Ribbon !

A fellow flickrite and observant social critic recently posted a John Small poster commemorating World AIDS Day (today, December 1). (The photo above is just a clip art placeholder.)

www.flickr.com/photos/23357726@N03/15297432604/

 

John Small's poster shows a fist clutching a red ribbon breaking through a solid wall with force. It’s strikingly simple and powerful, but I found myself asking “to what end?” Is the point that awareness of this horrible disease has finally broken through the wall of ignorance and apathy? Is the point that the victims of AIDS are angry that not enough has been done in the search for a cure?

 

The actor Jeremy Irons wore a red ribbon at the televised Tony Awards in 1991, shortly after it had been adopted by the Visual AIDS Artists Caucus. Up until that time, popular use of ribbons was limited to yellow Bring the Boys Home (from the Gulf War) ribbons. Today there are hundreds of organizations identifying themselves with colored ribbons, and hundreds of organizations selling ribbons for profit.

 

Here’s what sets my teeth on edge — of the hundreds of conditions in the list below, the only one I qualify for at all is atheist solidarity (red and black). I can understand why no one would want to wear a ribbon for gynecomastia, or erectile dysfunction, or genital warts — from none of which I suffer — but where are the ribbons for Dupuytren’s contractures, unilateral profound hearing loss and acute barotrauma — from all of which I suffer? I DEMAND RIBBONS!

 

Please check out the list below. How many ribbons could you wear proudly? How many syndromes or conditions do you have for which there is not already a ribbon? Then ask yourself whether the ribbon chromatrope means anything at all today…

 

abdominal cancer (pink)

addiction recovery (blue)

ADHD (orange)

adoptive parents (yellow)

aging research (green)

agoraphobia (teal)

Alzheimer's disease (purple)

amyloidosis support (burgundy)

Anoka-Hennepin suicide (maroon and white)

anxiety disorders (teal)

aplastic anemia MDS (red and white)

arthritis (dark blue)

asthma (gray)

atheist solidarity (red and black)

autism (puzzle)

AutoTune abuse (light blue)

bipolar disorder (green)

birth parents (pink)

birth trauma (silver)

bladder pain (teal)

body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRB) (green and blue)

bone marrow failure (red and white)

borderline personality disorder (BPD) (gray)

brain cancer (gray)

breast cancer (pink and blue)

bubonic plague (BP) (hot pink)

bullying (indigo)

celiac disease (green)

cerebral palsy (green)

cervical cancer (teal)

Chiari malformation (purple)

child abuse (blue)

childbirth safety (white)

childhood cancer (gold)

childhood depression (green)

childhood hemiplegia (purple)

children with disabilities (silver)

choking game (red, yellow and black)

choroidal melanoma (blue and black)

chronic fatigue syndrome (blue)

chronic pain (orange)

chronic urticaria (purple)

cluster remembrance (maroon and white)

colon cancer (blue)

complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) (orange)

Concern of Police Survivors (COPS) (blue and black)

congenital diaphragmatic hernia (cloud)

craniofacial acceptance (yellow)

craniosynostosis (purple)

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (purple)

Crohn's disease (purple)

cruelty to animals (orange)

cultural diversity (orange)

cystic fibrosis (purple)

DARE (red)

depression (green)

dermatillomania (green and blue)

desmoid tumors (teal)

diabetes (gray)

dissociative identity disorder (teal)

domestic violence (dark blue)

Down syndrome (blue and yellow)

driving safety (green)

dysautonomia (blue)

eating disorders (periwinkle)

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) (zebra)

Electronic Frontier Foundation (blue)

endometriosis (yellow)

environmental concerns (green)

epidermolysis bullosa (red)

epilepsy (lavender)

esophageal cancer (periwinkle)

essential thrombocythemia (red and orange)

family caregivers (orange and navy blue)

fibromyalgia (purple)

free speech (dark blue)

gall bladder cancer (green)

gang violence (black)

genetic disorder (blue denim)

genital integrity (pink and blue)

glaucoma (green)

gynecologic cancer (purple)

Haiti restoration (red and blue)

head and neck cancer (burgundy and ivory)

heart disease (red)

hepatitis B and liver cancer (jade)

hidradenitis suppurativa (blue)

