Rethink Pink

I have nothing against pink; it's a beautiful colour with a rich history and most often associated with babies and little girls.

In recent memory, pink became the colour for the fight against breast cancer and was embraced by many because of this worthy cause. Manufacturers jumped onto the pink bandwagon and started slapping the ubiquitous pink ribbon on all types of products.

Some of us were perturbed by what appeared to be an unholy alliance of manufacturers and search for the cure  organizations which looked like a big industry unto itself. Pink was appearing on every item possible; shoes, bags, hats, clothing, jewellery, gardening items, home décor, office supplies, mugs, small kitchen appliances, pet supplies, you name it, it has probably been 'pinked'. The pink ribbon and the colour pink had become marketing tools. I have to admit I steered away from pink products and all products sporting the pink ribbon. I never felt comfortable with any of them.

In light of the Susan G. Komen disastrous decision to defund Planned Parenthood and the 'reversal' a few days later after a huge backlash, in my opinion, it`s time for women to stop encouraging and buying into the 'pinking' of our health. Millions of dollars have been raised and spent and are we any further ahead than we were ten years ago in a search for a cure? Maybe it`s time to shift our focus to prevention as a viable part of cancer research as well.

From the Susan G. Komen fiasco, we can see that an organization headed by women supposedly working for the good of women does not always have the interests of women at the heart of its objectives. It`s a shame breast cancer and women`s health have become politicized but it`s great to see that women, prompted by the Komen decision, found their voice and forced that organization to back down and their V.P. for Public Affairs, Karen Handel, to resign. Even better to see the role social media, like Twitter and Facebook, played in getting women`s voices heard.

We women have the numbers. If we let others have jurisdiction over our healthcare, we will have no one to blame but ourselves. Let`s rethink pink.

Will keep you posted.  

Linda, on What Cancer is and is Not

I came across this video and was struck by the brutal honesty and forthrightness portrayed by Linda.

It takes guts and self-awareness, not possessed by many, to say what Linda says.  She not only speaks about cancer, she explains and shows the results of the various medical treatments required to halt the progress of the illness and the resulting changes to her body.

Explaining what cancer is and does is not all Linda offers; she rails against the politicization of this disease and her severing of her support for the Susan G. Komen charity that recently cut funding to Planned Parenthood. N.B. After an enormous backlash, Susan G. Komen has reversed their decision.

As Linda said, “Cancer makes you frank…it makes you no longer scared.” She comes across as one fearless and fierce lady. Kudos to her.

Will keep you posted.

An Iconic Photograph

My Daughters

There is a photo of me sitting on a bed with my three daughters, Tracey, Leah and Sharon.  Tracey (three) and Leah (one) are on my left and Sharon, a few months old, is on my lap.

It was obviously a happy moment. There I am with a big afro, wearing a top I still remember vividly, Tracey and Leah all smiles, Sharon with her hand in her mouth and my arms around them.

This was one photo in a series of photos, a snapshot among many, but for some reason, the girls have always liked it. Why this one and not another? To my daughters, it has become an iconic photo to the point I was pestered to make poster size prints which I never got around to doing.  Tracey took it a step further and commissioned an artist to put this photo on canvas. I had no idea she was doing this so when it was presented to me, I was pleasantly surprised and could not stop looking at it.

My Daughters

The painting is magnificent and I have to commend the artist Ilene Sova. Details were brought to light that are not readily apparent in the small snapshot; the red barrette in Tracey’s hair, the flowers on Leah’s top, the bangle on her arm and the amount of hair on Sharon’s head.

The painting is in a place of honour in my living room and there it shall remain.  Thank you Tracey for getting this done. Thank you Leah and Sharon.  I could not ask for better daughters.

My Daughters

I look at the painting with new eyes and can see why the girls like it so much. We are all together in a loving embrace and this is how we remain.

Will keep you posted.

Here’s to 2012

Enjoying a Night Out

Here we are, the last day of 2011. It’s had its ups and downs like most years but overall, I'm still here, looking forward to another year.

In 2012, I’ll celebrate a major birthday and believe me, I can’t get over how quickly I've reached this age but I’ll take it over the alternative, then again, who wouldn't?

I expect 2012 to be similar to 2011. My relationships with family and friends will continue as they always have; adding a friend or two would be bonus. The big difference will be me meeting a companion.  It didn’t happen in 2011 so expectations are high for 2012. No pressure on the new yearJ.

He’s out there and I’m positive we’ll meet soon.  I’m clear on what I expect of this man and someone out there is just as clear in his expectations and when our paths cross, we’ll surely recognize each other. 

