However, I'm still frothing, so I'll deliver the slap here. But first, a story:
I once read an interview with a Libertarian candidate running for public office. He wanted to do away with public transportation. His rationale was that buses slow down traffic and "people like their cars."
When I got over my fit of apoplexy, my reaction was, "Yeah, people who own cars like their cars--the bus isn't for them, is it?"
The bus is for those too poor to own a car. It's for college kids and the elderly and the simply unfortunate. It's also for kids too young to get a driver's licence, and for the legally blind or those with epilepsy who cannot get one.
The bus isn't for drivers. I couldn't believe the guy was either too stupid to grasp that fact, or--more likely--too selfish to see any point in setting up the world to benefit anyone other than himself. And people like that? Should never be allowed into public office.
Ahem. Now then. This article reminded me a little of that:
My Library Card Expired: Why I Am Okay With It
The writer's argument is that "people in the library business are in trouble" because nowadays we all have Google to do our research with. Or, to put it in his ungrammatical words, "Library, meet 2010 and this thing called a computer, be envious".
Yeah, people who have computers get to substitute Wikipedia for actual research, but the library isn't for them, is it? (Skipping over the fact that most libraries are pretty up-to-date with using computers for research--when did this guy last enter a library?)
The library is for college kids who can't afford a computer, and the elderly who don't know how to use one, and the simply unfortunate--many of whom need to do research in order to get a better job in order to someday be able to afford a computer.
The library is also for people who simply love to read books, but if you scan over that article, the idea of going to the library for, y'know, a novel seems a possibility well beyond the writer's event horizon. Despite the bio claiming he engages in creative writing, apparently, to this fellow, libraries only exist to help you write your middle grade research paper. No, they could not possibly be used by people simply looking to read a great book for free! Who reads books for fun? Pshaw!
So, in summary: Grrrrrr... No, the world isn't only for you.
And also: Thanks be to Blogger for giving me a way to vent that doesn't wind up turning into a flame war! (Hopefully. There's always Google Alerts to play merry with that assumption, isn't there?)
