It’s been three or four years. A couple of my friends have thought it strange that such a noted book junkie was effectively banned from the library but, as always, there’s a story.
I was still co-oping and working with a jerk in the design group. The Bill Bennett gambling scandal had just broken and I got into a discussion about it. (This was before I had developed most of my better work judgment.) I thought it was quite funny that a self-proclaimed paragon of virtue was outed as such a large gambler, which in the traditional frame of reference, used to be a vice.
The other dude did not see it that way and had no problems with gambling. Or the spending of millions of family assets without his wife’s knowledge. But at any rate, I agreed to read a Bennett book as a result of the argument.
I checked one out of the library. No way was I spending money on that shit. I got about halfway through the book before I couldn’t take it anymore.
I was late returning it. At first I told myself I would finish the book after all. And then, I kept thinking that other people might read this book and believe this horseshit. So I kept it. I didn’t pay for it right away because I was worried they would buy another copy of the same book.
In a while I realized that this episode make me a censor as well. Just one book, but in a tangible way, I’m no better than that which I hate.
But now I’ve finally paid for it and gotten a new card. It feels good.
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