A few evenings ago, while crossing the George Washington Bridge, I saw the pink lights that outlined the cables of the span, presenting a majestic, yet delicate, picture as they lit the sky above the Hudson – a necklace of pink. It wasn't a surprise. It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month,i and I had heard on the radio that the Port Authority would be taking this action in recognition of the event.
Every year, during October, the bridge takes on that hue – the one adopted by the various charities dealing with breast cancer – which reminds everyone of the situation. It seems strange though – even sad – that the recognition takes place for only one month each year. Are we all free to forget the problem during the remainder of the year? Does the disease go away in all other months? It's unfortunate that our memories are so short and we have to be reminded.
But that recognition is more than other diseases, and other problems, receive. There are countless diseases, including cancers of all organs, yet the Port Authority doesn't seem to consider them all to be worthy of its notice. I have no wish to minimize the toll of this disease, but it's hard to avoid the feeling that our concern results from our conviction that our scientists have long minimized the problems of women during their research, and have favored men, both in terms of choosing research subjects and in selecting diseases for study. And perhaps that is the case. But one might argue that it is unreasonable. Women have a significantly longer life expectancy than men so in the interests of equality it makes sense to emphasize their afflictions.
Even dealing with the issue of breast cancer however, it is difficult to justify, except for public relations reasons, the favoring of this particular disease. More women smoke than get breast cancer; more women are obese; more women are hypertensive. Far more women die of lung cancer than breast cancer. Moreover more women die of heart disease than of all cancers combined.
Some attention, too, ought be paid to the fact that while breast cancer is the most common tumor of women, more men will get prostate cancer. But don't expect any blue lightsii on the bridge during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.iii That, however, is a good thing.
I drive across the GWB frequently – weekly, in fact. It's not cheap but it's necessary. And I don't begrudge the Port Authority the right to make the costs of running and maintaining the bridge.iv Those are legitimate expenses and I accept my responsibility for my share. But I'm a little less understanding of the use of the bridge for a public relations gimmick. And I resent having to pay for it, irrespective of the importance of the cause. That's not what the bridge is for.
Consider, for a moment, how many man or womanv hours must be involved in changing the bulbs, and in changing them back when November comes. Imagine the risk to workers who must spend longer in this precarious, but unnecessary, labor. And the cost of the additional bulbs that are used for a limited time and then, if they still function, require storage, which adds to the overall expense.vi
Yet the cost of travel over the bridge increases with appalling regularity. Because the Authority is losing money from its transportation efforts and its real estate ventures, it turns to the driver, and, though I disagree with the policy, to the general public, for additional revenues. Increasing their costs to promote charitiesvii at the expense of those who use the bridge doesn't seem to reflect good management. It takes its toll.
Perhaps the bulbs should be changed to red. At least then they'd reflect the overall functioning of the Port Authority.
i That's been the case for twenty-eight years although the pink lights are a recent phenomenon.
ii Kmart could probably supply them.
iii Chances are good you didn't even know that there is such a month. It's September, but it doesn't get much attention in the media.
iv I certainly believe that those who use the bridge should pay for it. Not the general public.
v That was included to reflect the Zeitgeist, not because of any specific knowledge of the sex distribution of bridge workers.
vi Even if the bulbs are changed during other maintenance, the additional time involved, risk, cost of the bulbs, and storage add to the bridge's budget. And it's interesting that the other maintenance is always required at the end of September.
vii In recognition of the Girl Scouts's centennial, in November 2011, there were green lights used. I wonder where they are now.
This is an effect of collective guilt. We buy our way out of any deep emotional connection by paying transient attention and letting our wallets bear the sin which our conscience can't handle. Our football players wear pink for a couple of Sundays instead of taking drastic pay cuts and donating salary to research. Our convenience stores hang banners and ask us to put a nickel in a box instead of reducing the sale of foods which contribute to the problem. We don't want real change. We want to look like we want real change. We want camera ready diseases with good PR firms so we can fix a problem and think we have gotten somewhere. Then we want to be left alone until enough time has passed and we can allow ourselves to be aware and guilty again.
ReplyDeleteIt is the same as birthdays, anniversaries and yearly celebrations of all sorts. Shouldn't every day be mothers' day AND fathers' day? Why do I think that a card and a phone call once every 365 days makes up for the rest of the year's neglect? Does turning the Empire State Building red, white and blue in July mean that by December, I no longer have to care?
We are conditioned to feel like we can't be aware of everything all the time, so it is better to be aware of one thing per day (or month) and then move on. It makes insensitive all the time.