loyalties

today i went to the pool at the riley center, which is the tulane gym that we go to. i didn't bring a towel, because in the past i have just said, "can i have a towel," and they give me one to use, which i then throw in their bin after having used it to swim, or more accurately, to dry off after swimming.

so today i tried the same thing, and the college student at the counter said, "do you have towel service?" and i said, "towel service?" and she said, indicating the computer screen, "it doesn't say that you have towel service. if you don't, towels are one dollar."

me: "but i've always asked for them in the past and they just gave them to me"

her: shrug

me: "can i have one just for today? i mean, i just rode my bike over and i'm in my swimming suit and everything"

her: "we're not allowed to"

me: "so, not even this once? really?"

her: "we're not supposed to"

me: "i would do it for *you*!"

then i go over to member services where she has indicated i can inquire about this towel issue. i don't have towel service. i don't have a dollar. the guy at member services tells me, upon my inquiry, that whether or not the person at the desk gives me a break, and a towel just this once is between me an them. so i march on back to the desk person.

me (huffily); "ok, i guess i'll just swim without a towel"

and so i did, and dammit, i put my clothes back on over my dripping wet swimming suit when i was done. but, this phenomenon is not isolated. why do people feel loyal to these institutions that probably otherwise profit a great deal from not treating people very nicely? this particular girl is paying $40k a year in tuition and has this work study job which probably pays minimum wage, and she's dedicated to protecting their piddling one dollar?

similarly, when chad and i got married last weekend (gotchya!), we had the ceremony in jackson square in the french quarter. including us, there were only six people present, and we got stopped twice by two different gardeners, both of whom told us we couldn't have a wedding in jackson square without a permit. so we said it wasn't a wedding. but, again, i beseech you: why would these guys, who are picking up garbage in 90-degree heat, worried about preserving one small amount income of a city that has given them such an assignment?

i suppose the answer lies in that each has been given a domain over which they feel responsible. i suppose in classic terms, enforcing rules in these domains is one of the only ways in which both the tulane student and the gardeners feel less alienated from their labor? i.e., that what they do matters, even if it is in a negative way?

and so, what would happen if everyone in these petty retail and managerial positions, who work thankless hours for thankless pay, were to all of a sudden abscond from their responsibiltiies guarding the frontlines of their otherwise indifferent bosses? what a system, in which the employer doesn't care about them, but gets to count on them asserting their themness in order to protect profitability. how very efficient. what if people overthrew this efficiency? what if they said, well, if you don't care about me, then neither do i care about you, and just gave things away? what if people reassessed their loyalty and realized they'd rather contribute to a society in which people are united to bilk exploitative employers, instead of allowing themselves to be pitted against one another by these employers?

ok, ideological rant over. and obviously way misdirected against tulane and the city of new orleans, for chrissakes. but you get the point? maybe?