Chad free public service vs. virgin profit-seeking private enterprise
Technically malls and stores too, but unless it's a really chill independent bookstore usually sales people will be forced to hassle you. Oh and there won't be places to sit
Isn't it funny how the few things America does well (libraries, post service, national parks) are all public services? Crazy, that
"Think how much more efficient they'd be if we privatized them"
:porky-happy:
And when they do fuck up, it’s usually the result of government interference, and that interference is usually defunding and weaponizing them in political battles
The average 10.5 trips to the library U.S. adults report taking
Self-reporting.
Come on, this is obviously...I forget what it's called...striving? People falsely reporting what they're doing because they think it sounds better, or that libraries should be better-funded, or whatever. There is no way in the world that Americans like libraries better than sportsball or casinos or watching animals suffer at the zoo.
all of those things cost money. if you have kids and are on a budget, libraries are especially amazing.
the wealthy also tend to like them (at least the bougie versions in their neighborhoods), so it’s typically supported across class lines.
because they’re also used by PMC lib shits, libraries are often some of the only funded public services left in cities besides the pigs.
they’re popular enough I can just call myself a library socialist and people get it.
If libraries had a dick, I would :pingu-horny: it.
Nah, that's completely true. There is absolutely no fucking way Americans are visiting the library that often. Most Americans can barely read. You want me to believe that in a country where 21% of people are literally illiterate and the rest can maybe read as well as a fifth grader, the people are visiting libraries twice as often as the movies? Yeah, sure.
Libraries are free, accessible, and provide a wide variety of services. Especially in poor neighborhoods they get tons and tons of use. Tons of people rely on libraries for access to computers, internet, and printing services. They provide comfortable indoor space for homeless people. And yes, in fact, Americans are not genetically predisposed to hate reading, and many of them go for the books. These comments read anti-poor as fuck. How else could you think Americans go to expensive-ass sporting events (that many communities don't have at all) versus free libraries that every small town's got?
edit: frankly it sounds like a comment from someone who's never been to a library and is either repulsed by the poors who use it or just can't imagine that anyone possibly would
edit: frankly it sounds like a comment from someone who’s never been to a library and is either repulsed by the poors who use it or just can’t imagine that anyone possibly would
I'm not gonna comment on whether the study is accurate (I have no idea), but responding to someone like this when you clearly posted this because it was a "surprising" result to the survey is kinda shitty. That's a wild assumption to make about someone based on the current exchange.
When the comment is "all Americans are too stupid to utilize a public service and actually just gamble all day", then yeah, I think that's a pretty shitty, anti-working class thing to say. Like, who do you think is using libraries, demographically speaking? Like every single public service it is disproportionately poor people, people of color, working women, the disabled, etc. It's sheltered/gross as fuck to act like everyone in this country is a boat dealership owning chud. It's literally attacking people for being systematically undereducated, which is a fundamentally reactionary thing to do.
Seriously. you can tell when a leftist still has elitist brainworms to eradicate because they’ll look you straight in the face and rant about how much they hate working class people lol
:very-intelligent: “i don’t hate working class people, i just think think theyre all fucking idiots who should listen to my wisdom”
bruh that’s the same damn thing
The person you said was "repulsed by poors" said nothing about gambling and they said nothing about the kinds of people that go to libraries. They shared (what appears to be) an inaccurate statistic on American literacy.
Nah, that’s completely true. There is absolutely no fucking way Americans are visiting the library that often. Most Americans can barely read. You want me to believe that in a country where 21% of people are literally illiterate and the rest can maybe read as well as a fifth grader, the people are visiting libraries twice as often as the movies? Yeah, sure.
This genuinely doesn't strike you as disdainful of working people? Making up garbage statistics to mock the idea of people going to the library?
No, not really. It strikes me as disdainful of America. I also don't think it's mocking the idea of people going to the library, it's mocking the idea of America liking something good. Misguided or not, I think you're assuming a lot about another person from very little and in an extremely negative way.
frankly it sounds like a comment from someone who’s never been to a library
my library card is one of 4 things i actually carry on me every single day, along with ID, credit card, and the license i need for my job. stop being an asshole
in my adult life i have never met another person who told me about their trip to the library. every time a new bazinga superhero movie comes out every single person i speak to has seen it. i do not believe americans visit the library twice as often as the movies, it just isnt true
There's way more to libraries than just books, and more importantly, they're free while movies get more expensive every year. Hell, most libraries have movies and TV shows to rent for free!
How often are people going to theaters these days? Less than before right?
That's an average, so some people go way more, some people go way less. Families I know with kids are taking their kids there every two weeks, sometimes every week because it's a free place to go, and there are free activities. So that's going to drive the average up. I mostly use my library digitally so I don't visit as often as I used to, but I still physically visit several times a year for different reasons. People also go to use the computer and other services, so I think the number is pretty believable as an average. Sure, there are lots of people who never darken the door of their local library all year long, but there are other people who are there every Tuesday morning for toddler story hour.
That’s an average, so some people go way more, some people go way less. Families I know with kids are taking their kids there every two weeks, sometimes every week because it’s a free place to go, and there are free activities. So that’s going to drive the average up.
Sure, but there are also people who go to the movies all the time too. Just google "US literacy rate" and you'll get a few different numbers all putting complete illiteracy over 10%. How in the world is a country full of people who don't know how to read and culturally have no desire to seek out books to read for fun or for learning visiting the library twice as often as the movies which make up 99% of their pop culture?
They aren't. It's just not true.
Movies are expensive, libraries are free. They have movies they lend you for free. They have computers you can use for free. I live in a poor area and the library is always busy every time I go in. A lot of people go there to use the computers, even if they're not checking out War and Peace.
The library is wonderful vibes and I wish I could go more often
i've been meaning to utilize my library's free 3d printing (i wanna make some cute little figurines for my outdoor plants/bonsai) but they require you show up for a class which they only host on Tuesdays at 5pm when I'm working :marx-angry:
quick, defund the libararies to get these asses into some movie seats! :so-true:
they don't even need to anymore crt and lgbt panic are targeting libraries explicitly
Just got a new library card after some time, hell you don't even have to go into the library anymore so much stuff if just online. My library added free rosetta stone and coursera courses you can do from home.
Chad free public service
After :cap-think: gets word of this, it won't be, in time.
:lets-fucking-go: I FUCKING LOVE LIBRARIES. I LOVE WATCHING PEOPLE ENGAGE IN THE PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE IN VARIOUS FORMS
Aww yeah I haven't been to the library in a hot minute but I've never had a bad day there lmao.
I will never get over that we almost killed movie theaters and got direct release but marvel nerds just couldn't resist waiting to watch their slop.
bruh most people have better taste than that even if its just YA fiction or horny smut novels
there are some revealing comments in here that show an enormous amount of disdain for the normal, working class people who actually use public services