So if you are independent, unattached, financially responsible, care about your relatives and pets; date women close to your age, love hanging out, movies, theatre, day trips, travel and giving back; if you look fairly decent, take care of yourself, have a live and let live attitude and a sense of humour; if you keep abreast of what’s going on in the world and at least try to keep up with technology; if you are not set in your ways and just waiting for death, maybe we’ll meet sooner than later.

So thank you 2011, it’s been a slice and here’s to 2012. Bring it on. We’ll get on just fine.

Are Manners Passé?

There I was sitting in the car dealership’s nicely appointed waiting room killing time with a crossword,  occasionally glancing up at the TV news, waiting for my winter tires to be installed and oil changed.

Since it was a Wednesday, there were not too many people waiting and quite a number of chairs were vacant.  I was sitting in a chair at the end of a row of three rows forming a “U”. In the centre of this “U” was a huge, round coffee table.

In came a middle-aged woman who sat in the end chair in the row to my left and proceeded to take off her shoes. She then planted her feet on the table. I mentioned her being middle-aged as we tend to ascribe bad behaviour and lack of manners to young people, rightly or wrongly.

She sat there reading a book like she was in her living room and not in a public waiting area of a business. I was surprised but really, I should not be as we have seen people put their feet on seats on trains and in movie theatres, put their bags on the seat next to them depriving another of a seat, spit on the sidewalk, push ahead of others in line, bump in to others without a glance, furthermore an “excuse me”, talk during live performances, speak loudly and about personal business on cell phones, park in no parking areas outside the supermarket forcing traffic into one lane and the list goes on.

To say anything to the offender may risk being told off in the most colourful language and in extreme cases, one`s life. So we just look away and hope someone else would take up the challenge or that we could soon complete whatever mission we are on and depart from the presence of the ill-mannered.

Will keep you posted.

Occupy This

So you cheer when various Occupy Movements are asked to vacate an area, when protesters are pepper sprayed, arrested and generally brutalized. So you comment on social media, write letters to the editor and call in to radio shows to say you agree with all this and as a matter of fact, the protesters should get out of your parks, off your streets and just get a job and while they are at it, a bath . You pay taxes and they are in your parks that are for walking your dogs, pushing your strollers and for you to sit on a bench to enjoy the sun and eat lunch.

So you claim you have no idea what the occupiers want; if only you had a clue what they were protesting and the worst of it, who are their leaders? How can there be no leaders. Well, without leaders, how can the media cover the protests? God forbid reporters have to drag their butts to the occupy sites and talk to protesters to understand a wide range of issues and report on them without spin.

So you think they have made their point and should just move on and let you get on with your so very important life ‘cause fighting for rights has a timeline. Don’t you remember such timelines from the civil rights movement? Okay Mr. King et al, two months tops to get your points across and then you need to stop your marching and sit-ins and boycotts and general bellyaching and return to the back of the bus and remember your place.  You don’t remember this? Well shame on you. Bone up on your history and you will see that all revolutionaries had a timeline dictated to them by the oppressors.

During the Arab uprisings, did you cheer on protesters in Egypt’s Tahrir Square? How about in Libya? What about the other nations like Tunisia and Syria fighting to determine their destiny? If you rooted for any of these protesters and high-fived when Mubarak resigned, leaders in Sudan and Iraq announced they won’t seek re-election and when Gadhafi was captured and killed, then hypocrisy is thy name.

You cannot have it both ways. You cannot claim to be for democracy but only when it suits your definition and timetable. You cannot talk about “exporting democracy” but try to stifle it at home.  You cannot insult the protesters by calling them “dirty hippies” and worse and at the first sign of inconvenience to you, run to the mayor’s office to request the full force of the law to be turned on them.

Democracy is not neatly packaged. It is not fought for exclusively by the nicely dressed and well-scrubbed. It’s not meant to make the few comfortable at the expense of the many. A lot of us would never join a protest group, rough it in a tent in a park in sunny weather furthermore in inclement weather so when some are willing to do all these things and more, they need understanding and support not pithy comments, ridicule and the heavy hand of law enforcement.

The Occupy Movement protesters may be evicted from their camps but that does not mean the movement is dead. It is now a world-wide phenomenon whether you agree with it or not.  Tents may be dismantled but an idea, awareness, knowledge and the fight for social justice cannot be dismantled and carted away.  

