October is such a lovely time of year. The football season is in full swing, the World Series sometimes results in an interesting match. The NBA usually starts at the end of the month. Usually. Idiots. For those of you who live in regions with climate change, the season brings falling leaves in appealing hues of orange, yellow and red. In those same areas, the weather starts to get crisp, producing chilled mornings.
Those are things I used to associate with October. I don't know what seasonal changes are anymore, so that's out. Football is still pretty interesting. The World Series is boring (I lost baseball interest long ago when I didn't have three extra hours each day to watch games). I might never see the Suns play again. No matter. These things mean nothing anymore. October, after all, means only one thing: Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
A few of you will relate to this blog, and most of you will likely call me some bad names and buy something pink to make up for my hateful attitude. I am ready for the consequences. This entry has been building, and the time has come for me to voice these frustrations.
Everything I see, buy or use is pink, right now, only in the month of October. The worst offenders are the football teams. Can I please watch a game without seeing a ridiculous pink addition to a team's hat that should never, ever have pink anywhere near the color combination? The cheerleaders at the high school football game last Friday night had pink pom poms. Pink clashes with orange and blue, by the way. I bought a pair of underwear the other day, and the tag had the pink ribbon on it. If I wanted to, I could buy toilet paper with the pink ribbon, so I could wipe my butt and help the cause. We have reached overkill. It's not cute anymore. It goes way beyond the idea of drumming up interest and getting donations. Now it's just a ridiculously marketed bandwagon that people jump right on.
I have a few concerns. Primarily, I am not a big pink fan. I do not enjoy seeing it plastered everywhere. I think it's an ugly color. It makes me think of Pepto-Bismol and the one time I puked it up on my olive green shag carpet in my bedroom when I was about 10. I also find the color too feminine. I don't even know what that means, but I feel it. I don't need my hot dog buns to have pink splashed on the plastic. I don't want my yogurt to have a pink seal. I am not going to buy a pink hair straightener when I already own one. Yes, it's green. Further, I am at the point now where I will choose the product that is pink-free.
One of the biggest reasons I swing the other direction here is because I understand how marketing works. Not all of the companies reveal how much they donate to the cause. They just make their crap pink to appeal to the helpers of the world. Guess what? We can be helpers of the world without buying the crap. We can donate DIRECTLY to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. If we want to support the research, we have other, more effective ways to give. We don't need to buy pink scissors, pink pens, pink water bottles and pink shoelaces in order to make a difference. If you feel the need to advertise that you, in fact, gave to help, get a sticker or something. That's pitiful anyway. Just feel good about donating.
Why is this a single-month issue? Why October? Why can't we hate breast cancer all year? "During September, I am pretty much all right with lumps in boobs. When October rolls around though, no way. That's when I suit up in my pink, put my game face on and swear to take no prisoners as I spend a crapload of money on pink stuff I do not need. I'm a fighter, and I'm fighting . . . for the cause."
The other issue that I can't leave alone here is the numerous other foundations and causes that need just as much funding and assistance. Why don't all of the sports leagues promote all of the organizations? I have never seen a Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation tennis shoe logo on a football helmet. I don't see socks with puzzle pieces on them with proceeds going to the Autism Research Institute. Hell, I don't even know what color represents the Colon Cancer Foundation. I think brown would be appropriate, but I can't recall seeing the color plastered all over during a special month when we should care. This is fine with me because if I want to give to that foundation, I will do it without having a color or a product pushed at my face.
Having purchased a few pinked-out items in the last few days, either inadvertently or due to lack of options, I realize now that I have given my share to the cause. Super. I find no need for me to donate anything else. I already gave. I am good. Boy, did I help out. I am so awesome, thinking of others.
I am not a hateful person. I just want football back. And October. Pink makes me puke.
1 comment:
It is just in the nature of our consumerist-minded society to associate "good deeds" with consumption. We are so enveloped in the culture that we feel the need to affirm our decadent lifestyle by associating with acts we deem worthy and selfless. In the end, it is just marketing. Advertising firms know that people love to buy, buy, buy and feel good about themselves. This kills two birds with one stone. By associating good behavior with consumption of goods, these firms further designate the direction of the culture.
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