I’ve been touched by breast cancer. I don’t know a single person who hasn’t been.
I’ve raised a lot of money for breast cancer research. My feet have walked many miles racing for the cure. I stopped short of buying lots of pink crap because the pinkwashing is akin to consumer brainwashing, and I never understood how a pink box of macaroni with questionable ingredients that can be linked to cancer would support cancer research. I trusted Susan G. Komen, the motherlode of breast cancer research, prevention, and advocacy. I trusted that organization to be responsible stewards of women’s health. I didn’t realize it was a scam, a stealth operation to push a conservative agenda that perpetuates the denigration of women. My body, my personal rights, and my choices are not your political pawns. I don’t tell you what to do in church, and my body is my temple so grant me the same respect.
The well coiffed manicured ladies over at Susan G. Komen claim they can no longer grant Planned Parenthood any money for cancer screening and prevention because the organization is under a witch hunt federal investigation regarding the use of federal dollars to pay for abortions. This is bogus, yet another conservative right wing tactic to draw attention to issues that are not salient and completely misconstrued. Republicans are good at brainwashing and pinkwashing alike. Let me be clear, Planned Parenthood is not all about abortions. And while I’m at it, I’d like to point out that pro-choice advocates are not pro-abortion. There is a vital difference that is more than semantics. Furthermore, I believe that abortion should be a safe and legal CHOICE. If you don’t agree, don’t have one.
I would be remiss to not share what I’ve learned over the past couple days.
Here’s a breakdown of how Planned Parenthood spends its budget (Source: Washington Post)
Susan G. Komen claims its move was not politically motivated, even though it’s politically charged. Yet Karen Handel, a senior VP at Komen retweeted, and subsequently deleted, this tweet:
A lapse in judgement for sure in the midst of a PR crisis that will be a graduate school case study for years to come.
And lastly, the leaders who want us to think of them as martyrs at Susan G. Komen stand by their claims that they will not grant funds to any organization under federal investigation. So how do they explain the $7.5 grant to Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center? Penn State is the subject of a federal investigation, no?
I’ve taken off my rose colored glasses.
My friend Miss Lori shared five organizations that support breast cancer research, treatment, and prevention. I’m sure any of these fine groups would welcome your donation. We can’t let this demonstration of gross hypocrisy detract our energy away from what really matters. After all, that’s a masterful Republican tactic. We can rise above that.
For years I thought Susan G. Komen was on just over the line of evil, but I could never say anything because speaking out against them was akin to hurting puppies. I won’t completely got on my soapbox about them, but I feel their tactics of pinkwashing fools people into thinking they are contributing way more than they actually and making a very serious disease a brand.
I’m happy to see the pink-colored glasses finally coming off.
Well, since we are being honest about this, you might want to know that they also only allocate about 3-5% of research funding to metastatic cancer, which is the only kind of cancer that kills people. Also, the Avon walk does not provide funding for IBC.
Thanks for that information, Marty. And thanks for the other organizations you suggested: Dana-Farber, Sloan Kettering, and American Cancer Society. I agree that we need to find organizations that speak to what is close to our hearts. I value your perspective.