September 2, 2026 New York, Fucking, NY... Let me start by saying that I am born and raised Brooklyn and it absolutely pisses me off about the lack of respect and blatant disregard for the "Golden Rule" of our public library system, especially when people are old enough and should know better. If you are unaware of the what that "Golden Rule" is then maybe you should consult your parents, grandparents or most Gen Xers.
I was in one of the New York City public libraries which shall remain nameless (Maybe you can guess...). I am sitting in a section where everyone is working diligently on a project, reading or just looking at their phones. I was about 10 minutes into the work that I was doing, when the couple sitting across from me decided to start a conversation through whispering. Fine, I get it, you're a couple and you're into each other, what's a little whisper here and there, back and forth with each other. It goes on for a few minutes so I start off with a glance at the man and I make sure to make eye-contact with him. They both stop and continue with their work.
About 30 minutes go by and they start up again. The whispers turn into very low-volume talking back and forth and then, a very distracting murmur. I am trying to concentrate and I look around at some of the other people to see if they're bothered. Most were bothered, however some had in their ear buds so they didn't hear any of it. What's interesting, is a few tables away, there was a young woman starting a "Zoom" call for a job interview. She was loud and before anyone could say anything, the woman next to her, let her know that this is a library not an office. After that, I was hoping the couple across from me would take the hint.
Apparently, they did not, the whispering started again and so did the distracting murmur. At this point I thought that maybe I was being pranked because they were so clueless about the "Golden Rule". Once again I shot a glance over to them and the glance became more of a "WTF" stare. This time they both looked at me and I didn't let up. I was hoping that one of them would say something so I could go off on a tangent about the "Golden Rule". They continued instead of stopping and the back and forth turned into a full blown therapy session. "I'm so happy for you." he said as they both embraced with a hug. I kept my cool, figuring that this was it and that they were probably getting ready to leave.
At this point the library was getting read to close anyway and of course the announcement came over the PA reminding us, that the library was getting ready to close. I am totally annoyed, I packed up and just as I was getting ready to leave I asked the man "Did you ever hear of a Starbucks? You've been talking the whole damn day, go over to Starbucks and have your therapy session." The man responded "I'm sorry this wasn't a good experience for you." After that snide response, I went ahead an gave him "Both Barrels". I said "Are you familiar with the 'Golden Rule' of the library?" and before he could say anything I said "The 'Golden Rule' is 'Quiet' are you familiar or maybe you don't understand? I'm not here to enjoy your experience, this is a library. If you want a therapy session, go to Starbucks and talk it out!"
