kids would beg to come in, while their parents just kept tugging them along the sidewalk, in too big a hurry to go browse the books for a while.</i><br /><br />That's... wow. :/ I hope they were in a hurry to catch visiting hours after Grandma's heart surgery or something. I mean, good grief, it's not like the kids were begging to go into the candy store!<br /><br />AngieAngiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920578701763415331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847902007209931042.post-59483920219473788302009-08-06T12:20:28.964-07:002009-08-06T12:20:28.964-07:00Exactly. One thing that bothers me is when people ...Exactly. One thing that bothers me is when people try to keep children from reading. For example, the snobs who tell their kids they may read only classics, when they sometimes need to discover the joy of reading through Harry Potter or Captain Underpants or whatever before they become motivated to want to read the classics. When I worked in a bookstore, I watched numerous times as a family would pass and the kids would beg to come in, while their parents just kept tugging them along the sidewalk, in too big a hurry to go browse the books for a while. And the biggest shame in the case you mentioned, of course, is that the money is all donated. It's ridiculous to turn such a thing down.Caryn Caldwellhttp://caryncaldwell.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847902007209931042.post-1046005609982391402009-08-04T20:57:09.437-07:002009-08-04T20:57:09.437-07:00Caryn -- absolutely. [nod] And with all the fund...Caryn -- absolutely. [nod] And with all the funding in this case privately donated, they can't even hide behind a financial excuse, so they had to show how classist they are. Either they thought no one would notice, or (even worse) they expected everyone to agree with them. :/<br /><br />And so what if people go to the library to use the internet? Having free internet available in libraries is one of the major contributors toward narrowing the digital divide. There are great resources online and everyone should have access to them. Even if it's just kids hanging out on MySpace or reading web comics or playing games, there are certainly worse things they could be doing.<br /><br />And since they're purchasing 10K books, they clearly expect the kids who come in to be <i>reading,</i> which is always a good thing.<br /><br />Sometimes it seems the world just doesn't have enough sporks, you know?<br /><br />AngieAngiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920578701763415331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847902007209931042.post-4128194377319903462009-08-04T19:15:48.511-07:002009-08-04T19:15:48.511-07:00Okay, that story about the library made me serious...Okay, that story about the library made me seriously angry. Where do they get off censoring children's reading materials - which is essentially what they are doing? And if their objection is to the actual kids who visit, what kind of people do they think go to libraries, anyway? In my experience, library patrons are the sort of people you *want* in your neighborhood because they tend to be smart, literate, and open-minded. How can that be bad?<br /><br />Actually, though, when we had a bond election for our new library many people argued against it for a similar reason. They said that "only hippies and riff-raff use the library" and that they just go to use the internet, anyway, so why spend all that money to upgrade. Ha! A few years after the library was built, it began receiving many HUGE national and state awards. All it needed was a little funding and the library staff and community members did the rest.<br /><br />Hmm...Can you tell I'm passionate about this subject???Caryn Caldwellhttp://caryncaldwell.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847902007209931042.post-48951562992182613852009-08-04T16:16:35.860-07:002009-08-04T16:16:35.860-07:00LW -- exactly! It's disgraceful, and I hope t...LW -- exactly! It's disgraceful, and I hope the people involved are getting a good shaming in the media and in their own community. I'm sure there are many good people in East Hampton Village, but they need to take over from the snobs and do what's right.<br /><br />AngieAngiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920578701763415331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847902007209931042.post-42201505498768450052009-08-04T08:13:24.866-07:002009-08-04T08:13:24.866-07:00i'm with you both...
but how can any child sm...i'm with you both...<br /><br />but how can any child smart enough to use any library be deemed as not worthy of reading? GRRRRRRRRlaughingwolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08873675614347328116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847902007209931042.post-21239980179977815082009-07-31T22:14:05.972-07:002009-07-31T22:14:05.972-07:00Charles -- thanks. Sometimes it seems like there&...Charles -- thanks. Sometimes it seems like there's just so <i>much</i> WTF in the world, I feel like I'm about to drown in it. It was great to see that last piece and be able to include it, like when your head breaks the surface of the water and you can finally take a clear breath.<br /><br />AngieAngiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920578701763415331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847902007209931042.post-70277807529751202472009-07-31T21:59:14.900-07:002009-07-31T21:59:14.900-07:00Nice to see the post end on a positive note. thos...Nice to see the post end on a positive note. those first two had me shaking my head at the human race.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.com