(See also: Lance Armstrong movie director has a full plate, Jan. 26, 2006)
Do you still wear your yellow LiveStrong bracelet? I don't.
It's nothing against cyclist Lance Armstrong, or the Foundation's goal to raise funds for cancer survivorship and research. I still support those causes.
I wore the wristband for about a year and a half, beginning the day it was given to me by a bicycle enthusiast who was undergoing chemo. I stopped wearing it after I saw a kid wearing rubber bracelets of every color half way up to his elbow. Colored bracelets had become just another fashion statement.
In a thought-provoking article in the Christian Science Monitor, Brad Rourke writes:
Each jump on the bandwagon move not only lessens the impact for all, but once a tipping point is reached, it makes the whole thing seem silly. Bands and ribbons have reached that state, as the glut of the things attests.
When exactly did silicone bands lose their impact? Was it when the first copycat one was produced? Was it when the first eBay listing offering counterfeit versions was posted? Or was their fate sealed the moment some well-meaning nonprofit executive saw that LIVESTRONG bracelet on a child and thought, “That could be my message”?
The Lance Armstrong Foundation online store continues to sell yellow wristbands. People still buy them; it's a good cause. Maybe when rubber wristbands fall off the fashion radar, I'll start wearing mine again.
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