Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Yes, I was troubled by the title as well, for all the reasons listed above, but thought we figured it was okay to use a term that had slipped into the vernacular and is more pithy than "Minor Problems Too Insignificant To Warrant Their Own Thread But Annoying Enough to Bother PPKers that Don't Fit Into the Myriad Other Minor Things Threads That Have Accumulated Over The Years Like the Pet Peeves Thread or The Space For Things That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread."

Wait... pretty sure this is a problem in first and second world countries too.

Does anyone else find the idea of "first world problems" kind of weird and problematic? I mean, sure, there are parts of certain "third world" countries where there are issues with hunger or high infant mortality, but then there are parts of those same countries where people sip beverages and complain about their wifi connection. I feel like it contributes to seeing certain regions as a monolith of starving children who need to be saved when really there is a large range of economic circumstances.

Edited because I found this, written by Teju Cole:
"I don't like this expression 'First World problems.' It is false and it is condescending. Yes, Nigerians struggle with floods or infant mortality. But these same Nigerians also deal with mundane and seemingly luxurious hassles. Connectivity issues on your BlackBerry, cost of car repair, how to sync your iPad, what brand of noodles to buy: Third World problems. All the silly stuff of life doesn't disappear just because you're black and live in a poorer country. People in the richer nations need a more robust sense of the lives being lived in the darker nations. Here's a First World problem: the inability to see that others are as fully complex and as keen on technology and pleasure as you are."

I'm not trying to criticize anyone here. I just thought it was interesting.

Can you give blood if you're a woman who has had protected sex with a man that's had protected sex with a man? Do they even ask?

Can you give blood if you're a woman who has had protected sex with a man that's had protected sex with a man? Do they even ask?

I asked if I could give blood given that my sexual partner from West Africa had never had sex with anyone in West Africa (where the strain of HIV that may be undetectable in current testing originated) and had only had 1 other partner before me. And the answer was no.

And if I could give if I had been a vegan while in Europe, and the answer also was no. The guy said that I might have been exposed to meat without my knowledge. So yeah.

Its not like anyone is patrolling this stuff, so I could walk in, lie and donate, but I don't really feel like that is ethical.

I've got myself listed as an organ donor, too, and wonder how smart that is of me. I'm kind of slutty, and not always safe I'm sad to admit. Plus there's the whole 'I take a hormone every day for my whole life' thing, that's not exactly something science has a whole lot of info on...

I can't decide what's more unethical: me lying or them creating stupid rules.

I'm an organ donor too, my mom has this theory that if you are an organ donor that EMTs/Paramedics will let you die more readily, but I think she is just crazy.

Also, I do try to give blood as often as I can. I'm apparently one of the 10%? of people in the US that has blood suitable for babies and those with compromised immune systems. I can't remember what it is but most people have a blood borne virus that is mostly harmless except to certain populations. So the cards I get in the mail always have pictures of babies on them urging me to give blood.

(Last time was right before Veganstock I and I showed up with my arm violet from the crook of my elbow halfway down to my wrist from them yanking out a clot and me bleeding into my skin.)

You should not give blood if you have AIDS or have ever had a positive HIV test, or if you have done something that puts you at risk for becoming infected with HIV.

You are at risk for getting infected if you:

have ever used needles to take drugs, steroids, or anything not prescribed by your doctor
are a male who has had sexual contact with another male, even once, since 1977
have ever taken money, drugs or other payment for sex since 1977
have had sexual contact in the past 12 months with anyone described above
received clotting factor concentrates for a bleeding disorder such as hemophilia
were born in, or lived in, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea,Gabon, Niger, or Nigeria, since 1977.
since 1977, received a blood transfusion or medical treatment with a blood product in any of these countries, or
had sex with anyone who, since 1977, was born in or lived in any of these countries. Learn more about HIV Group O, and the specific African countries where it is found.

What happened in 1977 that didn't in 1976?