When I arrived at the blood bank yesterday afternoon, there was a crowd of about two hundred people sitting outside. There was a huge list of sign-ups posted on the outside wall; the first empty space I found was on page 61. They were currently pulling in the people from page 8.
Luckily, a few friends came with (and a few more just happened to be there), and so I could sit around and chat and talk with them while I waited in vain hope that I could donate. The nurse who occasionally came out of the bank stated that they would stop taking sign-ins at 8 pm, but that the staff would stay however long it took to take the donations of those who signed up before then.
This policy ended up being changed; at 10:30 pm the head of the bank came out to announce that they would take the next 20 people on the list and then shut down. Their second shift had never shown up, and the staff in the building had been there for over fourteen hours straight. And planned to be there the next day for fourteen hours straight. They needed rest, and needed to shut down. They went through the list and got to the next twenty people still around; they made it to page 29.
Let me now address you, sir. Yes, I realize you’ve been here since three o’clock this afternoon. Seven hours of waiting to give blood; I can understand it was frustrating. Admittedly, one could have alleviated your frustration by volunteering to help the sign-in staff or by cleaning up the area, much as I and my friends did; but let me not cast aspersions upon you simply sitting on your ass and watching TV. Yes, some people signed up early, left the area, and came back in time to have their blood drawn. I have no idea why their superior time management skills should somehow be a mark against them, as if sitting around for seven hours, watching tv, makes you a better person.
And yes, the nurse did say they would get to everyone. But as tired and angry as you are, the staff is double that. They’ve been here for twice the time you have. Not only that, they come here all the time, unlike you, who had to be shocked out of your complacency. They deserve a break and a chance to sleep far more than you deserve validation by donating blood.
In other words, sir, you and your fellows are assholes. When the head of the staff announced that the site had to close, the proper thing to do would have been to shake your head in sad understanding for the work they had done, know that at least you tried to do your part, and either accept that as good enough, or shown up bright and early the next morning. Or do what I’m doing, which is waiting until next week when the rush has died down but the need hasn’t.
The thing not to do was what you did, which was to harangue the nurse. To shout and yell and argue and insult, to demand to either be taken tonight or be given priority in the morning, to threaten to never donate blood again because of the gross injustice done to you.
You lost seven hours of your life today.
There are tens of thousands who lost far more than seven hours of their life today.
Get some fucking perspective and grow the fuck up. Or at least take your justified anger and rage and direct it towards the appropriate target- those who did this- rather than an innocent bystander. Least of all, someone who’s actually trying to fucking help.