I'm sitting in Cincinnati, waiting for my connecting flight to San Francisco. This is the final leg of my travels. Soon (hopefully) I will join the workforce again, be studying again, be burning the midnight oil... again.
I find myself in an awkward situation sometimes. Not only when I write the word "awkward," since it just looks awkward. But also like the time when I was just buying a couple postcards from the store here in the airport. As I was getting ready to pay, the lady said "Would you like to donate a dollar to go towards research for children's diabetes?"
Great. Thanks. If I say yes, I've given a dollar to one of millions of charities that undoubtedly need the money, but I just can't give to them all. If I say no, I'm basically going to hell.
I said no. Now whenever I hear about an innocent child suffering from fluctuating sugar levels or an adult awaiting an organ transplant due to diabetes complications, or someone perhaps dying from such an affliction, I will be thinking, "Way to go, Amber. You killed her. For a dollar."
I think they should just rephrase the question, that's all. So I can feel better about being a jerk.
9 comments:
You may think you don't know me, but you hate me. Thanks for contributing to my death. For a lousy dollar.
I found you through Nathan's tip. As he premonished the world, I do enjoy your humor!
yeah... i get uncomfortable in these situations. i'll drop a dollar in the jar next time for you. you know, so i can sleep better at night. ;)
The most awkward one I ever had to encounter was when Safeway was collecting money for prostate cancer research. I'm there to buy some food and get asked "Would you like to donate a dollar for prostate research?"
I'm sending you some coffee... :D (My car doesn't smell that strong, thank goodness)
It's a small price to pay for a little sleep. Problem is, if you enjoy sleep as much as I do, you'll be in the poorhouse.
In a slightly different realm, I find that these sort of "human" campaigns have a dark side. I'm all about humanizing those around me in any way I can. Get cut off in traffic (on my bike)? They're probably having a tough morning. Sorry it's gotta be that way for you. Hope your day gets better.
What leads me to dehumanize are petition mongers in front of stores. "Have you heard what those awful people are going to do to you? Sign my petition to get this measure on the ballot." I try to give verbal acknowledgement, even a "No thanks." (Not that that makes any sense in the context.) Recently, I said "No thanks" to a woman who was trying to register voters. I had to change it to, "Oh, we're already registered."
The format of donate a dollar/sign my petition makes me dehumanize others. Ugh.
I can't remember if I ever donated money this way before. For me it's just a trust issue. I have no idea whether an impulse decision at a register is actually going to see any money go to the charity or research they are advertising. I also don't give to phone solicitations either.
good points. it's been easy these days saying no to people, being unemployed and all. i was at a taco truck on thursday and this guy came up and politely asked me for money. i told him i'm unemployed myself, and he got really friendly, like he understood. except that at the end of the conversation, i picked up my food, got into my car that feeds on gas and drove off. so maybe we're not in the same boat. but i'm still not giving now either way. not to him anyway. too many chicken burritos to buy.
I had a kid walk up to me in the mall last week and ask for a dollar. I thought "what the heck, if he needs one bad enough to beg me for a dollar, here in america, then why not?" So I gave him a dollar, he said thank you and I went on my way. The last time someone asked me for money was downtown Chicago, but I have no idea how many years ago that was... maybe 7 or 8.
i just get more calloused to it the more often it happens, because i realize i can't give every time. it's more common out here. i guess in higher-populated/urban areas it must happen more. same thing when i lived in washington. not as much in olympia, but more when in seattle, just an hour away. don't worry, when i come next, i'll probably ask you for 10 bucks, being a big teacher now. ;)
I ended up giving away hundreds of dollars in my time as a naive Bible college student in Chicago. And for what? I'm not sure what happened with all that. I did get more calloused for sure . . . that's probably where I started dehumanizing people. Since my allowance (as an adult?!) is ten bucks a month, I'm much more careful with my money. Oddly enough, I find myself being much more intentionally generous.
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