Don't want to listen? You definitely should. This has a wow factor of about a million gazillion. I've been yelling about pink ribbons since I started this blogging gig. It was never really about The Color Pink. It wasn't about the ribbon either.
How was I to know that I would quickly (indeed in the very same moment) become a woman with a disease AND a commodity "for the cause" ..... a way to make some money......... ? Breast cancer has had a great cha-ching factor for many years. For too many years.
And yesterday, there was a shift. In NYS. By the Attorney General. Yesterday...... An announcement. It's a small change that will begin a major shift. It's the beginning of Ribbon Regulation. Change does not happen overnight but change does happen by taking the first step. Eric Schneiderman. Remember his name. His fingers are the first ones that began to untangle the ribbon.
I do want to break my arm and pat myself on the back. I don't generally do this but I AM. Two months ago, I bitch blogged. On August 16. The title? Ribbon Regulation -- Is It Time? I think a better title would have been It IS Time. Here's the thing..... much of what I said in that post is said in that video clip. This is me. Committing one of those deadly sin things. But I don't really care. I'm kinda sorta feeling a bit proud of myself. Part of my post reads as follows:
The ribbon is going to be here for a long time. We are climbing a steep mountain. It might be time for us to demand some ground rules. A set of UNIFORM guidelines. How's this for starters? Where there is a ribbon and a company who stands to profit by having their name displayed in the same ad, the company is FORCED to clearly state their mission and their intention.
It's time for us to demand... yes, DEMAND full transparency. If a for-profit entity runs an ad with a ribbon, their intent should be clear. If their intent is to "raise awareness" I call Bullshit. The awareness ship has sailed. If the company is simply jumping on the pink band-wagon to tug on our emotions, they should be stopped. If they are funding something, full disclosure should be forced upon anyone utilizing the ribbon. Just like the ingredient labels on our food packages and the nutrition content that is now also mandatory, we need a "content label" affixed to every single thing that dons a ribbon.
I'm not big on government intervention but this situation has gotten so far out of control, it seems to me the consumers need to be protected. Much of what goes on is false advertising and would not be tolerated under the marketing laws. Cause marketing has no rules. No regulations. No uniform set of guidelines regarding disclosure.
This is big business and there are billions of dollars at stake. No more misleading ads. It's time to hold everyone accountable. THEN we will be able to see which companies are lending their name to the ribbon solely for their own profit and which companies are diligently raising funds and filling the coffers of organizations that are worthy of the money WE are spending on their ribbon products.
It's a start and we have to start somewhere. All this chatter is making my head spin. I need to see some suggestions. Some action. Some ideas. Something to change the conversation.
Yesterday, it wasn't something. It was someone. It was the NYS Attorney General's office. It was Eric Schneiderman.
Lots of people were made "aware" during Breast Cancer Awareness month. Aware that they have been getting robbed. And the buck just stopped in NYS. Who's next??
The AP release is here.
PS-Mom's in the oncologist's office today. I'm not with her although there better be an open phone line if he's got something to say. And he better not have anything to say. Send good thoughts. I'm tired of this shit and I know SHE is even more tired of it.
And more than that.... my friend Jada, a 34 year old in the twitterverse..... good thoughts her way, too. Her "news" ...
I can't stop sobbing after hearing devastating news of breast cancer metastasis to my lungs #bcsm
— Jada (@Jada_FA) October 18, 2012
I want a do over, I wish today never happened, yesterday morning I was a 2x cancer survivor and tonight I have stage IV incurable cancer
— Jada (@Jada_FA) October 19, 2012
This.. THIS is why we can't stop. This is why we must be IN IT TO END IT. This is why I will be in NYC in the registration area for the Avon Walk hopefully encouraging everyone to enroll in the Army of Women and to join the Health of Women Study. Stop asking what you can do to help. Start acting. Those are the two best suggestions I got. They cost nothing and you don't have to move from where you are RIGHT now. Click the links and get it done. We're working on the ribbon. It's time to start changing the rest of the landscape. It's time to stop this. Yes. NOW. The time is now.
dear annemarie
ReplyDeleteOMG, OMG, OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IS THIS REAL??? CAN YOU F#%&'ING BELIEVE IT??? IT'S JUST SO HUGE, SO WONDERFUL, SUCH A MEANINGFUL STEP - NO! - A LEAP! both hugh and i listened/watched the video and felt the report was delivered with such a powerful punch. eric schneiderman has a good history of shutting down sham charity operations, so his voice and authority is just what was needed to get the untangling of the pink ribbon on the straight and narrow.
you have every reason to give yourself that pat on the back, but don't you dare hurt yourself. ("break my arm and pat...") reading that and all the news made me hysterical, laughing and crying at the same damn time.
i read the AP release in the WP - just adds more excitement and validation on a national level to what you have been writing about (august 16th READ IT PEOPLE!), lobbying, and longing for.
oh, gosh - your mom. and jada. so glad you let us know. i will keep both of them close to my heart and am sending powerful vibes of hope this very minute.
so...my fearless friend, have a sweet sleep tonight, and know that i love you and thank you for all you do. i am so proud of you - talk about "body of work" - what an inspiration you are!
much love, XOXOXOXOXOXO
karen, the hyper-overjoyed commentor
kTC,
DeleteI'm pretty thrilled at this turn of events, too! Enough of us have been grumbling for so long..... but I think that scam surfaced last year (which was based right here where I live), there was plenty of reason to start looking really closely at all of this.
THANK YOU.... What a great note to see this morning!!
Mom? chemobrain.... (like mother like daughter?) Her appointment is next Friday. It makes for a good laugh.
MUCH LOVE to you,
AnneMarie
It surely is a great achievement AnneMarie...congratulations and thank you for advocating for the breast cancer community. The next even bigger task is to influence where the funds that are raised are spent. Unlike the message that is bandied around 30%of Early stage BC people will advance to Metastatic (or Stage IV) Breast cancer, like your friend!!! AND it is at this stage where people die from the disease and yet only 3-5 % of funds raised are spend on research into Metastatic disease!!! It is a criminal waste of funds when you realise that billions of dollars have been squandered on "awareness" campaigns over the years and yet the death rate is unchanged over the last 20 years!!!
ReplyDeleteWe really need to focus on this issue too. People like you can help enormously!!!
It surely is a great achievement AnneMarie...congratulations and thank you for advocating for the breast cancer community. The next even bigger task is to influence where the funds that are raised are spent. Unlike the message that is bandied around 30%of Early stage BC people will advance to Metastatic (or Stage IV) Breast cancer, like your friend!!! AND it is at this stage where people die from the disease and yet only 3-5 % of funds raised are spend on research into Metastatic disease!!! It is a criminal waste of funds when you realise that billions of dollars have been squandered on "awareness" campaigns over the years and yet the death rate is unchanged over the last 20 years!!!
ReplyDeleteWe really need to focus on this issue too. People like you can help enormously!!!