A Commentary on Adults
Some things are universal. Some things are well known enough that you should never have to explain them to anyone except children. An example: fire alarms. When the alarm rings, everyone leaves the building. Every school ages child can tell you exactly what to do when the alarm goes off. Walk calmly to the nearest exit. Do not go back for anything; just get out. Wait at the muster point until released by whoever is in charge. Fire alarms are another universal concept, or at least a concept recognized by all in the West.
To the adults who were present at Iqaluit Aquatic Centre when the fire alarm rang this week: it is time for you to return to elementary school to remember how fires work. A brief overview: fires are hot. It is better to be cold outside for a moment than too hot for the remainder of your dramatically shortened life.
At 7:15pm the fire alarm rang. No one was in the pool; I was taking a break in my office. The only people present were adults from the gym and four staff members. I checked the change rooms for people left over, unconscious or injured that would need assistance exiting the building. I found people left over, in no hurry to leave and complaining about how loud the alarm was. The women weren't so bad. They had gone from the gym to the change room and grabbed their jackets, then calmly exited. The men. Goodness gracious the men. I am a woman- I avoid entering the men's change room, but I have no qualms about walking in when necessary. The alarm was too loud for me to knock on the door and be heard, so I walked straight in. All around the room were six men in various states of dress. I walked past them to check bathroom stalls, all of which were empty, yelled above the alarm: "Get out! Let's go!" And walked out of the room. Five men walked past, slowly, one at a time.
One stopped, turned to me, and hollered "Loud, isn't it?"
I was shocked. "That's the point! Get out!"
Six men had been in the change room. Where was number six? I reentered. There he was, calm as anything, as if oblivious to the shockingly loud alarm around us, exiting a bathroom stall. He placed his backpack in a locker and locked the lock.
"Out! Now!" I yelled, "let's go!"
He double checked the lock. As we exited the change room, he glanced back toward the gym.
"We can't go back to the gym?"
Are.
You.
Kidding me.
Some days I wonder how some people survive past the age of seven. Sir, do you know how to boil water? You have the survival instincts of a toad on meth. I hope you don't own anything flammable.
To the people from the gym: the fire alarm was a false alarm, confirmed by the fire department shortly after you left the change rooms. You didn't know that. You willingly put yourselves in danger to save yourselves from inconvenience, and you put my life in danger too. I can't leave the building until all of the patrons are gone, so because you have no great desire to survive, you put me at risk.
This has been my commentary on adults. I hope you are better than this. Remember that your unsafe actions put more than yourself at risk. More airplane crashes are fatal than needed to be because people on board wasted time retrieving bags from the overhead bins. Those people didn't just kill themselves, they took flight attendants and pilots with them.
My job should not be dangerous. This week it could have been.
- Aliya
To the adults who were present at Iqaluit Aquatic Centre when the fire alarm rang this week: it is time for you to return to elementary school to remember how fires work. A brief overview: fires are hot. It is better to be cold outside for a moment than too hot for the remainder of your dramatically shortened life.
At 7:15pm the fire alarm rang. No one was in the pool; I was taking a break in my office. The only people present were adults from the gym and four staff members. I checked the change rooms for people left over, unconscious or injured that would need assistance exiting the building. I found people left over, in no hurry to leave and complaining about how loud the alarm was. The women weren't so bad. They had gone from the gym to the change room and grabbed their jackets, then calmly exited. The men. Goodness gracious the men. I am a woman- I avoid entering the men's change room, but I have no qualms about walking in when necessary. The alarm was too loud for me to knock on the door and be heard, so I walked straight in. All around the room were six men in various states of dress. I walked past them to check bathroom stalls, all of which were empty, yelled above the alarm: "Get out! Let's go!" And walked out of the room. Five men walked past, slowly, one at a time.
One stopped, turned to me, and hollered "Loud, isn't it?"
I was shocked. "That's the point! Get out!"
Six men had been in the change room. Where was number six? I reentered. There he was, calm as anything, as if oblivious to the shockingly loud alarm around us, exiting a bathroom stall. He placed his backpack in a locker and locked the lock.
"Out! Now!" I yelled, "let's go!"
He double checked the lock. As we exited the change room, he glanced back toward the gym.
"We can't go back to the gym?"
Are.
You.
Kidding me.
Some days I wonder how some people survive past the age of seven. Sir, do you know how to boil water? You have the survival instincts of a toad on meth. I hope you don't own anything flammable.
To the people from the gym: the fire alarm was a false alarm, confirmed by the fire department shortly after you left the change rooms. You didn't know that. You willingly put yourselves in danger to save yourselves from inconvenience, and you put my life in danger too. I can't leave the building until all of the patrons are gone, so because you have no great desire to survive, you put me at risk.
This has been my commentary on adults. I hope you are better than this. Remember that your unsafe actions put more than yourself at risk. More airplane crashes are fatal than needed to be because people on board wasted time retrieving bags from the overhead bins. Those people didn't just kill themselves, they took flight attendants and pilots with them.
My job should not be dangerous. This week it could have been.
- Aliya
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