L I V E W R O N G

April 26, 2005 9:08 PM

L I V E W R O N G : is right.The purveyors, or perpetrators, of LIVEWRONG suggest you represent what you want, when you want, how you want. Buy a bracelet. It is what it is. The creators of the LIVEWRONG armband do not oppose any person, pet, or living thing that have cancer, nor do we oppose any charity that supports a cure for cancer.
posted by RockyChrysler (47 comments total)

Man, I had this idea like a month ago...stupid internet...
posted by muddgirl at 9:22 PM on April 26, 2005

OH YAY! Now we have ironic wristbands to compliment the poser hipster wristbands!

I can't wait to get mine so I can show how cool I am!
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 9:24 PM on April 26, 2005

Steve_at_Linnwood writes "I can't wait to get mine so I can show how cool I am!"

There's a "I Support Our Troops in the 101st Fighting Keyboardists" wristband?
posted by orthogonality at 9:32 PM on April 26, 2005

Finally I can get on at the ground floor of cool.
posted by Krrrlson at 9:32 PM on April 26, 2005

LOL, worst.troll.ever
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 9:33 PM on April 26, 2005

There's a "I Support Our Troops in the 101st Fighting Keyboardists" wristband?
I want one!
posted by stratastar at 9:47 PM on April 26, 2005

First it was colored ribbons, now it's these bracelets. Am I the only person who thinks that charity is a personal (even, occasionally spiritual) endeavor that shouldn't be worn or advertised with vanity/trendyness?

I'm sick of the "Look how charitable I am! Just like everyone else!"

I suppose the various insignia exist in order to create awareness of whatever cause they represent but they catch on and infiltrate popular culture and their meanings become devoid of altruism and goodness they intend to inspire. The bracelets, ribbons, or whathaveyou become commodities and a sign of "fitting in."

Just because you once paid $5 for some trinket doesn't mean you actively support the cause. You're just identifying yourself with supporters.
posted by Jon-o at 10:12 PM on April 26, 2005

That's why I like the poppies that are given out on Remberence Day in Canada - you can have one for free, the donation's "optional."
posted by PurplePorpoise at 10:30 PM on April 26, 2005

Charity or no charity, all those braclets are butt ugly.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:32 PM on April 26, 2005 [1 favorite has favorites]

Am I the only person who thinks that charity is a personal (even, occasionally spiritual) endeavor that shouldn't be worn or advertised with vanity/trendyness?

I often feel the same way. Not to totally go off on a yellow ribbon tangent, but I've sometimes thought that the the way I've seen some yellow ribbon owners/supporters get so protective of the things, and outraged at stories of ribbons being stolen and such, was a little telling. If it was about supporting a cause by donating your money, why do you care so much about the magnet on your car? And the "support our troops" things are the most obnoxious because they don't announce that the owner supports a cause, they instruct everyone else to do as much. I saw a guy with a small, rectangular bumper sticker in a non-gaudy color that read "I support our overseas troops" and I didn't find it half as obnoxious.
posted by ludwig_van at 11:06 PM on April 26, 2005

Not to totally go off on a yellow ribbon tangent

I guess I was lying about that. Sorry.
posted by ludwig_van at 11:07 PM on April 26, 2005

I made a short run of bumper stickers recently to combat the yellow menace:






posted by stenseng at 11:13 PM on April 26, 2005

They also managed to misspell "bracelets". right now its "bracletes".
posted by mrbill at 11:20 PM on April 26, 2005

The next person to criticize something using the word "hipster" is going to be shot.
posted by nightchrome at 11:29 PM on April 26, 2005

stenseng, I'd like to buy one of those!
posted by mcsweetie at 11:31 PM on April 26, 2005

Heh...check out the page linked to "click here to order online", midway through the second paragraph: Believes EPO stands for "Entering Paris On-time"

Can someone please confirm that this is for real? If so, I'll definitely order one but I don't want to fork out my credit card number until I know it's legit.
posted by randomstriker at 11:33 PM on April 26, 2005

Funny article about the multicolor bracelet fad. The ultimate irony? Pink silicone for breast cancer, the same material that breast implants (leakage not withstanding) are made of.
posted by randomstriker at 11:39 PM on April 26, 2005

I'm sure that all those who bought and wear the original yellow wristbands because they are cancer survivors, or the family and friends of cancer survivors, should feel gratified that S@L now considers them 'poser hipsters'.

Fuckwit.

Yes, they got too-quickly appropriated as fashion items, and coined a zillion fatuous imitations, but what-the-fuck-ever. As for 'identifying yourself with supporters': well, yes. There's still the belief that cancer is a death sentence, and a taboo on talking about it: it's that taboo that Lance Armstrong's foundation was created to challenge. (It's not a cure-for-cancer charity; it's a support network and resource for cancer survivors. Visiting the site makes it pretty damn clear.) And those yellow wristbands were, and still are, a catalyst for breaking that taboo. If that tweaks your oh-so-sensitive hipster alarm, too fucking bad.
posted by holgate at 11:41 PM on April 26, 2005

Speaking of jumping on the bandwagon for a good cause (I don't mind the bracelets so much, as long as the money really is going to a good cause - hey, I'm all for viable charities getting donations no matter what it takes) - this company seems to be the newest addition to the bracelet phenomena (although, you don't have to buy the bracelet, you just get it for free if you order something and they donate a small percentage to the charity).

