Hey, before anyone takes a victory lap.
The last three days of wading through outraged FaceBook, Twitter, email and phone calls about the stand the Susan G. Komen Foundation took to withdraw funding for breast cancer screenings, has me worn out. I certainly found out who believes in women’s wellness and who doesn’t.
Then mid day today comes another deluge of posts about Komen’s “reversal”.
Except it isn’t a reversal.
Below the flip is the Press Release, read it carefully…does it say we apologize to Planned Parenthood? No, only to the American people? Really all the people…sheesh.
Does it say future grants will been given every consideration in the future? No, it says, Planned Parenthood will receive the pledged money for this year.
That’s right, all they’ve done is honor their previous commitment. A whopping $600,000 out of a $750 million dollar budget. Seriously, could you f’ing spare some pin money for low income women to get their ta-ta’s tested?
I’ve long had issues with the juggernaut disease fundraisers, Komen just affirmed all my suspicions. I don’t need “made in china” rubber band bracelets or pink covered trinkets and certainly not this! My God did you see that Komen store, seriously it’s like a museum shop for a deadly disease.
When they hired former failed Governor candidate Karen Handel, I knew they’d never get a red cent of mine. Hell if I was going to be part of her successfully tripping forward clutching her homophobia and bible while she did it. Bitch, please.
Do I think the inter webs and social media had everything to do with shining a giant ass klieg light on Komen’s decision to withdraw Planned Parenthoods funding, absolutely. But lets not all take a collective bow and run off to happy hour. The very same spot light should continue to shine on them for months and years to come.
We should take making donations to these groups very seriously.
I think our friend Andisheh Nouraee said it best on Twitter.
“Beware pundits who call Komen debacle a “PR” disaster. Betraying the deeply held values of your core supporters is more than a PR disaster”.
Statement from Susan G. Komen Board of Directors and Founder and CEO Nancy G. Brinker
“DALLAS – February 3, 2012 – We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives. The events of this week have been deeply unsettling for our supporters, partners and friends and all of us at Susan G. Komen. We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not.
Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation. We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair.
Our only goal for our granting process is to support women and families in the fight against breast cancer. Amending our criteria will ensure that politics has no place in our grant process. We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities.
It is our hope and we believe it is time for everyone involved to pause, slow down and reflect on how grants can most effectively and directly be administered without controversies that hurt the cause of women. We urge everyone who has participated in this conversation across the country over the last few days to help us move past this issue. We do not want our mission marred or affected by politics – anyone’s politics.
Starting this afternoon, we will have calls with our network and key supporters to refocus our attention on our mission and get back to doing our work. We ask for the public’s understanding and patience as we gather our Komen affiliates from around the country to determine how to move forward in the best interests of the women and people we serve.
We extend our deepest thanks for the outpouring of support we have received from so many in the past few days and we sincerely hope that these changes will be welcomed by those who have expressed their concern.”
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