The End of All Things

I regret to inform you that this country is filled with a bunch of heartless bastards.  If you remember, over a year ago I created a post called Trendy Awareness, which accused everyone of pretending to support things by putting magnets on their cars, or by wearing plastic bracelets.  This caused quite a ruckus, and people explained that no, it wasn't just a trend, this is how we are showing our support for things.

What I'm referring to are such things as yellow magnetic ribbons and little latex bracelets (the trend begun by Lance Armstrong), claiming support for every cause under the sun.  15 months later, here is my rebuttle.

APPARENTLY NOBODY CARES ANYMORE.  Yes, news flash... spend any time on the freeway these days and you will realize we have a serious problem here in this country.  Put simply, people have become heartless bastards.  The number of "Support our Troops" ribbons sighted on automobiles is at a record low, as are "Support your local Firefighter", "Diabetes Awareness" and "Autism Awareness" magnets.  In fact, in an unscientific survey conducted by me, yesterday, I counted only one person in my 3 hours of freeway driving who still cares about the troops. 

Worse yet, apparently most people have stopped caring about cancer as well.  A year ago I knew at least 10 people who regularly showed support for cancer research by wearing "LiveSTRONG" bracelets.  Sadly, I have seen ZERO LiveSTRONG bracelets in the past several months.  Apparently people are no longer concerned about finding a cure!

This is a horrible trend in this country!  People no longer support finding cures for terrible diseases, and they don't care about our troops overseas! 

That is... unless I was right all along... that these magnets and bracelets (made in China) were simply a FAD, expolited by all the companies and retailers involved in the distribution chain to make huge sums of MONEY.  In the end, you know I'm right... and you knew I was right 15 months ago. 

Just like I was right about the Atkins diet, you fat, carbohydrate eating bastards!

Comments

[Mom]

And the new FAD, which is not apparent unless you are sitting in an airport, is SUDOKU!!! Nobody wears bracelets or puts magnets on their cars for this fad, but they do spend a lot of time studying the puzzles in their laps, erasing and looking perplexed. I think this might be a good trend, though, as people are apparently exercising their brains to solve these puzzles, while putting on a bracelet or attaching a magnet to your car is simply lemmingesque behavior. This could be a good sign.

[Erin]

THANK YOU! And now, those who are still sporting the bracelets and bumperstickers...are the folks who really do support...or perhaps they are just bucking the trend because they are stubborn.

[Heather]

I love the ribbons that say "I support magnetic ribbons."

(http://www.justafad.com/ribbons.htm)

[carolyn]

Okay, one final word on this horribly beaten-to-death topic. I have been wearing LiveStrong bracelet since he announced his fundraiser, this is becuase I am a huge Lance Armstrong supporter, I watch the Tour and I have even read his book about surviing cancer. I was one of the first to purchase and donate to the fund and put one on. THen the kids at Alecia's school started wearing them. Then everyone for every reason started wearing all sorts of "gay" (aka lame) bracelets. I also wear a red band of HOPE for Multiple Sclerosis along side it. And, that is becuase I ride to raise money for MS every year. Now, you are right...none of the kids at school care anymore, most of the grown-ups have taken theirs off. I still see a few who are like me, we put them on to support someone who survived cancer or to remind us of someone we have lost to it. If there was ever a doubt to whether it became an obnoxious trend...it was pretty obvious here in Southern California. The war and the troops? I think they should all go on strike...since they are fighting for a major boob to begin with.
As for me, i will continue to wear my lame plastic bracelets made in china until they crack and fall off my big boney wrist. Until then, it is easy to identify who cares and who likes to follow the trends as you said. Very easy......And that just makes it easier to avoid the idiots :-)
CB