Posted: 11/11/2005 6:26:59 AM EDT
| How many of those rubber bracelets do you wear on a daily basis? |
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I wear one OD green bracelet. I am a Viet Nam era vet - Army. My father was a WWII vet - Navy. I served, as my father did, and I have great respect for others who have and are currently serving. I am proud of the fact that my 16 year old son is considering military service - Air Force or Navy. I wear one. It says "Support our troops" on one side and "USO" a little further around. I bought this for two reasons. The money spend on it actually supports the troops. The USO has been there for troops in some of the most hostile locations in the world. Oddly enough though, during my overseas tour, I never saw USO personnel, though my father told me he did. I wear the OD green bracelet to symbolize the bond I have to others who have and are currently serving our nation. This is done totally for me, as I very often wear long sleeve shirts and no one can see that I wear such a bracelet. For me it is not a fad nor a fashion statement, as often most would not be able to be aware I even wear one. It is a symbol of respect! I bought several identical bracelets, and this is the second one of the bunch I wear... because the first one finally broke taking it off to shower. I think a large number of the people who wear these types of bracelets, do so to show some personal/emotional connection to others or the cause they represent. It bothers me to see they have been commercialized and are being sold now without a connection to financially supporting some charity, patrotic cause ,or disease. It bothers me that some are sold with reference to these, and none of the monies go to support what is printed on them. Candidly, the garbage postings above.. apparently to just be smart or cute and to increase post count... also bothers me! In this case because to many, me included, these rubber bracelets actually have a meaning far beyond any fashion or fad! I guess I am just getting old. I think that the word "respect" does not have the same meaning now that it did when I was growing up and learning the meaning of the word respect. 13633 / joined 2001 2199 / joined 2004 5983 / joined 2002 Please have respect for this thread, as there are people that have deep emotional ties to these rubber bracelets that represent strong issues to many. Many forget or do not understand that to get respect you must give respect, and that respect must be earned through good actions and deeds. So many today relate respect with fear of adverse contact or some type of power a modern "life style" demands. I prefer the old school meaning of the word respect. I know there are many on this board that do too. Many of those have served or are serving this country (military and/or civilian service) and understand the meaning of the word respect touches one's soul! For me it has been almost 34 years of military & civilian service (I retire the last day of this month and though it is time, I regret ending my service to this country). I wear my bracelet to show respect for those that serve and have served for me, my father and my son! I wear one... it indicates respect! |
+1 I wear a "Live Strong" yellow one - in part because my dad had the same type of cancer as Armstrong (along with other cancers), and they sent me one when I gave them some money this year. It's a good charity, and wearing it makes me think of my dad. |
| For those who are in the Army guard , have friends or relatives in the guard or just want to show thier support for the Army National guard you can go to virtualarmory.com and look under promotions and get a hero band to show your support. 100% free and they don't look cheesy . |
| If you want to donate to a cause why dont you just give your money straight to that foundation? Instead of buying one of these dumb bracelets. Bracelets cost money to manufacture and no doubt some of the money goes to materials. If you just make a donation, that way maximum use is made of your money. |
I didn't. I sent them money in the mail, and they sent me a bracelet with the thank-you letter. |
I'm still sporting the slap-bracelets that gave people welts.
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There was a story on the news earlier this year about them. A whole lot of them are blatant rip-offs of whatever organizations they are supposed to help. if you bought them from any but an authorized source and you think you are helping some cause...you probably aren't. This year, rubber bracelets; ten years ago, wwjd bracelets, thirty years ago, pow/mia bracelets; next year, whatever fad gets out of the chute with the best marketing. Nothing wrong with attaching some personal meaning to a bracelet; folks been doing it for thousands of years. |
 Kharn |
What's your point? Since the purpose is to make money for the charity, they SHOULD manufacture them as cheaply as possible (the lower the cost, the more money for cancer research). |
