I am not usually given to such behavior, but this is a warning: this is a rant! Oooo… I am so pissed!
Today, I go in to give blood at my local Red Cross, like usual. They always have some little enticements for people to get them to come in, T-shirts, cards for a free car wash, cards for free Chick-Filets, and so on… Today the receptionist signs me in and hands me a car wash card and a brand new glossy hard cover book off of a stack that she has. Hmmm… I’m wondering to myself, what’s up with this? And it hits me… oh yeah… this is Memorial Day weekend! I sit down to wait my turn for screening, and think… well, I’ve got a book that I can read while I wait…
Well… here’s the frickin’ book that I got , in all it’s red, white, and blue glory… Please, take a few moments to thumb through some of the little gems that Amazon will allow you to view… I would post some of the photos, but every page has “Copyrighted Material” emblazoned on it in at least four places… Basically, this book amounts to 160 pages of glossy neo-con propaganda sandwiched between two quotes on the covers from the Chimpotus… “Today our nation saw evil… and we responded with the best of America.”, and “The world is beginning to understand why we all treasure America so much – our values, our freedom and the strength of the American character.” Oh, the irony…
Some of the headier material inside includes excerpts from Chimpotus’ address to the nation on September 11th, and a timeline of the terrorist attack (funny, “My Pet Goat” isn’t mentioned anywhere at all in the book… go figure.). Another chapter is entitled “New York’s Mayor Shines in Adversity”… the money quote underneath a picture of Chimpotus and Rudy supervising operations: “Giuliani could run for anything now and win.” Interestingly, most of the huge quotes in the book were cited… this one wasn’t… And what 9/11 memorial book would not be complete without a huge picture of Rudy escorting a bride to the altar… A spiffy flag on every page and copyrighted in triplicate…
“Next…” the phlebotomist says.
Oooo… I am on low simmer after having sat for ten minutes and skimmed through this 160 page craplet.
“Hmmm… I got 140/82, your pressure seems to be a little high today, but that won’t keep you from donating…”, she says.
“Ya’ THINK!!!“, I scream inside my head as I reply, “Hmmm… must be the two cups of coffee I had this morning…”
I go on to donate my blood, but I am seething that the Red Cross would be handing out this kind of crap on Memorial Day… granted, I live in a decidedly red state, but still… I hadn’t felt this violated in a long time… I know better than to lash out at the people working there, because they were likely not responsible… What’s a well mannered Cognitive Dissonant to do? Then, it hits me…
“Excuse me…” I say to the lady donating next to me (she turns out to be a High School teacher retiring after 32 years). We make some small talk, and then I say, “I really don’t want this book, would you trade me your free Chick-Filet for it?”
She gives me a funny little look and says, “Ah… no, I don’t think so…”
“How about your car wash coupon?”
A not so funny look, and she says, “um…no…”
So I turn to the guy across from me and ask, “Will you trade me for your Chick-Filet?”
He smirks a little and says, “Uh… no thanks”
Wow! I’m on a roll… I migrate on over to the orange juice and cookie step down area and continue my quest. The results of my informal poll with ten people responding, probably well over half of which were reDublican, is that the book “America’s Heroes” is not worth either a Chick-Filet or a car wash. Fortunately, 56 days between donations is a long time; long enough for the Red Cross staff to forget me and the glares that they were shooting me.
Not surprisingly, when I got home and looked it up on Amazon, it was selling for $18.87, with a cover price of $29.95… there were 156 used and new in stock starting at $0.01… one penny. Did my fellow donors of the reDublican persuasion at the Red Cross know this ahead of time, or is there something universal and intrinsic going on here? I submit the latter, but proof will have to await the test of time, or a better crafted study at a later date…
Bottom line, though, is that I’m still pretty miffed at the Red Cross for injecting (pun intended) politics into blood donations. I am exactly two pints away from achieving my fourth gallon (I have a pretty rare blood type and they always call me up). This will probably not affect my willingness to donate in the future, because I have always given with no strings attached… but is it wrong to expect the same in return?
In a further effort to purge myself I dashed off a little missive to the Red Cross HERE . This is what I said:
I am writing to complain about the distribution of “America’s Heroes” to blood donors as an incentive to give blood over Memorial Day weekend.
In my opinion, the book is decidedly politically skewed, and I resent the implication that the tragedy of 9/11 should be associated with Memorial Day, and therefore, a particular political agenda. I realize that this campaign may not be nationwide and only limited to the particular site at which I recently gave. If this is the case, please note my address above and forward this complaint to the appropriate people.
At a time when blood donations are down nationwide and many centers have been cut back to less than half time (as is the case with the center at which I donate) would it not be a prudent strategy to adopt a more centrist stance so as not to offend some people who might otherwise be inclined to give? While I have given for years, and will continue to do so despite this perceived insult, I fear that many might be inclined to walk out when confronted with “America’s Heroes”.
Additionally, I feel that the money used to purchase this book in bulk could have certainly been spent in a more useful manner.
Thank you in advance for your prompt attention into this matter.
Sincerely,
The Dood (I didn’t really sign it “The Dood”)
Well, I feel a little better. I did a quick Google of SP L.L.C. the publishers, and didn’t really find any right wing conspiracy… yet… and certainly nothing tied to the Red Cross. Perhaps I’m being a little prudish here, but I don’t think so… I think that I can recognize propaganda when I see it… especially from 2001. I take some comfort in the fact that I couldn’t give this book away, even to people who ought to find it of some worth… Is this evidence that my little slice of Red America might be waking up a little, if only on a semi-conscious level…? I like to think so. At any rate, there is much to ponder on this Memorial Day weekend…
