Patrick's Place

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Monday's Morals

A friend of yours has a child fighting a life-threatening illness and the friend is selling silicon wristbands to raise money for treatment. The child loves rainbows, so the wristband is rainbow-colored. You buy a wristband, but knowing this same design is also symbolic of gay and lesbian rights movements, and assuming that you are not homosexual, would you actually wear the wristband? Why or why not?

Sure.

There are several points here. First of all, if it were a child in my community everyone would know what it signified; we're not a very big town.

Secondly, even if it were outside the community, I'd wear it because what would be the point in buying it otherwise?

Thirdly, in this specific instance, it would make me laugh. I don't really care if people think I'm gay. People who know me know I'm not, and those who don't...well, so what? If anyone mentioned the subject, I'd show them the name on the wristband to clear it up. People who assumed I was wearing it for Gay Pride purposes, and therefore it identifies me as a lesbian, shouldn't assume. Frankly, I'd wear a Gay Pride wristband/bumper sticker/T-shirt that wasn't a 'mistaken identity' thing like this. I do support the cause after all. And I'm not a lesbian, not even after 23 years of marriage (to a man). ;-)

It would make me laugh considerably harder if I had an inkling that the people selling the wristbands didn't know the rainbow symbol had other meanings.

In truth, however, things around my wrists annoy the crap outta me, so I'm more likely to request a T-shirt or something along those lines.