Tonight's picture was taken in September of 2006. If I had to give this photo a title, it would be...... Meeting of the Minds!!! Mattie was trying to engage and play with Patches, our cat, on the staircase. Patches though intrigued by the toy Mattie put before her, was assessing whether she should play or not. Mattie was persistent though and Patches was a great family cat. So Patches usually played along when requested! Patches knew Mattie when he was a baby and grew up with him. There were times I swear I think Patches was studying Mattie and if she could talk would have shared some interesting commentary with us. After Mattie died, I believe Patches grieved in her own way. She spent a lot of time in Mattie's room, near his things (which she never did before), and also this is when her nighttime ritual of howling began to intensify.
Quote of the day: Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes. ~ C.G. Jung
As my many daily blog readers know, last week I talked a lot about the GOLD ribbon campaign, in recognition of September being Childhood Cancer Awareness month. I even discussed how parent advocates in the childhood cancer community are upset with the current Administration's refusal to turn the White House gold. I think it is very important to NOTE that the GOLD campaign was not generated by a company or private industry. Unlike the pink ribbon campaign which is associated with breast cancer. The GOLD versus the PINK ribbon are really being marketed in two very different ways. Which may be why the PINK ribbon caught on and is a huge success. It became a BUZZ because BIG money was behind the PINK ribbon.
My "friend in cancer" (if you know me well, you then know I have practically a nick name for everyone in my life!) sent me a link to an article last week that not only caught my attention but it peaked my interest. It got me thinking about the differences between PINK and GOLD. Not as COLORS of course, but as cancer campaigns. The article Rethink Review of Pink Ribbon, INC, made some fascinating points, points that I wasn't aware of, but are nonetheless insightful. If you look at the article below (try to read through the political commentary) I think you may find it interesting to know how the message of the pink ribbon is received by some breast cancer patients and survivors, as well as family members left behind after a loved one lost the battle. The breast cancer movement did not start out as sunshine, roses, and happy pinkness. Quite on the contrary, the movement started out in the 90's looking very much like the childhood cancer awareness movement today. It was built on substance, fueled by anger at the growing epidemic, not optimism for a cure, and targeting government for not devoting more money to research and prevention.
But somewhere along the way, Komen for the Cure came along, and in a way transformed the state of breast cancer. Certainly the positive outcomes are increased awareness, self education, regular screenings, and early diagnosis. However, while producing these positives a whole other mind set change also occurred. Breast cancer became associated with PINK, a pretty color, a feminine color, and a color that was flashed all over everything including Race for the Cure country wide events. Race for the Cure became synonymous with becoming a Pink Warrior and naturally a warrior is perceived as FIGHTING and SURVIVING anything. It sends a positive message, or so this is how the campaign has lead so many of us to believe. However, digging through the PINKWASH, you get a more accurate picture of the campaign. NOT from my eyes, but from the eyes of someone with breast cancer. It is a campaign that some breast cancer patients and survivors find offensive. Offensive because guess what? Cancer IS NOT pretty. Besides the physical aspects, depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues arise, all of which appear to get washed away in a sea of pink.
One has to ask why did the breast cancer awareness campaign, which started out with substance and a strong advocacy platform convert itself into what it is today? Does making things happy, bold, beautiful, and pink seem more palatable to the public? Maybe, but who really got drawn into the PINK campaign was corporations..... everything from cosmetics to yogurt companies! Corporations are about sales/profits and all of us like to purchase something we like, especially when we think it is going to a GOOD and worthy cause. Of course for the breast cancer community, seeing that companies are profiting from their disease is not only insensitive but it also becomes an ethical situation since there are claims that what these companies are marketing to women are products that are either made or manufactured with cancer causing chemicals.
Again this is where PINK and GOLD are very different. There is NO known cause for childhood cancer. Children do not develop cancer based on the products or exposure to things within our environment. Unlike adult cancers which typically (along with genetic incidence rates) are very linked to environmental factors. This is why breast cancer advocates are livid, they feel that manufacturing companies are in essence disguising their intentions. They are promoting breast cancer awareness month (with the PINK ribbon) and claim to raise money for the cause, but while raising money they are also using questionable materials in their products. I suppose it is one's hope that with enough promotion, marketing, and pink ribbons, the facts about products will fall by the wayside and divert the public's attention. I am picking on companies, but we could also turn our attention to questionable CHARITIES. Charities who are benefiting from the marketing and hype, but at the end of the day is this ultimately helping the cancer community?!!!
