Do people really sell their own blood in the USA?
Yes, yes they do. Not just desperate was a popular thing for college students without much cash when I was younger.
Unbelievable...
"He said I sold my blood for money
There wasn't any pain
But I just can't stand the feeling
It's in someone else's veins
It's in someone else's veins"
You can sell plasma, you can't sell whole blood (that's no excuse any of it-Canada, where is your invasion force when we need it?).
I've had friends who donate blood just for the pittance they get for it. Typically to afford a meal or some (meager) groceries.
Times can be hard.
Maybe there is a hidden message here. «The policeman's dream» (Coffee and Doughnut) for giving blood.
I think the 'selling blood' part was a clue that unlocks a lot of the episode, meaning something like dont ruin yourself for something that is not worth it, exchange your 'unpaid work'(what you lack) for something worthwhile. Carl is sort of a 'godfather' without power, who identifies problems as they develop, stops them from spinning off into destructive excess, and redirects the excess to solving the problem the right way, etc., he is a conduit for electricity, a 'lightning rod' that changes over the excessive fire/electricity, the becoming based on the problem. Remember the two women at that bar talking about the dating and how it was about to drive their friend insane, Audrey was over the edge, and the guy who broke his house arrest, was nearly killed, then wanted to kill the other driver? They are 'selling their blood' for something not worth it, putting in 'unpaid work'(ex. Audrey had no father for her kid, now looking for revenge, etc.), then going mad or seeking to make up for their 'lost blood' by doing more reckless stuff or seeking revenge(Diane here, who is also bent on revenge about Cooper, probably one of the reasons she is in contact with him).
Also, this connects with the insurance/gambling of the last episode: twin peaks has no insurance, they have to sell their blood and their work is unpaid, Carl sees the problem here. Miriam, the one who loves pies like old twin peaks, has no insurance, is going to die unless a rich benefactor decides they will pay it. Gambling is the only way they seek for insurance, like the guy breaking house arrest and almost getting killed, or Audrey going off into affairs or dangerous situations to make up that her husband ran off on her, that no one 'paid her for her work'....no Carl here, no insurance, it has been done away with...gambling with desire/red now, by directly desiring enjoyment(gold) in everything as insurance(cannot be sad, culture of happiness, etc.), leads to disaster, no rational governance in twin peaks, aside from(Carl), so need to see genuine tragedy(Miriams situation, Richard, way people are acting, Sarah palmer, etc.) like sad song at the end, cant just skip by it, that work is going to remain unpaid and people suffering and dying....then, like the Laura Palmer tragedy, have to take it for the tragedy it is, cannot make up for it like they are doing, by hiding from the pain by 'selling their blood' to have fun, need to face up to it and try to do something....
Everybody I ever lived with, growing up in the US, had to sell blood to eat.
I never could because I was underweight. I was scared to death of needles anyway.
Selling blood for a little bit of money was such a regular thing for us. So glad I live in Australia now. Australians don't know how good they've got it.
Hmmmm.. What's wrong with "selling" blood? It is very good for your health, drop old blood, generate fresh. In Russia it is encouraged, 99% of people do it for the sake of helping other people who need blood. There is also 10$ compensation
I was a blood donor for years. In the UK, you don't get paid for it, you just do it for the benefit of others.
No harmful effects but - contradicting carlotta above - there are no health benefits, either. It's a generally neutral experience, although you would suffer adverse effects if you donated more than the recommended number of times per year. It takes little enough time to replace the fluid but the cells take a while to build up again.
I was a blood donor for years. In the UK, you don't get paid for it, you just do it for the benefit of others.
No harmful effects but - contradicting carlotta above - there are no health benefits, either. It's a generally neutral experience, although you would suffer adverse effects if you donated more than the recommended number of times per year. It takes little enough time to replace the fluid but the cells take a while to build up again.
Well, one can get drunk faster after donating (from experience, although one can achieve the same effect by visiting higher altitudes. Again, from experience. ?).