I checked my calendar. May 4th was not circled, or captioned by the calendar company as being anything other than "Early May Bank Holiday (UK)" and "Greenery Day (Japan)." Obviously, someone missed an email.
Sure, there are all kinds of celebrations, and not all make it to the big calendar companies, the newscasts, or even the newspapers in time for the deadline. Apparently, there are no greeting cards to celebrate the day either. A super-niche day can't be made highly commercial, I guess.
The announcement did lead me to wonder what might be entailed in celebrating the "Badass" day. Do squadrons of tattooed librarians ride to work on their Harleys in clothing guaranteed to show off as much tattooed flesh as legally possible through openings in riveted leather? Do they all blow clouds of smoke (or vapor) at each other outside the library's doors before going in? Do they "open carry" handguns where allowed by local laws? What exactly constitutes a "Badass" librarian, even for a day, that makes them run counter to the stereotypical image of their all wearing glasses and sensible clothes and shoes from Sears?
The Web wasn't much help. There is merchandise being offered which you can buy to proclaim your "Badass" credentials. There is a proclamation that May 4th is indeed "Badass" day and is described as follows:
It's like Hug a Librarian Day, but with attitude and chances of emergency room visits...for someone...and there's a full moon that day...here's your chance to be your badass self...in the library or not...and we all rock! All library advocates are welcome!
Now that I am of an age sufficient to span 12 presidential administrations, I can honestly say that I know the librarian image I grew up has been replaced by male librarians, gay librarians, tattooed librarians, body pierced librarians, black librarians, all joining the dated stereotypical image that can still be found in some quarters. I guess any one of those types can become a "Badass Librarian" for a day.
But you know what? I think through all that once a year preening and strutting exterior, they'll still help me.
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