![\"pink-ribbons\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/pink-ribbons.jpg\")
<\/a>So…it’s October.\u00a0 The month of pumpkins, Halloween and the ever-present pink ribbon<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0Yes, in case you’ve been in a cave the past few weeks, it’s Breast Cancer Awareness month.\u00a0 It’s hard not<\/em> to be aware since the pink ribbon is plastered on everything from lipstick to\u00a0toilet paper<\/strong>.\u00a0 I can’t check out at the grocery store or purchase something online without being asked to donate to a breast cancer charity.\u00a0 \u00a0I want to say at the outset that I am very much in support<\/strong> of breast cancer education and research.\u00a0 After all, one of my oldest and best friends has survived a particularly hellish form of the disease thanks to great doctors and innovations in drug therapy.\u00a0 And maybe that’s at the root of my problem with the “awareness” movement.\u00a0 Breast cancer now has a high survivability rate<\/strong>, even for cases that were once thought to be a death sentence.\u00a0 The American Cancer Society now estimates that the five-year survival rate\u00a0for most breast cancer stages is close to 100%.\u00a0 That is tremendous progress and\u00a0can certainly be attributed in part to the pink ribbon campaign of the past 25 years.\u00a0 \u00a0But in my opinion, the pink ribbon has been pimped out.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
First of all, pink ribbons on products signifies marketing at its best – or worst – luring customers<\/strong> into thinking that the company is donating proceeds to breast cancer research.\u00a0 In fact, according to the Breast Cancer Awareness organization and a report by the Huffington Post, some major products with pink ribbons on the packaging are there for marketing purposes only<\/strong>.\u00a0In other words, they put the pink ribbon on their product to get the consumer to assume that some portion of the purchase goes toward breast cancer research.\u00a0 In reality it’s just there for marketing purposes.\u00a0 No additional funds<\/strong> go anywhere except the pocket of the corporation.\u00a0\u00a0In doing some research for this piece I was taken aback by some of the major product manufacturers that do this – everything from shoes to food.\u00a0 The height of irony to me is the sale of wine and liquor glasses with the pink ribbon when, in fact, alcohol consumption can contribute to getting breast cancer in the first place.\u00a0 Pink ribbon product placement where there is no actual financial contribution<\/strong> to the cause is not illegal as there is no trademark on the pink ribbon.\u00a0 Which means\u00a0it can be used, and abused, at will.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Certainly there are many companies that do donate their proceeds to breast cancer charities but my caution is that you research the donation details<\/strong> before you\u00a0plunk down your hard-earned cash.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But the greatest driver of my dislike of the pink ribbon is because it takes the air out of the room<\/strong> for other causes.\u00a0 After all, breast cancer is NOT the leading cause of death among women – that distinction goes to\u00a0heart disease.\u00a0 There is\u00a0minimal red ribbon activity in February but then it seems to fade into obscurity.\u00a0 Where is the awareness for\u00a0lung and colorectal cancers, which both kill more women than breast cancer?\u00a0 And my personal complaint is the lack of funding for melanoma research<\/strong>.\u00a0 Five years ago I was diagnosed with melanoma.\u00a0 In my initial panic I searched the internet for local support and education.\u00a0 Surely\u00a0a sunny state like Arizona with a high UV index should be replete with resources.\u00a0 Nope.\u00a0 Not a support group in sight.\u00a0 Not even a lousy walk.\u00a0 Five years later, I’m doing fine – I just look like a beekeeper<\/strong> every time I’m out in the sun.\u00a0 But a friend died of melanoma last year and another is fighting it.\u00a0 So I really hate “pink ribbon” month when I know so many more causes could use the research money.\u00a0\u00a0 If nothing else the Melanoma Foundation needs the\u00a0breast cancer marketing people – their ribbon color is black<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Suzanne Sparrow Watson So…it’s October.\u00a0 The month of pumpkins, Halloween and the ever-present pink ribbon.\u00a0\u00a0Yes, in case you’ve been in a cave the past few weeks, it’s Breast Cancer Awareness month.\u00a0 It’s hard not to be aware since the … read more![\"pink-ribbon-wine-glass\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/pink-ribbon-wine-glass-107x300.jpg\")
\n<\/a><\/p>\n![\"nfl\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/NFL-255x300.png\")
<\/a>The other major irony that occurs this month is the NFL’s insistence<\/strong> on showing their “awareness” by players wearing pink shoes, wrist bands, socks and…wait for it…pink ribbons on their helmets.\u00a0 Hmmmmm….if I recall, October is also Domestic<\/strong> Violence<\/strong> awareness month.\u00a0\u00a0Seems to me that if the NFL\u00a0wanted to do something favorable towards women this month they might have the players sport the purple Domestic Violence\u00a0ribbons.\u00a0\u00a0Josh Brown<\/strong> has been the latest player to be charged with abuse but, regretfully, he is far from alone.\u00a0 Benjamin Morris of the FiveThirtyEight organization crunched\u00a0federal\u00a0data\u00a0to measure the league\u2019s domestic violence arrest rate against the general population of American men ages 25 to 29. He found that domestic violence accounted for a whopping 48 percent of arrests<\/strong> for violent crimes among the football players, compared to 21 percent among non-football players.\u00a0 Moreover, relative to the income level (top 1 percent) and poverty rate (0<\/strong> percent)<\/strong> of NFL players, the domestic violence arrest rate is downright extraordinary.\u00a0 Roger Goodell’s commission, put together in 2014 after the Ray Rice incident<\/strong>, seems to have had little influence thus far –\u00a02015 saw almost a doubling of the domestic\u00a0violence arrests\u00a0among NFL players.\u00a0 And if you think it’s because it’s being reported more<\/strong>, you need to read\u00a0this Washington Post article from last week that describes the NFL’s “hush hush” policy regarding the abuse of women: https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/posteverything\/wp\/2014\/10\/17\/for-battered-nfl-wives-a-message-from-the-cops-and-the-league-keep-quiet\/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.5538aa51ef46<\/a>.<\/p>\n