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    Too Late, Susan Komen

    By Elizabeth Danu | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Mon, Feb 6, 2012
    This story comes from the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world’s most popular websites.
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    COMMENTARY | Just because a political move gets reversed doesn't make it any less of a political move. In fact, the outcry against the Susan G. Komen Foundation for a poor decision was so immediate and forceful that Komen really had no choice. When heavy hitters like Breast Cancer Action and Dr. Susan Love are publicly outraged, people notice. It was my impression right from the beginning that the Susan G. Komen Foundation was just trying to look good to important people, in this case the right-wing anti-abortion lobby.

    Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Komen really is more interested in saving women's lives than maintaining its pretty pink image. It's possible. It's possible that "Promise Me", the perfume that the Susan G. Komen Foundation marketed to raise money for breast cancer research really didn't have carcinogens in it. Maybe Komen's partnerships with numerous retailers don't really make anybody any profit.

    These possibilities are not strong enough or compelling enough for me to spend any money on anything that has a Komen label on it. There are just too many other excellent charities to contribute to, like the National Breast Cancer Coalition to name one. The NBCC is committed to ending breast cancer by 2020. I donate directly, since retail pinkwashing is so ubiquitous. If in doubt, consult Think Before You Pink, which is a project of Breast Cancer Action. The Breast Cancer Action League was yet another of the many breast cancer organizations that loudly protested against Komen's decision.

    My twelve-year-old daughter wanted to buy a pink compact mirror yesterday, because she thought it was pretty. "Look Mommy, it is for breast cancer, we should buy it!" It had the Susan G. Komen label on it, and I told my daughter I would not. I told her that I didn't support a breast cancer charity that says it is committed to saving lives, while yielding to pressure and sacrificing medical care to women who need it. She was very upset. She thought it was terribly unfair. She demanded to know why I was punishing her, ruining her life, etc. A twelve-year-old can really pour on the pressure.

    I did not cave in. The Susan G. Komen foundation has. Twice.

    Elizabeth Danu is a five-year survivor of Stage IIIC Inflammatory Breast Cancer. She maintains a resource blog for cancer survivors at the Liberation of Persephone.

