Anybody else sick of the ribbons for every cause?

I wonder if people who are very religious are more likely to be inclined to wear these sort of ribbons? The people I know who have worn one of these ribbons (who I'm also aware of how important/unimportant religion was for them) in most cases were very religious.

 

There's a lunatic fringe of fans of the team I covered that a few years back accused the coach of being 'pro-cancer' because he didn't wear tennis shoes on Coaches vs. Cancer day like the rest of his counterparts.

 

There are a couple things that get me really fired up. The ribbon-and-bracelet hysteria is one of them. I've got a problem with them, and it's got nothing to do with the ribbons or bracelets themselves -- or their causes. It's got just about everything to do with the feeling that you "must" wear this jewelry in order to support the cause. (It really is the Seinfeld deal, if you think about it.) And you should never support something because you think because everyone around you is doing it, you should, too. To me, real belief has to be more than that, otherwise you're just cheating the real cause.

It's the same thing as buying an American flag just to show your patriotism; that's one of the other deals with which I've got a problem. People insulted me, cast verbal jabs my way just because I wouldn't buy a small flag for my car or a pencil with an American flag on it. I loved this country long before 9-11, and I don't need to give $1 to some street vendor to show my pride. Marketing the country in a time of great tragedy doesn't scream "pride" to me; it screams "capitalist greed," which, sadly, does say America a lot of the time.

And another thing: I've had plenty of people come up to me and say, "You should buy this ribbon to donate $1 to __ research." My response, always, has been, "Well, how much of my dollar goes to the research?" No one has ever given me an answer. I'm sure most of it actually does, but I don't believe all 100 of my cents are going to fight AIDS or Cancer. Business doesn't work that way. I'm sure three or four cents go to the manufacturer for production costs, and, to me, that's taking money from a charity.

 

George Carlin hates ribbons.

(NSFW)

Around the 9:50 mark.

 

I'm SICK of anyone preaching to me.

Ribbons do no harm, and help some people. What is there for me to complain about.

 

I love Carlin.

 

I've seen one that was the same yellow as the "Support Our Troops" ribbon and said "Empty Gesture." I'd be tempted to get one, but that's a real good way to have something bad happen to your car.

 

I don't begrudge anyone their ability to wear a ribbon or a bracelet. It just isn't my thing. My thoughts and memories of my dad are private, unless I choose to share them when I feel it's appropriate.

 

A friend of mine and I were walking around Providence one day and she saw a ribbon magnet on the back of a car and said, "You know what? The next ribbon I see stuck on the back of a car, I'm taking it down. All of them, down. Every single one of them. It will be my own jihad." I can't look at a ribbon magnet on a car without the urge to rip one off and send it to her.

 

I was walking outside of a Walmart one night a couple years ago and took a picture of a car with nine different ribbon magnets on it. I thought that was a bit extreme.

 

Carlin talks about a brown ribbon. I thought that was the one you wore to show support for Kaz Matsui.