Yes, it all got settled. But last week it didn’t look like it would as I headed off to a cocktail party.
3 weeks prior when my friend “Heidi” ( she is afraid of extremist so this is her alias)  asked me if I would go with her to a cocktail party for Planned Parenthood I had no idea what a hot ticket this would. Not, in the front row of the Super Bowl way, but in a View “hot topic” way.  Would they be burning the color pink? Would they be practicing self breast exams by the punch bowl?  Would they have meatballs?

I love little cocktail meatballs, with a toothpick, yum.
I said yes as I love an excuse to go out with a friend and it sounded like it would be a cheap night. Heidi is a big donor to PP , I was her plus one.  We trudged across town and were greeted warmly when we entered the hotel bar.  We scanned the room, but didn’t see anyone we knew so we grabbed a cushioned bench to sit and chat.  After the waitress gave us some white wine ( little too new world oaky for me, but beggars can’t be choosers) we realized we were the kids in the room.  It was a lot of Westside, grey hairs with folkloric necklaces and their gentleman companions.
“What will will happen to Planned Parenthood with the old old liberals die off?’ I asked my friend as I grabbed more crab cakes.
“It will be in trouble.” Heidi said, who strangely only needed two mini crab cakes to fill her, I was still looking for meatballs.
We chatted away.  ”I guess they are going to leave us alone.” She said.
“Foolish if they do, time to rally the troops.” I said as I grabbed the waiters wrist, “are there any more sliders?”
Just then the sound of a mic.   A head dude thanked everyone and made slight mention of the controversy.  Then he introduced a woman who was in charge ( I’m a great reporter).  She was confident and likable and said she wanted people to be sure we knew all that PP does.  To that end two different women got up and spoke. One woman works in a Planned Parenthood clinic and talked of her work helping to find a clients cancer ( think something in the lady regions) and that the patient is alive today.
Then a quirky gal got up and talked about going to South LA and teaching teenagers about sex ed and contraception. All good stuff in my book.
“Planned Parenthood should rebrand themselves as ‘PP:health care for the uninsured’ because that is a lot of what they do.”  I said as I asked for a glass of Pinot.
Heidi bristled, “They shouldn’t have to change their name.”  I continued the conversation with myself.
“Fine, liberals, but how far would Archibald Leach have gone if he didn’t change his name to Cary Grant?”
When the first speaker mentioned the defunding by Susan G. Komen group there were hisses.  I hissed.
I will tell you what I have liked about this controversy: I can finally say how much I have HATED the pink ribbons.  I also hate the rubber bracelets.  I didn’t like tying a yellow ribbon around a tree when I was a kid and the hostages were in Iran.  I’m sure I’m not alone in this pink ribbon fatigue as this article from last year points out
I have a knee jerk reaction against this kind of group think marketing.  People are silenced least one seem lacking in compassion.  But, the pink deluge was annoying.
When I hosted Fashion Team every year the producers would trot out an assortment of products dipped in pink and I was to say how great they were and “1 dollar goes to breast cancer research” Or even more vague “some money goes to..”.   I always think, well why can’t this big corporation just give them a buck?  Why am I being blackmailed into buying this? Where is the brown nail clipper for colon cancer?
Some of the products that turned pink seemed a just a tad opportunistic.  The KFC bucket of fat that was pink?  Or how about a gun?
The pink ribbon’s like Pink Berry oversold and over saturated themselves.
I never bought a pink anything.  I have donated to Planned Parenthood and other clinics for low income people.  I have donated to the American Cancer Society.  But, I don’t need a pink avocado, pink wrist bands or a pink bible ( is nothing scared?). All cancers are awful.
The day after the cocktail party the Pink ribbons reversed themselves and said they would give the money for breast screenings at planned parenthood.  I’m sure it was my hard core activism that did the job.