<p>I have not been a support of SGK in the past, although I have supported those who have done the Avon Breast Cancer walk and others. I have always been a supporter of PP and will increase my donation.I have had friends, public health professionals work with PP nationwide. </p>
<p>I have mixed feelings about the pink ribbon. I have been suspicious of products and stores in which I have been asked to pay more for something so that the extra funds will go to SGK and breast cancer research. Same with the funds collected for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital at cash registers… but it’s usually a dollar donation. I did think it was quite moving at different sporting events to see so many athletes participating like the PGA tour when Phil Mickelson’s wife and mother were both diagnosed at the same time. It does raise awareness and cause people to schedule doctor appointments and mammograms.</p>
<p>I fully support GladGradDad in all of his posts in this thread. I could not have said anything better than him. Way to go GladGradDad! Keep standing up for what we believe in :)</p>
Perhaps you fine folks missed the hacking of the Komen website, the fake Wiki entries and other things. I’m just going to assume that since none of you would ever do those things you just missed the news about those acts because I’m sure you wouldn’t condone illegal behavior</p>
<p>One article I read earlier said that what the ‘reversal’ has done is to restore PP’s eligibility to apply for grants. Period. There is no guarantee that they will be successful in those applications, and according to at least one Komen staffer the criteria for that eligibility was changed to specifically target PP. Whether that is, in fact, the case, who knows. The latest statement from a Komen board member in the Washington Post does nothing to contradict that. </p>
<p>Hacking, yes, you do have one legitimate bad act to point to, to support your blanket characterization of protests by thousands of people. But, fake Wiki entries are illegal? Seriously?</p>
<p>^^ There was an article in the local paper about not just hate mail but also death threats to the workers at the local SGK office. I don’t doubt that it happened especially seeing the vitriol posted by so many on this thread due to the incident.</p>
<p>It seems some people in this thread have NO clue what Planned Parenthood is all about. It not an abortion clinic like the right-wingers want you to believe. It’s about women’s health hence why you can get screenings for breast cancer, pap smears and general obgyn check ups.
It’s about making sure not only women are aware about sex education but also men. They are for preventing abortions happening in the first place and not every PP even perform abortions.
If you think it’s just some an abortion clinic you are an idiot. Many women who can’t afford regular doctor/ob-gyn appointments PP helps immensely. Some of you should do research and actually walk into a PP and see for yourself.
I understand that there are PP that perform abortions, but overall I’m for PP bc the government should have no say what goes on when it comes to my body or any woman’s body. </p>
<p>Letters and death threats? Hackers and Wiki spammers? There will always be a few crackpot zealots on every side who rise up from the muck when any controversy blows up, but let’s save term “thuggishness” for those who actually blow up clinics and murder doctors… The press coverage has been filled with hosts of respectable figures making thoughtful and cogent arguments about the SGK action, including the twenty-some Senators who signed a letter in protest and Mayor Bloomberg, who donated his own money to PP. Any publication that chose to give publicity to a few nutjobs should be ashamed of itself.</p>
<p>If SGK had just had the guts to come out and say they didn’t not want to fund any organization involved in abortions, they would have had my respect, if not my kudos. Instead, they clothed the decision in a pack of lies in hopes they wouldn’t lose contributions. It was cowardly and deceitful, and they paid the price. With today’s lightning fast communication and ubiquitous social networking, you can’t even fool some of the people some of the time anymore.</p>
<p>did you guys know that Komen partners with a gun supplier to sell pink handguns? then when you shoot someone it’s not as bad, because they will know that you support cancer research.</p>
<p>My thoughts exactly. I heard 3 different explanations, which means none of them was the true one. And isn’t it odd how, suddenly, being under investigation isn’t a problem after all. They were cowardly on Tuesday, and cowardly today.</p>
<p>And I, too, am still waiting to hear from SGK the reason Penn State’s investigation problem didn’t fall under their new rule. Of course, we won’t hear an explanation about that, because Penn State didn’t meet the real criteria; i.e., being Planned Parenthood.</p>
Maybe they should change their name to be more descriptive. My knowledge of PP is admittedly very low (no one I know has ever been to one to my knowledge) and I always assumed they were about … planned parenthood (i.e. BC, advice, etc.) but if they’re trying to be the replacement for free county health services for the low income and handle soup to nuts as long as it’s something related to females, although according to one poster it extends beyond that to general community services, then maybe a new name would benefit them.</p>
<p>I see what you’re saying, GladGradDad, and PP did specialize in birth control in the beginning. As its mission expanded, its name recognition grew. By the time it became a full-service health resource, the name was entrenched and low-income women knew very well the range of services it could provide. There’s never been any reason to change. (I know it’s practically a cuss word in some circles, but among the population it serves, it has a very positive image.) For an established, successful organization, the name is one of their best assets. “The Soft Drink, Juice and Water Company” is more descriptive of what The Coca-Cola Bottling Company does today, but the original name is highly recognizable and has a longstanding good image. Same with Planned Parenthood.</p>
<p>Komen, OTOH, would benefit from a change. They will never erase the stain from their name.</p>
<p>I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at the recent Board meetings. My quick reading of the Board would suggest that, really, it was likely all about outside political pressure, and these folks were in way over their heads.</p>
<p>If you read their two Board statements together, you quickly see it is a giant non-sequitur:</p>
<p>I did not read through the entire thread, but I did donate to PP last night, and I posted on my social media page that I would be donating the amount it would cost for a mammogram because my wonderful health insurance has paid for every one of my mammograms through the years. Of course, I also want Mayor Bloomberg to match my money.</p>
<p>I also made a pledge to myself to give money to PP each time someone asks me to sponsor her for a Komen run/walk.</p>
<p>GladGradDad, Planned Parenthood recieves a considerable amount of its support from government. I think it’s over a third, but don’t quote me. Governments are supporting PP precisely as a place that delivers care to low-income women. A lot of places don’t have free county health services, y’know?</p>
<p>In the last year, Republican Congressmembers tried and failed to cut the federal government support for Planned Parenthood. Also Kansas, Indiana and North Carolina axed their state support for Planned Parenthood, which meant PP had to close some rural clinics, leaving some women with no place for to get birth control, STD testing, prenatal care and other preventative care.</p>
<p>I do have a horse in this race, but my fascination is how poorly themkomen people have handled this. Their pr people are terrible. Somehow, they have managed to alienate people on both sides. Social media was a powerful driver in what komens decisions, along with their new board. I have always felt komen was more of a marketing Corp than a real charity with it’s cute pink ribbons and all, so never felt super comfortable giving to them as I felt so much of the money went to glitz and bling and pink swag. </p>
<p>This pr fiasco wiill be a case study for how to ruin a company"s branding in three days from being one of the most trusted to one of the most questionable. Also, it brings to light all their financials, board members, etc. Now people are paying attention ton what komen really does, and was it what they profess to do?</p>
<p>"Did you guys know that Komen partners with a gun supplier to sell pink handguns? then when you shoot someone it’s not as bad, because they will know that you support cancer research.</p>
<p>seriously… they sell pink guns."</p>
<p>That’s pretty cool. And I bet those pink guns will shoot you just as dead as the black ones. My husband wants a Glock. I wonder if they sell pink ones. Then again, you probably won’t scare an intruder as much with a pink gun, though the hole in him will be just as large.</p>
<p>I don’t understand the thinking behind only supporting one organization or the other. If you forget the political bs behind either, their goals are admirable. To help women. Why not support both?</p>