STOUTESTboasts

I have, since they’ve become fashionable, looked down upon the charity silicone bracelet trend. I think it seemed to me that people were wearing them because they were fashionable, and the cause they represented was of lesser importance. Cyndi shared this view, and we would cynically make fun of the silicone bracelets. And don’t get us started on those bracelets that don’t even represent a cause. The fashionable ones that kids buy from gumball machines in front of grocery stores.

Imagine my suprise and humility now that I find myself wearing one.

Imagine also, my sense of something larger and more important than my pride and vanity.

I’ve changed my view on the silicone bracelets. At least partly. I’m still not a fan of the LIVESTRONG bracelets. I don’t really have a good reason for disliking them. Fashion, Fad, Trend. But here’s why I changed my mind. The bracelet I’m wearing now is the white, ONE bracelet. I’ve followed the campaign for a while now, since around the time of Live8. I’ve signed the ONE Declaration. I urge everyone to do the same at www.ONE.org. The ONE campaign is more important than my sense of anti-establishment-ism. That is to say, it’s more important for people to be aware of the stuggle against poverty and AIDS than is my sense of vanity and self-righteousness in making fun of the bracelets. If one person asks me “Oh, what’s the white wristband for?” then I feel it’s worth falling into the silicone bracelet fad. The LIVESTRONG bracelets did their job. Most everyone knows what the yellow bracelet means. When everyone knows what the white bracelet means, maybe then I’ll think about not wearing it.

Oh, what’s the white wristband for? Visit ONE.org