I find it very interesting that such a cheaply made object has become such a symbol... like I said, the ones that actually support a charity don't bother me so much (mulitple members of my family have suffered through cancer, so whatever helps is great!), but those ones that you can just buy at the corner drug store that come in all colors and say stupid shit like "Playa" on them really bug me...
posted by shoppingforsanity at 11:50 PM on April 26, 2005

Hipster is the new godwin.
posted by squirrel at 12:07 AM on April 27, 2005

There's a "I Support Our Troops in the 101st Fighting Keyboardists" wristband?

yeah, it's blood red and there's KILLWRONG written on it

______________

HI NICK!
posted by matteo at 12:07 AM on April 27, 2005

I thought it was QWERTY.
posted by anthill at 12:30 AM on April 27, 2005

GOD DAMN HIPSTERS!
posted by TwelveTwo at 1:40 AM on April 27, 2005

this bien pensant idea that one should keep quiet about one's charity is patently ridiculous, as holgate says. It's the worst kind of false modesty -- you avoid appearing smug or self-aggrandising, and you avoid attracting attention to yourself, but you also avoid giving any exposure to the cause in question. It's just arrant laziness to think that being overtly charitable is somehow vulgar.

What we have here is a confusion of two paradigms: grown-up indie kids, still clinging to their precious ideas of authenticity, are applying their disdain for trends to a phenomenon that certainly does not deserve that kind of criticism. Charities have realised that they can exploit the trend-making process to their own ends, using the same strategies (sending gifts to celebrities to ensure magazine coverage etc) as their counterparts in profit-making organisations -- shouldn't they be getting some recognition for that? I certainly don't think the Livestrong bracelet was 'appropriated' by popular culture; there seemed to be a deliberate plan behind its explosion in popularity (I definitely remember seeing them in magazines long before I saw them on the street).

On another note, I think it says something very positive about the human race that items which proclaim a person's charitable donations have become very fashionable. Of course there are kids wearing these just because they're fashionable, but that only goes to show how great the idea was.
posted by melmoth at 2:04 AM on April 27, 2005

As a wearer of one of the Make Poverty History wristbands, I'm not sure I am qualified to speak out about the spread. (Even though the Make Poverty History campaign is much more about raising the profile and not really about raising money through the sale of pieces of cloth.) That said, I do think it's gone too far when places like this can operate: http://www.britishwristbands.co.uk/
I mean, WTF?
posted by handee at 2:40 AM on April 27, 2005

Let's see, the original Livestrong bracelets raised more than a million dollars for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. What sucks is not bracelets in every color of the rainbow, it's the assholes who sell Livestrong bracelets on Ebay and the c-store owners who have knock-off yellow bracelets on their counter. With that said. Livewrong is funny.
posted by fixedgear at 2:42 AM on April 27, 2005

Wow. Now I know what grandiloquence is, Melmoth. Seriously though, "the worst kind of false modesty?" I'd always thought that the worst kind (in fact, the only kind) was publicly understating one's self worth knowing full well just how good one really is. I've always found it charming myself, but I can see how one might perceive it as patronizing and/or condescending when overdone. But you really believe that one is portraying the worst kind of false modesty by not singing from the rooftops "I gave money to a charity?"

Frankly, I find giving $5 to a charity something difficult to be overly modest about. For most Americans, that is a tiny fraction of the funds that they have available to support good causes. When I give to charities, I usually feel slightly sheepish because I know that it coud be more if I hadn't bought so many books or hadn't taken that trip to the Cape for two weeks.
posted by Cassford at 2:57 AM on April 27, 2005

I've noticed that LOTS of those yellow "Support our Troops" car magnet ribbons have faded to white (unstable cheap yellow ink?), so now they are white ribbons that say "Support our Troops".... but white is the color that means.... oh, wait...
posted by R. Mutt at 4:30 AM on April 27, 2005

Man, I had this idea like a month ago...stupid internet...

Seconded.
posted by yerfatma at 4:39 AM on April 27, 2005

I can't help thinking that these things should have flea repellent in them.
posted by alms at 4:57 AM on April 27, 2005

"No, David. Charity is when you do something for people when other people are watching."
posted by Mayor Curley at 4:59 AM on April 27, 2005

I always thought it was silly to buy something for charity, when that thing almost always has a manufacturing cost that will be deducted from your donation. Better to give cash.
posted by Eideteker at 5:08 AM on April 27, 2005

Pepsi Blue in 5...4...3...2...1.....

