Pink Wa$hing

I think it was the car tag that finally made me snap.

See I hate pink. It's just so girly and not white, not red, can't make up it's mind kind of color. I don't grasp the big deal about pink.

So years ago when pink became THE color for breast cancer I thought it was highly stereotypical.

But alas, pink went on and on and now there's Pink cookbooks, Pink quilts, Pink shirts, Pink key chains, and now, now, damn it, there's a freakin' Pink car tag.

The state of Alabama DMV has just released its Support Breast Cancer Research Tag. And now we get to what's really bothering me.

I first learned about this tag while driving to work one morning. There on a HUGE billboard was 'SUPPORT BREAST CANCER RESEARCH' Beside the screaming message was an over sized image of the tag. The tag in this advertisement carries its own message. The letters on the tag are spelling out words. Those word are NOT 'Hope' or 'Cure' oh no, the words are BUY NOW.

The yogurt ads also bug me. For every pink (of course!) lid you mail in, the yogurt company will donate ten cents. What the F*ck? It's a multi-million dollar company and all they can come off is .10? There's not even a cent sign on the keyboard anymore, that's how meaningless the dime has become.

Last year I was on a herbalist website which had an article on PREVENTING breast cancer. It stunned me. Before that I had never considered that one might be able to prevent a disease that robs women of both health and self-esteem. This, I thought, must be some new findings.

Nope.

It's plain ol' vitamin D found in whole milk (which no one drinks b/c it's fatty) and sunshine (which everyone stays out of- skin cancer)

Now why aren't doctors telling women to drink more milk and get out more? I found the answer in a link to a feminist website.

The article on the fem site was written by a really angry woman. She ranted about how breast cancer is preventable but doctors don't tell you that b/c if you never get sick you won't spend hundreds of thousands on treatments which make your hair fall out and your stomach churn.

After reading that I found examples of PINK PROFIT everywhere. The grocery store has a Pink Ribbon plan- they donate X number of dollars per year IF the customer signs up for a savings club. So they'll do it if they get more money in return. I'm sure some people sign up without even thinking about it, after all who wouldn't find to find a cure?

Drug companies.

Research can go on for ever. But when you're cured...well, you won't buy any more meds, right?

There are some companies which sell Pink products. They sell shirts, key chains, hats, stuffed animals, whatever you can think of with the little pink looped ribbon stamped on.

But does any of that money go to research? Is it all profit? Are companies taking this money and building hospitals? Does the money go to families to help buy food and pay bills while the lady of the house suffers through treatment? How do you know you're actually helping someone when you buy this cheap worthless junk?

I'm not saying that every organization involved with breast cancer is bad. I'm not saying we should not find a cure. I'm not telling anyone the situation is hopeless.

What I am saying is in this society opportunities abound to make a profit off of human misery and suffering. I believe that is wrong.

All I am asking people to do is two things:

1. Please take good care of yourself.

2. Think carefully before spending the almighty dollar.