Why pink ribbons don't make me angry.

SEPTEMBER IS CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS MONTH!!!!

I wrote it like that to get your attention.  In case you aren't friends on Facebook with people posting someecards that you think are going to be really funny and they turn out to be about childhood cancer and why you suck as a person if you don't know about it and it's totally a bummer.  I want to let you know that I didn't know anything about childhood cancer the day before my daughter was diagnosed.  Statistically, some kid you know is going to get it.  If you want to hear my alias Christina Griffiths talk about her daughter Eva/Ava, click here.  I'm pumped that for once I don't sound like I'm prepubescent.  My name could be John and my kid could be Larry and it wouldn't change the message so let's not dwell on the fact that I was born with a name that would always be misspelled (Christy Saunders was often Christie/Kristie/Kristy/Kristi/Christi/Cristy Sanders before I started challenging people to find Christ and add a Y) and then got married and assumed a new name that no one would spell correctly (Christy Griffith is now Christie/Kristie/Kristy/Kristi/Christi/Cristy Griffin/Griffiths/Griffyndor) and then named my kid a name that no one believes is really her name (Is that short for Eva?  Evelyn?  Did you say Ava?  No, it's like Adam and...Eva?).


This was Eve/Eva/Ava two years ago.  The message is still the same.



My only addendum would be to stop the hate.  Cancer parents, I GET IT.  October pisses you off.  Pink ribbons somehow take away from the bald kids.

Except they don't.  You know what takes away from the bald kids?  Wasting your energy on something that isn't actively telling people why our cause is important.  You don't go into a meeting bad mouthing another cause and hoping that someone goes, "Well, jeez, I guess we should stop funding XYZ and start funding whatever this angry person is spouting off about!"  It's okay to be angry about childhood cancer.  Really, it is.  It's just not very effective to treat other diseases as if they don't count, too.  Don't want to buy yogurt with a pink lid?  Don't buy yogurt with a pink lid.  I understand.  One color in particular has become a marketing tool for companies and it makes some people really mad.  And that's okay.  But don't fool yourself into thinking that being that angry and bashing that cause is going to help find cures for childhood cancers.

In North Carolina, we've had our share of debating.  (Amendment One, anyone?)  No matter what you believe on the issue of gay marriage, I don't think one gay person has ever decided to join the church of that angry protester with the "God hates fags!" sign as they think, Wow, I really want to hear more about what this church has to say!  Anger invites anger.  I'm not angry at breast cancer.  I'm in awe of the color pink and want to know how to get gold lids on yogurt.

So, if you want to wear a pink ribbon in the month of September, that's okay with me.  I know breast cancer doesn't just happen in October.  I will wear my gold ribbon the other 11 months of the year, too.  It's nice to have a month dedicated to awareness, but shouldn't we be doing this all year long?