The Black Tag
During the early 1970s, the United States developed a medical tagging system called: METTAG(Medical Emergency Triage Tags). This allowed first responders to evaluate the severity of a victim’s injury and tag the victim in about 30 to 60 seconds. The triage tag is placed near the head so that when additional help arrives, the wounded can be treated according to four colors:
Green: Minor injuries
Yellow: Non life threatening injuries
Red: Life threatening injuries
Black: Victim will surely die
During the Vietnam War, a story is told of a severely wounded soldier who was assessed by the first responders. He was in terrible condition and the dreaded black tag was placed on him. Not long after, a nurse came by and examined the soldier. “This man could live if only he would receive proper medical care,” she thought. So she reached down and replaced the black tag with a red tag. The soldier received treatment that he needed and…you know the rest of the story. The soldier lived!
Many of us have never been in combat. Yet on a day to day basis, we participate in a tagging system of our own. Within the first few minutes of meeting someone, we have mentally placed them into categories of good or bad. While this is not abnormal, we need to realize that our assumptions about an individual can be entirely wrong.
Let’s look a Biblical account that illustrates so well the concept of the black tag. In Luke 10:27, Jesus is telling the people to love your neighbor as yourself. But then a question is fired back, Who is my neighbor? In response, Jesus tells the following story.
Luke 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
The Jericho road is a steep, winding road. In fact, it drops 3,600 feet during the 17 mile journey. For centuries, this remote area has been the scene of numerous robberies.
31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
Both of these men, (religious by definition) examined the situation and apparently came to the same conclusion. This was a black tag situation.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him.
34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
Verse 33 begins just like the priest and Levite. The Samaritan saw him. But the story doesn’t stop there. Reading on, we see phrases like: had compassion, went to, bound up, pouring in, brought him and took care of him. The Samaritan didn’t even know if the wounded man would survive! Remember that this man was originally half dead, even before the priest and Levite came along. This dying man was no doubt hanging on to a small thread of life when the Samaritan ignored an obvious black tag and poured in the oil and wine. This rescue mission was at the total expense of the Samaritan. His provisions, his beast, his money, and his time.
The important lesson to be learned is that we are not the ones who should be tagging trauma victims. Our job is simply to care for the wounded and dying. I challenge you to take another look at the “black tag” individuals in your own life. Just like the good Samaritan and the American nurse, let us set aside our preconceived ideas on who can or cannot survive. Friends, there are no black tags in the presence of The Great Physician.