Look, lady. I already made a cash donation to the Red Cross. Everything that was disposable income for this pay period went via a donation at their website. This means I have a $30 cushion after bills are paid, groceries bought and and the car filled with gas. If, when next payday rolls around I haven’t used it, then great, into the pot it goes. If I’ve had to use it, then I really needed it. Oh, and I have an appointment to donate blood this Thursday.
That means I will not be donating any more through the checkout line at the grocery store. Oh, so you happened to be standing in line behind me and heard me tell the cashier “no”. That does not give you any sort of leave to tell me how horrible you think the young generation is today. Tell me you think teenagers just don’t care. Yeah, you should have seen the look on your face when I told you I was 28. Oh, so you don’t believe it. I have to be a teenager, because no 28 year old who works would not donate.
So I whipped out my license, proved it to you, and then said “I don’t have to explain myself to you at all.” And walked off. I know you think I’m a horrible person. I don’t care. I am the one who I have to answer to, not you. If you can’t handle that and keep your nose in your own business, then fuck you too.
What??? You are asked by cashiers at your supermarket if you will donate to charity? Have I got this right? And when you say no the person behind you calls you names and you have to prove something to her? I am lost for words, what the fuck does your donating habits (probably better than hers) have to do with her?? Jesus.
We are starting to see an unfortunate, ugly side to all of this. As I have said in numerous threads, to my knowledge there are no awards for Most Patriotic, Most Compassionate, and Most Religious be given out, and yet people seem to be competing for them. Initially people asked, “What can I do?” and many many people asnwered by donating blood, by donating money, by offering prayers, by showing a united front in the face of danger, and so forth. Now that phase seems to have ended and devolved into, “Well what are you doing?” where we criticize those who we deem less compassionate, patriotic, or supportive and ourselves.
Hence this awful, ugly outbreak of “If you’ve never donated blood until now, fuck you, you should have been doing this all along?” I’m certain the recipients of donated blood could not care less how many times in the past or future the donor gave blood; they’re just glad he or she did so now. We see people saying, “Fuck you if you’re buying a flag, you should already own one!” We see cries of, “You want to show your patriotism now, you’d better be prepared to show it in the future!” and jingoistic crap like that. Apparently the problem isn’t so big that we can’t include a little petty bullshit squabbling and posing along with it.
Right now I don’t care who plans to vote in the next election or not, or who’s going to give blood a year from now, or who was donating to the Red Cross months ago. I’m glad to see so many people doing what they can, to whatever extent they can, when the need calls for it.
I know the feeling Lsura. Leaving a grocery store yesterday afternoon, there was someone collecting donation for the Red Cross. I don’t carry much cash on me, instead I rely on my check card, and I go to ATMs only when I need to. So when I opened my wallet for the donation man, and dropped $2 in the bucket. The man collecting said a simple “Thank you” but the person behind me muttered, “What? Two dollars?”
I glanced back at him and caught his eye, so I know he knows I heard him, but didn’t make a confrontation of it. If he’s so damn nosy about what I donate, why didn’t he peek in my wallet so he could see I only had $2 cash to give. They don’t take Visa at a donation bucket.
Whatever sport, give a ten spot and go home feeling superior to me. Go ahead. I hope it made your day to feel like a better person.
Don’t sweat it, Lsura. These sort of people have no idea of other people’s individual financial burdens or situations. If that’s what it takes for them to feel better about themselves, let them. You know you would do more if you could, and so do we.
Thanks y’all.
I could not describe how angry I was leaving the grocery store after that. It was to the point that I almost sent Publix an e-mail complaining about the practice, because of this. I can see it happening again and again over the next few weeks. Not just to me, but to other people. I’d rather see a bucket/bin/collection thing placed at the exit.
I would have read her the riot act, then I would have had a meeting with her employer.
I don’t feel bad at all about refusing to donate money to anyone with a bucket at the freakin supermarket. I know where the Red Cross is. I’ll send 'em a check. I’m not coughing up a little cash so ‘Skippy’ can skim off the top.
I buy food with an EBT (electronic benefit transfer)
card. No one at the supermarket asks me for a donation
because they know I have nothing. For once, there’s an upside to being on food stamps.