Ad Hoc Reparations
Why Not? It’s Not As If Trump Is Going To Do Anything To Address the Problem
In the 20 years that I’ve worked at my suburban Philadelphia library, I’ve noticed that people have a tendency to take care of their own. I’m not saying we library workers are unfair. But each of us has a certain amount of discretion and I’ve noticed some patterns in how we make use of it.
Fairness in lending
For instance, I’m Jewish. If a library patron is Jewish, we begin any transaction with a certain level of familiarity and trust. If you owe the library money, I won’t let you off the hook just because we share the same faith. But if you give me a good excuse, I’m likely to believe you.
I once had a coworker who was politically conservative and strongly pro-life. If you came into the library wearing a pro-choice button, she’d treat you with civility, but she certainly wasn’t going to do you any favors.
On the other hand, if you gave her a plausible reason for keeping that copy of If Democrats Had Any Brains They’d Be Republicans past the due date, your fine just might get waived.
A while back, after noticing that one white co-worker consistently gave white patrons the benefit of the doubt, but was more by-the-book with patrons of color, I took a hard look…
