Embarrassed (and inconvenienced)
So I was in my building's wifi lounge today to get some writing done, and there was a guy teaching a martial arts form to someone, so I went to ask the building manager what the policy was on that.
After she gave me the answer (they had asked permission and were given a conditional yes - which is to say, I was allowed to kick them out if I wanted to), she told me that the building is probably going to be restricting the wifi lounge hours.
Why?
Because people in the building have been using it in inappropriate ways and trashing it.
The last straw? Simchat Torah night.
Apparently, the usual doorman called in sick - the one who is so good at locking down the building and keeping back the worst of the partiers.
But they shouldn't need to lock down the building. They shouldn't need to close the door to the stairwell and tell people they have to be residents to go up the stairs when they let any Jew up those stairs on a regular Shabbat. They shouldn't need to call the cops, which they did last year, and which they had cause to - but didn't because the doorman didn't think to - this year. They shouldn't be told, "no," when they ask partying guests to leave the wifi lounge because it is an inappropriate use of the space. (That was when they should have called the cops.)
Jews should not be causing chaos in my building - or any other - on Simchat Torah.
I felt embarrassed that the damage to the lounge had been caused by other Jews. I felt embarrassed that the management pays attention to when Simchat Torah falls so that they can take appropriate precautions. I am pretty sure they had extra staff on this weekend for just that reason - and it still wasn't enough to control the chaos.
It's such a chilul hashem.
Which is not something I say very often. But it is.
And, on top of that, my fellow Jews have caused me a personal inconvenience. I rely on that lounge as a place to escape to in order to get my writing done. If I can't use it after 6 pm, that means I won't have a quiet place to write. And if I can't use it on weekends, well, it's just really frustrating.
Thanks a lot, guys. Way to celebrate the holiday.
After she gave me the answer (they had asked permission and were given a conditional yes - which is to say, I was allowed to kick them out if I wanted to), she told me that the building is probably going to be restricting the wifi lounge hours.
Why?
Because people in the building have been using it in inappropriate ways and trashing it.
The last straw? Simchat Torah night.
Apparently, the usual doorman called in sick - the one who is so good at locking down the building and keeping back the worst of the partiers.
But they shouldn't need to lock down the building. They shouldn't need to close the door to the stairwell and tell people they have to be residents to go up the stairs when they let any Jew up those stairs on a regular Shabbat. They shouldn't need to call the cops, which they did last year, and which they had cause to - but didn't because the doorman didn't think to - this year. They shouldn't be told, "no," when they ask partying guests to leave the wifi lounge because it is an inappropriate use of the space. (That was when they should have called the cops.)
Jews should not be causing chaos in my building - or any other - on Simchat Torah.
I felt embarrassed that the damage to the lounge had been caused by other Jews. I felt embarrassed that the management pays attention to when Simchat Torah falls so that they can take appropriate precautions. I am pretty sure they had extra staff on this weekend for just that reason - and it still wasn't enough to control the chaos.
It's such a chilul hashem.
Which is not something I say very often. But it is.
And, on top of that, my fellow Jews have caused me a personal inconvenience. I rely on that lounge as a place to escape to in order to get my writing done. If I can't use it after 6 pm, that means I won't have a quiet place to write. And if I can't use it on weekends, well, it's just really frustrating.
Thanks a lot, guys. Way to celebrate the holiday.