Anal retentive bastards should have their lips sewn shut

Or maybe just be forced to wear a french maid costume and made to lick the lounge clean. Wow, ok, So perhaps you can tell that I'm rather disgusted/upset with this guy. What am I talking about? you may ask, especially if you not living in my dorm.

Well, our dorm has a rather vibrant lounge life. Our downstairs lounge has developed a culture all its own, and occasionally it gets cluttered beyond cluttered. Every single freaking year, someone complains about the lounge. It's a given. But this year, it's been in immaculate condition. No rugs splattered with plaster, no heaps of decomposing food. Hell, the tables even have space to place things on. But this year, the memo's on our R.A.'s board appeared:

"Brian: The lounge is disgusting, do something about it"

And other such statements which had me pretty damn pissed. No one ever signed their name to these comments, and generally made the assumption that RA's are housekeepers. And then the flyer appeared on our bulletin board, stating that if personal items in the lounge weren't removed by Wednesday night, the entire dorm would be charged. "Please respect our dorm" it cordially finished.

Ok, ok, so the lounge does get messy from time to time. But none of us could figure it out. I mean, the lounge was CLEAN. There was one or two backpacks, some magazines, some books, and a pair of shoes. Between the condescending, nagging notes on the message board and this new strict and undefined standard of "clean" was seriously pissing of many a lounger. And then the meeting was announced. Finally, a chance to defend our minority culture!

I think it's important here to mention that the meeting was broken up spatially. On the couches in the "lounge" designated portion of the first floor were all the defenders of said lounge. Next to them were the two RA's and Angela, the area coordinator. Finally, nearest the stairs and the doors was a group of folks who I've rarely ever seen--and NEVER seeen in the lounge. Guess who was there to comoplain about the state of the lounge? I digress slightly. . .

The meeting started out with my worst fears being comforted: apparently lots of people within the dorm itself were complaining about its state. I had been geniunely concerned, up until this point, that all this was due to one or two noisy underclassmen who had no prior knowledge of the Lounge and its past appearances and traditions. Things were good, and I tried to let the RA's know that it was so much better to talk this out in person than to receive flyer mandates.

At first, the discussion relayed between Tom and the Res Life folks. And then this guy--who I had honestly never seen before--came forward and voiced his opinions on the lounge, and how it should be used. His beef? He felt that the place was a mess, that it was too cluttered. He seemed especially offended by the "drop off" table which has been placed near the door. "What if I want to put my stuff there? I can't because it's covered with stuff!" Tom tried to explain to him that he was welcome to move someone's stuff, or put it one of the many other tables in the lounge. . . . But the guy would have none of this. His main arguement rested on that clutter prevented people from using various parts of the lounge. Now, I would agree with that, to a certain extent. But something really was amiss with his arguments. . . like when the hell have I ever seen him in the lounge? Will he actually ever want to put anything in there?

Oh well, that aside, we had reached an agreement: the lounge would be treated like the upstairs lounges. Food and trash needed to be cleared immediately, but personal items such as bookbags and books could stay for less than 24 hours. Everyone seemed to think this fair, except mister anal retentive bozo. "You shouldn't leave anything in the lounge! If you leave, take it with you!" he proclaimed. His voice kept getting louder and louder. I'm proud to say those who were pro-lounge remained calm, at least until he left, after we all agreed on the original resolution anyway.

See, what I had feared actually was true. As far as I could tell, the only ones expressing discontent were OCD Fuckhead and his small compatriot. Perhaps some of the other guys of 2nd, who stood with them but said not a damn thing, shared his opinion. But it was a damn creepy opinion. I'm serious--believe me, I grew up in a house with a compulsive cleaner--the lounge is CLEAN. This guy is complaining about some books, office supplies, and a pair of boots. He wasn't at all reasonable. And what bugs me the most is that it seems those who actually use the lounge aren't complaining about it. Only those who are rather outside the lounge culture.

Ok, so admittedly there is a group of people who probably feel unwelcome in the lounge--before this incident--and so perhaps we are slightly to blame that they don't use the lounge. But dammit, the lounge is the most accepting culture I've EVER witnessed. All you have to do is come down and sit there, and eventually you get talked to. What I find sad, is that all of this just seems like an excuse to assault our way of life, to finally vent that apparently vehement disdain these guys have for a bunch of kids hanging out lazily in the lounge. I mean, it's the vibe I've always gotten.
"[so and so] is always in the lounge! don't they realize they have a room!?"
I hesitate to make this into an "us vs them" situation. . . . but honestly that's what I think it is. Because the lounge, I'll assert again, isn't messy this year. Perhaps they just see us as a big bunch of messy geeks. Maybe they just don't get it. And the lounge, and its clutter, are the greatest manifestation of our group, so I guess its the most obvious target of their disdain. Heck, you can't complain to an RA that the kids in the lounge are too weird for you, but you sure as hell can complain they're too messy for your immaculate tastes. Must be SO rough to walk past that lounge every day and see clutter for five seconds. I know it would just kill me. The main thing I've gotta say is they probably aren't doing it consciously. The state of the lounge probably does legitimately bother them. But it's just plain ridiculous. They are being intolerant. We loungers may be loud, messy, and self-righteous, but we tolerate just about everything. Except this laughable crap.

So, mister clean, I hope you enjoy living in the smallest dorm on a small campus ;)