HIV / AIDS (red)

hives (purple)

Hodgkin's disease (violet)

hunger (orange)

Huntington's disease (blue)

hydranencephaly (blue)

infant loss (pink and blue)

infertility (pink and blue)

inflammatory breast cancer (pink and blue)

injury-related disabilities (silver)

interstitial cystitis (teal)

intracranial intervention (blue and green)

kidney cancer (orange)

Koolen deVries syndrome (navy blue)

law enforcement support (blue and black)

leukemia (orange)

LGBT hate crimes (purple)

liver cancer (green)

lung cancer (pearl)

lupus (purple)

Lyme disease (green)

lymphoma (lime green)

MADD (red)

male breast cancer (pink and blue)

mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) (pink, white and purple)

medullary sponge kidney awareness (purple, teal and green)

melanoma (black)

mental health (green)

MIA/POW (yellow)

migraine (purple)

missing children (green)

mitochondrial disease (green)

mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) (purple and blue)

mourning (black)

mouth cancer (blue)

multiple hereditary exostoses (white)

multiple myeloma (burgundy)

multiple sclerosis (MS) (orange)

muscular dystrophy (lime green)

myasthenia gravis (teal)

myelofibrosis (red and orange)

myeloproliferative neoplasms (red and orange)

neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT) (red and gold)

neuroendocrine tumor (zebra)

neuropathy pain (orange)

non-Hodgkin lymphoma (lime)

ocular melanoma (blue and black)

oral cancer (burgundy)

orca whale (purple)

organ transplantation (green)

orthostatic tremor (blue)

osteosarcoma (yellow)

out-of-country military service (yellow)

ovarian cancer (teal)

pancreatic cancer (purple)

parental child abduction (light green)

Parkinson's disease (silver)

peace (blue)

pedestrian safety (green)

pediatric stroke (blue and purple)

peripheral neuropathy (purple)

phenylketonuria (PKU) (blue)

Pierre Robin syndrome (turquoise)

polycystic ovarian syndrome (teal)

polycythemia vera (red and orange)

pornography (white)

Prader-Willi syndrome (orange)

primary peritoneal cancer (pink)

pro-choice (blue)

pro-life (pink and blue)

prostate cancer (light blue)

pseudotumor cerebri (blue and green)

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (teal)

public schools (green)

pulmonary hypertension (periwinkle)

rare disease (zebra)

reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome (RSD) (orange)

religious tolerance (purple)

retinal blastoma (white)

Rett syndrome (lavender)

rheumatoid arthritis (blue and purple)

right to life (white)

sarcoidosis (purple)

sarcoma (yellow)

school shooting prevention (blue and white)

scleroderma (light blue)

self-injury (orange)

severe combined immune deficiency (SCID) (white)

sex slavery (blue)

sexual assault (teal)

spina bifida (yellow)

stalking (indigo)

Stevens-Johnson syndrome (blue)

stiff person syndrome (SPS) (zebra)

stomach cancer (periwinkle)

stroke (red)

substance abuse (teal)

sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) (pink and blue)

suicide (yellow)

survivors of homicide (red and black)

syringomylia (teal)

testicular cancer (orchid)

Thalassemia (burgundy)

tethered spinal cord syndrome (TC) (beige and giraffe print)

thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) (red, yellow and blue)

thyroid disease (blue paisley)

tissue/organ donation (green)

tobacco abuse (brown)

Tourette syndrome (teal)

transverse myelitis (blue)

traumatic brain injury (green)

trichotillomania (green and blue)

trigeminal neuralgia (teal)

trisomy (light blue)

tsunami victims (teal)

tuberous sclerosis (blue)

twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (light blue)

universal suffrage (yellow)

usher syndrome (teal)

uterine cancer (peach)

uveal melanoma (blue and black)

vasculitis (red)

victims of 9-11 (purple)

victims of homophobia (purple)

victims of terrorism (white)

victims' rights (dark blue)

violence against women (white)

von Hippel-Landau disease (blue)

water quality (dark blue)

Wiccan rights (black)

worker safety (green)

 

 

 

Done