     
    • Faux beetles
      Faux beetles  •  3 mths ago
      They pay the execs hundreds of thousands of dollars. So no, they won't get my money. I'll go find an uninsured woman and buy a mammogram! I am looking much closer now. And yes I was really sick of the pink!
      • honestly
        honestly 3 mths ago
        Komen's exec makes no salary. And any compensation is connected to her ability to pull in the BILLIONS she makes for women and breast cancer. Planned Parenthoods pres makes .45% of their billions too. Check Charity Navigator website for all your charities, esp. the percentage of revenues, etc. Komen is rated higher for transparency and fiscal management. Don't spread falsehoods.
      • Faux beetles
        Faux beetles 3 mths ago
        Honestly, you're not! Her "compensation is connected to her ability to pull in Billions"? VP Handen has been there a very short period of time and is now has quit and is calling Brinker a liar. So Handen brought in nothing. Their top executive is listed in my portfolio as $204,000. Nothing compared to some CEOs I admit, but not 'Nothing'. If you're referring to Brinker, she is a founder and board member not an exec., those positions traditionally go unpaid. The "billions" you refer to is 1.7 billion over 15 years. And frankly I would expect a cure for that! The planned parenthood org. is huge by comparison. They are not a fundraising machine, as is Komen, they are a service provider. It really doesn't compare. Bottom line, Komen can't win for losing right now, they should have never gone political. And, we're sick of pink, we are not little girls circa 1950!
    • Kathy
      Kathy  •  Anna, Illinois  •  3 mths ago
      Abortion constitutes only a small percentage of the services provided by Planned Parenthood. They also provide a number of vital health care services for women especially poor women. As a young married woman without health insurance I was one of those women who received free Pap smears, exams and birth control from Planned Parenthood. Like the majority of women who use their services, I never got an abortion. The fact that I got birth control made it much less likely that I would need one. Figure it out--more contraception, less abortion. Duh.
      • Stephen K
        Stephen K 3 mths ago
        And Hitler took a ruined country and built an enviable highway system. Throwing Gypsies, Jews, and Slavs into gas chambers was just a part of what he did.
        Right?
        BTW, if your "contraception" was an IUD or the so-called Plan B, you likely DID have an abortion.
      • Top
        Top 3 mths ago
        @Kathy - then PP should WELCOME a full and continuing audit so they can PROVE they keep their abortion funds totally separate!
    • Kathryn P
      Kathryn P  •  Germantown, Maryland  •  3 mths ago
      I will be interested to see in the coming months if, or how much, this whole mess actually impacts SGK's contributions. There are other breast cancer charities to donate to that do great work on behalf of women and personally, I would rather donate to them. Time will tell.
    • fred
      fred  •  3 mths ago
      They really did get what they had coming. I think it lifted the pink veil that many women and young children have obscuring their vision and rational thought on this charity. Seek out the ones that are less full of themselves and maintaining their 'brand'. The bigger they get, the less they do.
    • Go back to Mexico
      Go back to Mexico  •  3 mths ago
      Give to a local Breast Cancer Fund.
    • Frank
      Frank  •  Trenton, New Jersey  •  3 mths ago
      It's nice to see that this organization has been exposed for what it really is. Why would anyone donate or support an organization that only gives 20 cents of every dollar to breast cancer research?
      • StemCell
        StemCell 3 mths ago
        Wow, it's that low? Do you have a source?
    • John
      John  •  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma  •  3 mths ago
      Yup, color me done on this foundation
    • Ask me if i care !
      Ask me if i care !  •  3 mths ago
      Susan Komen's foundation will lose gobs of money over this. That was my first thought when I heard what they were doing. Now I hope it comes true. I have to pay for my decisions. So should they.
      • Ken Sears
        Ken Sears 3 mths ago
        Hmm, interesting. So... I guess they won't be able to send so much (of their mandatory TRIBUTE, since they obviously aren't allowed a CHOICE about their charitable giving)--as I was saying, I guess they won't be able to send so much to PP then, huh? I mean, since they'll lose so much over this? And this whole spastic, nuclear, demagogic, Salem-Witchhunt inquisition was launched against Komen in order to make SURE Komen kept sending PP their "grant" (I guess words don't even mean anything anymore in this Leftist universe). And now Komen will have less, which surely means PP will get less. Funny how that works. Unless, of course, PP and their allies in the Left finagle some legislation prohibiting Komen from reducing their "grant" (again, language is the first casualty of Leftist assault) to PP. "You'll volunteer to give this money or we will fry you". Brave New World of Leftspeak....
      • KM
        KM 3 mths ago
        SGK went down to right wing activists who cared less about the SGK cause and more about their politico/religious agenda. They allowed the near-perfect brand of KOMEN to be politicized by right wing extremists.
      • Ask me if i care !
        Ask me if i care ! 3 mths ago
        Planned parenthood kills babies. I am done here.
    • Just me
      Just me  •  3 mths ago
      The problem here is that people were not aware of where all their monies went. People giving to Susan G. Komen were expecting monies to be funneled only to places that did breast cancer research or provided breast care services. The fact that it had allied itself with Planned Parenthood (and I'm not saying that Planned Parenthood is a bad organization - just not what you think of when you think of breast care charities) was unknown to the vast majority of people. Many charities do this and you end up donating to causes that may not be in the same ballpark as where you intended your monies to go. It's a matter of being transparent and honest from both sides. For example, when you donate to Ronald McDonald House charities, you anticipate that your monies are all being funneled into the Ronald McDonald Houses. Not so- many causes benefit, but many people think they are donating towards the houses to support sick kids and their families while they undergo treatment when one sweeps change into McDonald donation boxes.
      • Maxine
        Maxine 3 mths ago
        Planned Parenthood must use SGK money in the way it was designated - for cancer screening, teaching low income women how to perform monthly breast self-exams, etc. Not one penny of SGK money goes to fund abortions.
      • gary
        gary 3 mths ago
        Yes Santorum, your party IS THAT STUPID.
      • Just me
        Just me 3 mths ago
        Ah, Gary, please stay on point. Nothing in my message was political. I have USED Planned Parenthood's services myself when I was in college and am a supporter of its goals. I'm just saying that when you request donations, they should be used where they are intended. The problem comes in when people who were donating to Breast Cancer research are finding out that their monies are sent to a third party which they may not support, even though it may have all been used in an appropriate manner. As an individual American, you have a right to choose which organizations you support; I personally feel that the more transparent and upfront you are, the more likely people are to support what you do. As it is now, SGK will likely be dealt a real blow in fundraising and whatever good they were doing for Breast Cancer will also suffer a setback- which translates into a decreased number of services available for under-served women. It's not really my hot button issue one way or the other and, yes, I do support a woman's right to choose abortion if she would like so if you still want to try to stereotype me for some reason, you're welcome to do so. You'll just be wrong.
    • StevieBoy
      StevieBoy  •  Nashville, Tennessee  •  3 mths ago
      Transparency. In everything for everyone. Would be a great start. Won't happen. Wwe are dead people walking, and a few of us are beginning to see that.
    • oh-please
      oh-please  •  3 mths ago
      As a quilter, I try to make quilts for fund raising. As I was looking for breast cancer fabric, I came across one for the Susan Komen Foundation. Although I liked the fabric, I continued on in my pursuit. I have lost all respect for this foundation and will not support it again.
    • frankk
      frankk  •  Burlington, New Jersey  •  3 mths ago
      Why does S.G.K.'s CEO make $500,000 a year? Just wondering...
    • Michael C
      Michael C  •  3 mths ago
      If you don't want to give money to Komen, there's no way they can stop you.

