Acceptable limits

Don't you love it when people perpetuate stereotypes through their behavior?

After about 3:30 p.m. my library is packed to the gills with kids between the ages of 11 and 18. They are noisy, they occupy much of the usable space in the building, and are given to typical teenage behavior: talking loudly, flirting, going to the bathroom in large groups, listening to loud music on headphones. This is our standard operating environment. I have been really impressed with the willingness of my coworkers to tolerate generalized chaos in the library. They are okay with the fact that teenagers are teenagers, and that is so cool. (there are a few exceptions, surprisingly, amongst my youngest coworkers who think teens should be seen and not heard. whatever.)

I have a fairly high tolerance of general disruption and rowdiness, otherwise I wouldn't be in this business. However, I draw the line at yelling, racing around and knocking into people, slamming doors so hard the glass breaks, etc. Facist as it may seem, I believe that if you're someplace that has rules (like no running, no knocking shit over, in general behaving like you're a bipedal, opposable thumb-having homo sapien) you should follow those rules. Okay, well, I don't necessarily believe in following rules in a place like a shopping mall, but that's a different situation. If kids are doing this, they are warned. If that doesn't work, they are thrown out. I'm okay with that. We're not here to teach kids how to be civilized. I feel that the only say we have in that aspect of education is by firmly enforcing our rules. This is a viewpoint that's taken me, a serious pushover, a long time to come to. But kids need limits. Okay. I understand that now.

By and large, we expel black kids, particularly black boys. I am not going to enter into a discussion of what sorts of bad things the more stupid aspects of 'black' entertainment culture promote because I am not qualified, but also because we seem to be more accepting of the equally stupid behavior promoted by 'white' entertainment culture, so it would be hypocritical. Paris Hilton, anyone?

When we expel kids, they're supposed to leave the property. More often than not, however, they hang around right in front of the doors to the library. This means that often, there are a lot of black male teenagers standing around the doors of our library. This in turn makes some white female customers 'uncomfortable' about coming into the library either alone or with their kids. Because you know, all black male teens are liable to mug or otherwise molest you. Hence, we've been really busting kids who hang around the doors, so that our white customers feel better about coming into the library. I know those kids are hanging around in front of the door in part because they are sorta looking for a fight. They're wanting to intimidate or get a rise of of grownups, 'cos that's what you do when you're 15. Duh. But it seems that by calling the cops on them you're giving them what they want. You're giving them the fight.

During the glass door breaking episode, a white woman standing in front of me said to me a commiserating tone, 'wow, the neighborhood is really going downhill...' I wonder if she would have said that to me if I were black.

So, do we enforce the rules because kids need limits, or do we enforce the rules because people are still really racist? Hello Minnesota, welcome to the 21st century. You have black people now. Fucking deal, okay? At the same time, I want to smack these kids around and make them understand that they're just solidifying favor against themselves. Thus, the conundrums: do you have to act white to be accepted by white people? What is a teen to do, and where is s/he to go in a community that offers nothing for teens? What is the library's role in educating teens to behave like responsible citizens (however you define that?) And why oh why do we have a white rent-a-cop who gets flustered when some kid cusses him out? Because he then blusters and botches the whole calling-the-cops bit (we call 911 almost every night) and starts throwing everybody out?

Working here may yet make me an out-and-out racist.