Strangulation by Ribbon

Awareness ribbons have seemingly become something you "do" when it should be about the message. I'm all for providing help where its needed, but where do you draw the line? These coloured ribbons are out of control. One out of four cars I see have at least one posted somewhere. I ask, do these people truly care? Have they been directly affected by a matching affliction or is humanitarianism always fashionable?

I can't help but wonder if its another one of those "fit in and feel good" sensations one gets when supporting something. Lets look at Remembrance Day. Do poppies still carry the same meaning as they used to? The cadet in front of the grocery store certainly doesn't seem too proud. Wearing something and forgetting about it is easy, but solves nothing. Remembering what the Vets fought for can be done without having to poke a hole in your jacket. However, Remembrance Day is a tradition that people will participate in regardless of their stance, so perhaps this was a terrible example.

Here's something else to think about. When you see a kid selling something on the corner do you usually feel compelled to give him something? You can call it guilt, but you can't deny that you've never been sucked in. You almost feel pressured into doing it. Doesn't that devalue the meaning of the cause being supported? Guilting someone into support can't build a strong foundation, can it?

This whole ribbon rant started when I noticed the amount of colour variations there are. There isn't a colour without its own cause and with random combinations and designs, it makes it all the more confusing. A single colour now carries multiple causes. Sure there are a limited number of solid colours, but when will this end? Red used to support AIDS, but now supports 13 unrelated causes and afflictions. Apparently red is for hypertension, M.A.D.D and substance abuse? Now I have no idea what the driver of that van was supporting! Ribbons have become diluted, polluted and Rick Ruded (Whatever that means).

Do I have a point to all this? Not really. It's merely an observation that things might be out of control. Us, the human race, out of control? No way! Here's a quick solution. We need to make people aware of ribbon abuse and we will start by making the ribbon red*, but not before we make a Facebook group claiming that without 3-million members we won't have the funding to afford the dye for the ribbons. This makes as much sense as anything else does and it would probably work.

* (One more cause to the colour red won't hurt anyone. Plus it gives us a head start with all the pre-existing supporters.)

Check out the madness here:
http://www.craftsnscraps.com/jewelry/ribbons.html