Injustice has been magnified. Frustrated people who thought they were alone fighting against “too-big-to-fail” companies now know they have numbers that matter and can bring about positive change. Those who thought their vote did not count and who did not vote now, hopefully, realise they should pick a side, not because some talking head said how to vote but because they have done their research and will support the side that best represents their views. The fight will continue.

Will keep you posted.

Really Herman Cain?

Herman Cain - Feeling the Heat?

What to make of a man like Herman Cain? A man who said this about the Occupy Wall Street protesters: "Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks, if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself!” There he was touting personal responsibility although in an ignorant manner but seemed to jettison said responsibility when his behind was in the fire. Faced with allegations of sexual harassment, what did Cain do? He blamed himself. HaHaHa. I apologize, couldn’t resist. He blamed everyone and their mother for his failings. Really Herman? The “Democrat machine” is bringing you down? This man has got to be aware that Democrats would love to see him as the GOP nominee.  He can’t be that clueless. Big bucks could be made selling tickets to see him debate President Obama. There won’t be enough hankies for him to mop his sweaty brow.  

Here’s a man who saw absolutely nothing wrong with saying, “African Americans have been brainwashed into not being open minded, not even considering a conservative point of view." So, Herman, if they were not looking at you as a viable candidate for POTUS, they have been “brainwashed”? It had nothing to do with you not having the qualities to be president? Since he is a conservative, obviously the brainwashing didn’t work on him but pity the majority of Blacks who didn’t have the fortitude to withstand said brainwashing. Interesting that he recently confirmed his wife is a Democrat. Does he see her as “not open minded”? He couldn’t even convince his own wife to leave what he called “the Democrat plantation”. Nuff said about his powers of persuasion.

Cain said as president he “Won’t feel comfortable having a Muslim in his cabinet.” This from a man who grew up during the civil rights era and witnessed the struggles of his race. But then again, he seemed happy to sit out the fight and continued to sit in the back of the bus because his father told him to avoid trouble. Would Cain be at all perturbed if a white presidential candidate had said he/she didn't want a Black person in his/her cabinet? Somehow I doubt it.

Dear Herman, a Stage IV colon cancer survivor, said he would be dead under “Obamacare” without a thought for all those who die because, unlike him, they have no wealth to buy healthcare. I wonder if Herman Cain has poor relatives and what exactly do they think of him criticizing a president who found a way to help those without means, to have access to healthcare.

Herman Cain - Lose the Hat

Herman Cain wrote in his book, that should he become president, his Secret Service codename should be “Cornbread”.  There is nothing wrong with cornbread; it’s delicious but don’t you think the POTUS should have a more dignified codename?  Why the self-deprecating behaviour? Cain seems to think playing to stereotypes is alright and speaking of stereotypes, lose the freaking hat; we know what that screams.

We see him in debates and interviews referring to himself in the third person. Just imagine dear Herman at a G8, G20 and other meetings with world leaders speaking like this. Stop it! Herman Cain is the type of Black person who by acting like a full blown fool and  making idiotic statements on the national stage, makes some Black people cringe.

In my humble opinion, I think he had to joke, laugh and poke fun at himself to get noticed by and remain in the circles of which he wanted to be a part. Maybe he thought if they were laughing with him, they won’t be laughing at him, hence the “Shucky Ducky” and “Love y’all” when he announced his run. 

Mr. Cain also seemed to think American foreign policy is to go into countries and “kick the you know what out of everyone in the world.” What an imbecilic thing to say. He is so shaky on so many levels it boggles the mind. He had to verify which side President Obama was on before he could give his opposite-to-Obama answer on Libya and then embarrassed himself anyway by showing he had no clue about an event that just unfolded in the preceding months.

Herman Cain does not appear to be a serious thinker. Yes, he has risen to be a CEO and has accumulated wealth and this is commendable. However, after you’ve arrived and not many of your fellow travellers have been able to replicate what you’ve done, please don’t say that racism doesn’t hold anybody back in a big way. There are many successful blacks, overwhelmingly in sports and entertainment, so what to make of those still struggling to get a toe hold on the first rung of the ladder. Minorities may get a job (note the colour spectrum at entry level) but as we ride the elevator to the middle management offices and on to the corner offices of the CEOs, the colour spectrum fades almost to white so we can’t discount racism.

I have no problem with Herman Cain being a Conservative as we all can’t be enlightened LiberalsJ. I have a problem with him seeming to willingly give aid and comfort to his overwhelmingly white audiences when he says the things for them in the public realm they would probably like to say but can’t.

Herman Cain, there is a name for you and it is “NOT PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL”.

Will keep you posted