I still don't do ribbon campaigns.

[badstar]

So on one of the various forums that I frequent, people are already talking about what a great wonderful thing "pagan awareness days" are and reminding people to wear their purple ribbons...now, this occurs in September.

Ribbon campaigns in general just grate on my nerves. When I was in elementary school, I remember having red ribbon week. This was for drug awareness. Somewhere along the line, the red ribbon also started to symbolize AIDS awareness. Then there's the "support our troops" yellow ribbon. And the breast cancer pink ribbon...

According to this site http://www.gargaro.com/ribbons.html green ribbons are for leukemia, free market internet, organ donors, truck driver abuse (truck driver abuse???), alien free speech, liberty round table, freedom for Irish political prisoners, find missing children, addiction to genealogy, hemp for all, and who knows what else...

Back when there were only a few ribbon campaigns, you might see someone with a ribbon and could take a reasonable guess as to what it meant. Today, I could wear a green ribbon in effort to raise awareness for organ donors...but someone else light see it and thank that I'm addicted to genealogy or protesting truck driver abuse. At this point, why not just make up little badges that say "become an organ donor" or "fight truck driver abuse"...it would be a lot less ambiguous, and people wouldn't end up inadvertently supporting the stop hating Leonardo DiCaprio movement or the fight to ban the blink command.

That aside, what really bugs me about this one is that no one seems to know what it's actually standing for. They're calling it "pagan awareness"...to let the world know that there are pagans out there. But there have been a lot of people who have promoted it as some sort of secret code (wear a purple ribbon so we know who the other pagans are without having to ask and can go around feeling smug and superior!), promoting religious freedom (okay, then why isn't it called "religious freedom awareness day"?) and well, "pagan awareness day"- tell everyone you're a pagan. Either that, or that you support draconic equality. Take your pick.

(Seriously, these are all things that I found while googling for ribbon campaigns. I did not make any of them up. I'm sure osme of them are humorous, but they were there. )

Comments

[resident-geek.livejournal.com]

Three cheers for blink!

[penguinicity.livejournal.com]

I think it's time for a ribbon awareness ribbon!

[darkfiremoon.livejournal.com]

I agree with you it is about as annoying as those rubber bracelet thingies that got ultra popular somehow and now these ugly hole filled clog things called crocs. People are sheep, lemmings...

[upasaka.livejournal.com]

I myself support the Stop Leo DiCaprio From Blinking Campaign.

[sleepingwolf.livejournal.com]

The Purple Ribbon? I thought it was supposed to be the blank green button campaign (http://www.skepticfiles.org/mys3/ipt.htm) (which is surprisingly hard to find a link for nowadays). Blank green buttons many not be that good an idea, either, but they're certainly less common.

[leiacat.livejournal.com]

And there I was, thinking purple ribbons were to stop domestic violence.

Really, the way you tell what the color stands for is by calendar. If this is Purple Hippo Recognition Week and the National Pecan Day (one of these is real, the other is fictional), then your puce ribbon supports the independence of Quebec, whereas the rest of the time it's clearly in recognition of the plight of rare sea-turtles. (All that I just made up. I know, it's funnier when it's real, but I'm lazy).

Also, about ribbons and bracelets and all of those things as a "recognition code" - I'm aware of, friendly to, and in support of a goodly number of things that I'm not myself. Back in college when I did wear the assorted ribbons I had occasionally found myself huffed at for daring to misrepresent myself as a member of whatever group I was trying to support, and therefore confuse the issue. (I guess that was largely by the contingent who wanted ribbons to become the next hankie code.)

Really, the real purpose of the things is to provide a conversation starter, "What's this one for?" allowing you to launch into your lecture. Heck, color ambiguity actually helps that, because if everyone knew that blue ribbons are for award winners at county fairs, they'd not bother asking, and you'd never have a chance to pontificate about free speech online. Except in your blog, of course. :)

[fuego.livejournal.com]

(All that I just made up. I know, it's funnier when it's real, but I'm lazy).

No, no...if you look hard enough, you'll probably find that they exist somewhere...

[luciaofthegrove.livejournal.com]

I don't do ribbons any more than I ever did school spirit or a bunch of other (to my mind) silly activities, and really doesn't mean anything to me in the long run. A button or something that really demonstrates something that I support ok yeah MAYBE I would consider it if it were a subject close and dear to my heart.

But I really can't see myself getting into "pagan awareness" since I don't make an effort to be aware of any other religious path than my own (or those I may have a vague interest in) and really no intention of fostering an awareness of EVERYTHING included within that statement. Way to general, and really no one has to be "aware" of my beliefs.. I don't give a crap. I don't advertise it anyhow lol.