      They thought that they could politicize their charity - welcome to the political world. And Handel's letter of lies she offered at her resignation was just too much. She's going to be an up and coming "conservative" star.

      As it is, I don't care. They get none of my money, because I don't like charities with a political slant tied to their activities.

      As it is, a lot of "pro-lifers aren't going to contribute because they can't separate the two different things.

      As it is, a lot of pro choicers anten't going to contribute because tehy see it as an attack on their ability to choose.

      Handel is gone, now it's time for Brinker to give up her half million dollar a year job and all it's perks too. She can join some lobbying outfit, and get in on the real money.
    • S D
      S D  •  San Diego, California  •  3 mths ago
      I am 1000% in agreement with you. It's way too late.
    • Judie
      Judie  •  Fresno, California  •  3 mths ago
      Selling a PINK GUN oh duh!!
    • Dan
      Dan  •  Indianapolis, Indiana  •  3 mths ago
      LOST ALL RESPECT, ALL RESPECT for Komen !!
    • A Yahoo! User  •  Danville, Pennsylvania  •  3 mths ago
      I like boobies.
    • Patricia
      Patricia  •  Biddeford, Maine  •  3 mths ago
      As a former Komen affiliate board member, I resigned because Komen has become just another large non-profit (??) who has grossly misused it's funding and it's power. Komen's CEO, Nancy Brinkman takes home a whopping $5 million dollar annual salary. Thousands of women raced "for the cure" not to pad her pocketbook!
    • tanyab
      tanyab  •  3 mths ago
      Interesting.....no more pink?
    • Marilyn
      Marilyn  •  3 mths ago
      so, libs won't support Komen because the pulled abortion funding, and conservatives won't support Komen becasue the returned to abortion funding. The most divisive issue may have actually brought both sides together, if only for a moment.
     Post a comment
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