I am not up to speed on breast cancer awareness, like I am with childhood cancer awareness. But I found Kim's article interesting, and then I watched the trailer to the 2012 movie called Pink Ribbon, INC. I included a link to it below in case you want to see it. I have been thinking that awareness ribbons are a good thing, until I dug in deeper into the controversy over the pink ribbon. I am not sure how this relates to the GOLD ribbon campaign, other than that awareness ribbons are not the be and end all of any cause. In fact, sometimes they can dilute, downplay, or make light out of a very serious situation. With that said, I am quite certain the intention of the GOLD ribbon is different. It was not created by ONE charity, to promote itself, but by childhood cancer families and advocates to serve as a symbol of the battle they are under, survived, or lost. I think understanding the history of how and why something is created is very important and sheds light on not only the cause but the movement and direction of the support.
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RETHINK REVIEW OF PINK RIBBON, INC (by Jonathan Kim)
In early 2012, the world's largest and most visible breast cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, got a lot of bad publicity over its politically-motivated decision to end grants to Planned Parenthood to give breast exams to low-income women, which Komen later reversed after an avalanche of criticism. For many, this was the first time they'd ever questioned the motives of Komen, whose ubiquitous pink ribbon symbol has become synonymous with the fight against breast cancer. The important new documentary, Pink Ribbons, Inc., takes a much-needed look at Komen, their corporate partnerships, and whether the relentless pink-swathed positivity that has become breast cancer culture is taking the fight against this deadly epidemic in the wrong direction.
Without a doubt, Komen should be applauded for increasing awareness about breast cancer, which they've achieved through partnerships with corporations, organizations and governments, press outreach and their Race for the Cure events in cities across the nation. The film follows a race in DC, as well as one in San Francisco sponsored by Avon, which runs its own charity and isn't affiliated with Komen. The atmosphere at both events is incredibly festive, positive and almost celebratory, with upbeat music, inspirational speakers, funny outfits, lots of cheering and smiles and, of course, tons of corporate sponsors.
But the film smartly juxtaposes this with images of breast cancer protests of the early 90s, which were fueled by anger at the growing epidemic, not optimism for a cure, targeting governments for not devoting more money to research and prevention and, more importantly, going after corporations whose products and pollution may be responsible for the rise in incidents.
This raises one of the film's most powerful claims, which is explained in the film by author and breast cancer survivor Barbara Ehrenreich: that the pink ribbon movement and the culture around it has "drained and deflected" the anger and militancy of the original breast cancer protests and replaced it with something cute, positive and toothless that lets those who may be responsible for this epidemic off the hook, right down to the use of the color pink, which female focus groups said was the friendliest, most feminine, least threatening color.
The film's other major focus is the questionable motives of the companies that partner with Komen, which seems to have much more to do with good PR than actually helping women, especially since a lot of the donations the companies give are pretty paltry in comparison to the profits they stand to make from women who're more likely to buy a pink-branded product. And, in some cases, partnering with Komen provides cover for the fact that some of these companies with pink ribbons of approval use cancer-causing chemicals in their products or while manufacturing them.
Pink Ribbons, Inc. takes a look at some possible causes of breast cancer and how little is still known about this disease that afflicts one in eight women. And by spending time with a support group for women with stage four breast cancer, where stage five is death, the film examines the effect that the breast cancer movement's positive yet often militaristic language has on some women, with its implication that those who feel sad, angry or depressed about their condition, or even worse die from it, somehow have themselves to blame for not being a "warrior" and not fighting hard enough.
While one can argue that there are a lot of worse organizations to go after than a breast cancer charity, the most important thing that Pink Ribbons, Inc. accomplishes is to urge us to look hard at what charities like Komen for the Cure are really saying about breast cancer, those who have it and the companies trying to "pinkwash" themselves for profit or to insulate themselves from criticism. Because when looked at all together, the message seems to be that instead of demanding safeguards and accountability from corporations and governments that allow known cancer-causing chemicals into the products we use, the food we eat and the environment we live in, women should smile, put on a pink ribbon, donate to Komen and place the responsibility for both avoiding or surviving breast cancer on themselves.
TRAILER to PINK RIBBONS, INC
http://firstrunfeatures.com/trailers_pinkribbonsinc.html
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