Well, I got a red one from the Red Cross for donating blood. I sure as hell hope it all went to the red cross!

- pie (short a pint)

Thanks for the link, Beestie -- its good to see such a group doing such things. I just found out that a collection of people at my office are selling girl scout cookies and that its possible to buy boxes and have them shipped over. Along with an enclosed letter, I don't think I could think of anything that could provide such comfort as that. (Well, maybe plane tickets home...)

Another one today, white ribbon, "Pray for our troops". As with religious bumper stickers, counts double on the "asshole driver" scale.

Brown ribbon: Prostate cancer awareness.

No, I'm making that up, nobody gives a shit about prostate cancer. Err, no pun intended.

As with religious bumper stickers, counts double on the "asshole driver" scale.

Umm... is it that you notice that people with these ribbons drive badly or something else?

Here I thought it was just people that drove SUVs and Volvos...

People with prostate cancer probably give a "shit". People who have family members with prostate cancer probably give a "shit." Fans of Jerry Orbach, Law & Order's detective Lenny Briscoe give a "shit."

Yes. My point is there's little in the way of organized campaigns to do anything about prostate cancer, the way there are about other cancers (particularly breast cancer). The reasons being twofold

1) It only affects men and
2) It's too closely associated with the ass.

Its not support of anything but fashion driven commerce and that's what is sad.

There are lots of organized campaigns out there for a lot of random diseases and causes that only effect 1 out of a billion people. Whatever it is still impacts their lives and it is really insensitive to say that there is no reason for others to care about it.

Guess what? I have men in my life that I care about, ie - my husband, my dad, my grandfather, many male friends - thus I should care about prostate cancer because if one of them got it, it would effect my life.

Granted, some people care about really crazy stuff... but i'm not going to discount them for being passionate about whatever cause they are passionate about.

It's like on the Simpsons, when Marge and Bart played in the Krusty the Klown Charity tennis tournament to aid victims of Balcony Collapse. Bart essentially says that he hopes that BC will be wiped out in his lifetime. Weird infliction to have a charity tennis tourney for, but if that's what someone is passionate about, more power to them.

I really don't understand the vitriol and passion with which some posters dislike the ribbon or sticker or magnet campaigns.

The whole point of these campaigns is to show you support them, financially or with your vote, or whatever. If someone doesn't know what your specific ribbon is for, then they can ask, and perhaps raise the awareness of the public just one person at a time.

Most of us know what yellow ribbons and pink ribbons are for, because we were made aware of them. IMO there is nothing wrong with the ribbons or stickers or magnets.

true dat.

just as bad as those little fucking chrome fish thingies that say jesus in them......i like the one with feet that says darwin....

every time i get behind some schmuck rolling along 5 miles per hour under the speed limit, there is invariably a yellow or half yellow/half stars&stripes ribbon on the back.

some opportunist out there is getting rich on these things.

I saw an excellent one the other day, just a plain old fish with the phrase "n'chips" inside.

NPR profiled Colorado Springs and it's rep as a "conservative christian" town on Monday night, I think. They talked a little bit about the guy who came up with the Darwin logos. Apparently, he lives down here and runs a business selling stuff like that. He has a bumper sticker saying "I have no problem with God, it's his fan club I can't stand".

http://www.evolvefish.com/

sweet. bookmarked.

http://www.evolvefish.com/fish/media/S-GodPretend.jpghttp://www.evolvefish.com/fish/media/S-318.jpg

i love it

and one for OC: http://www.evolvefish.com/fish/media/S-DarwinThumb.jpg

oooh, ond look: http://www.evolvefish.com/fish/media/S-325.jpg

The whole point of these campaigns is to show you support them, financially or with your vote, or whatever. If someone doesn't know what your specific ribbon is for, then they can ask, and perhaps raise the awareness of the public just one person at a time.

Agreed. My problem with the majority of the yellow ribbons: not a dollar, not a dime, not a cent goes towards supporting anyone other than the company that placed the order to China to have them cranked out of a machine. You have to look very hard to find a yellow ribbon maker that donates any of your money to making a soldier's tour better. To me, they are the epitome of America: they require no work (you just buy 'em), they don't mean much (none of your money goes anywhere), they're tacky as all hell, and just like honest troop support found throughout the public, the trend is as temporary as the magnet that holds the sticker to your vehicle.

Write a soldier a heartfelt letter describing your appreciation for what they do for the country or spend $5 on a magnet at a gas station? Send a care package to someone in Afghanistan or stick a nylon cutout of Calvin peeing on Osama's head to your window? Wave and cheer at a Welcome Home parade or make a hidden political statement with a sticker? Current issues of such severity, I always thought, should be treated with a lot more respect when so many lives of Americans are on the line. I'm positive that the people that try to make a statement with these stickers and magnets mean well, I just think that its all effort in the wrong direction.

...or, who knows? Maybe soldiers that come home and see the highways swamped with vehicles that have yellow ribbon magnets on them feel honored and warmed by the sight. Maybe families that have sent their son or daughter to Iraq feel a sense of community as they're sitting at a stoplight? Maybe those little images of crosses, twin towers, yellow ribbons, terrorist hunting permits, crying eagles, and American flags do a lot of good and I just don't see it?

I hate these things because I see them as fake passion.

This only signifies that the person heard about the war on the news and they feel bad about it, but they're too shallow to actually do something about it. They want to feel like they're a part of something, but they don't actually care enough to be bothered to send a care package, or join the army themselves. That requires real commitment, which most likely that person doesn't have on this particular issue.

Of course this is certainly not true of everyone, but I think it's true of many.

I don't really mind the ribbons so much, though. It could be that that person has a son or daughter in the military. It's the American flags that bother me. One is never enough, it seems. It must be either three flags, or the entire back window of their car must be one big flag (usually with a giant eagle overlooking it, with cleverly crafted ripples in the flag).

I know -- they love their country. But if I put a giant "The Matrix" logo over my back windshield, people would think I was a tool (ha ha ha -- yes yes, I know - I am one anyway). No one cares if I like the Matrix. If they did, they'd ask me -- they wouldn't look on my car. Sure, maybe if I participated in the making of the movie, that would make it okay. That would signify a pride in my work. But I didn't help make the movie, so I would just be a sad fanboy.

A Color Guide to Wristbands

A yellow wristband shows you're against all types of cancer.
A yellow wristband, in certain hospitals, also means "do no resuscitate." (But if the medical team misinterprets your anti-cancer bracelet, hey, at least you died for a good cause.)