I loves me some Pepsi Blue! It is so refreshing!
posted by jaded at 5:08 AM on April 27, 2005

as an avid cyclist, the livestrong bands take on a whole new meaning. i see many people who when asked, have no idea what the yellow wristlets actually stand for, but rather they wear them because they fancy themselves after "mello johnny" and want to seem like they are amongst the "in-crowd".

i bought a pile of livewrong bracelets two months ago and gave them to the real cyclists in my life. they love them because they stand against the posers and the fasionistas. livewrong is not at all about charity, but a shoutout to the antifashion.

then again, i bought some blue "hope" bracelets for my friends whom pretty much all hate the red republicant label recently applied to the great state of new mexico. eh!
posted by coyote's bark at 6:11 AM on April 27, 2005

I always thought it was silly to buy something for charity, when that thing almost always has a manufacturing cost that will be deducted from your donation.

True, but I would guess that the number of extra donations gotten from people who are hooked by the "free gift" makes up for the manufacturing cost in most cases.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 6:16 AM on April 27, 2005

Frankly, I find giving $5 to a charity something difficult to be overly modest about.

I just want to say this is the best line of the week.
posted by languagehat at 6:26 AM on April 27, 2005

I always viewed the original yeller ones as a nice chain of silent support within the cancer community. True, I'm sure the majority of folks of late may not have any clue about that, but I'm not so sure that the goal was to support a cause - rather, it was to support people. That said, this is fairly amusing. :)
posted by kcm at 6:52 AM on April 27, 2005

MeTa
posted by furtive at 7:05 AM on April 27, 2005

I have the privilege of being stationed at work in a kiosk that offers some of the best people watching opportunities around, and get to see all sorts of rubber bracelets. My favorite so far was the one that said "BLING".

Oh, and I'd buy up a few of those bumper stickers in a heartbeat stenseng.
posted by chickygrrl at 7:13 AM on April 27, 2005

The LiveStrong bracelet thing got started after he won his sixth Tour de France last July. So, it wasn't about the yellow ribbons. All proceeds of the bracelets go to charity--and I wouldn't say that's insignificant 'cause I doubt it costs a dollar to manufacture a little yellow silicone ring. I mean, it's not like they even come in different sizes, y'know?

I got my bracelet 'cause I'm a fan of Armstrong, I was impressed by his Tour de France performance, and I don't like cancer. I dunno why people are jumping all over those who buy the bracelets--yeah, I encounter plenty of people who have no clue who Lance Armstrong is but just want the band, but so what? They're just giving more money to charity! Oh, golly, we can't have that happen!

Sometimes I forget that maintaining my cooler-than-thou, "Ahm an indervijul!" elitist aura is more important than anything else in the world--please excuse me why I run through a cancer ward and rip wristbands from the patients. Don't they know they're just pandering to mass society?
posted by schroedinger at 8:44 AM on April 27, 2005

The next person to criticize something using the word "hipster" is going to be shot.
posted by nightchrome at 1:29 AM CST on April 27 [!]

You were trying to be ironic, right?
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 9:56 AM on April 27, 2005

irony is for hipsters
posted by matteo at 10:25 AM on April 27, 2005

I mean, it's not like they even come in different sizes, y'know?

Not to be picky, but they come in adult and youth sizes. And, BTW, due to intense bracelet competition (number & color) among kindergartners, they were just banned at a certain Montessori school I know.
posted by R. Mutt at 10:32 AM on April 27, 2005

I also don't really see the problem with it, even if I find the bracelets distasteful myself. The point is to cash in on trendiness for charity. The Livewrong bracelets seem like the real problem, standing for nothing but cynicism. Fuck em.
posted by OmieWise at 11:02 AM on April 27, 2005

um...maybe Steve_at_Linwood is just infinitely smarter than I am...but I really don't understand why wearing a "livestrong" bracelet makes you a hipster. Everyone I know who wears them is an Armstrong fan, a cancer survivor, or a friend/relative of cancer survivors. Is cancer hip or something? I thought being a hipster had something to do with, like, clothes or music or something....not, um...cancer.

As far as the "livewrong" bracelets...I just don't understand it. Seems like cashing in on a trend to me, nothing more. But when you're so insecure as to your own "coolness" that you are extremely critical of anything that vaguely resembles a trend or anything related to the whole "hipster" thing (hipsters are annoying because they tend to be self-involved, elitist, and usually closeminded, not because they're trendy), I guess you could see it as some "ironic" statement.

Whatev.
posted by scarymonsterrrr at 11:14 AM on April 27, 2005

Mt 6:3

But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.
posted by bukvich at 11:25 AM on April 27, 2005

Everyone I know who wears them is an Armstrong fan, a cancer survivor, or a friend/relative of cancer survivors. Is cancer hip or something? I thought being a hipster had something to do with, like, clothes or music or something....not, um...cancer.

Funny, just about everyone I've met who wears one, has no idea it has to do with cancer.... They just thought it was 'cool'.

I guess I just agree with Jon-o when he says "Am I the only person who thinks that charity is a personal (even, occasionally spiritual) endeavor that shouldn't be worn or advertised with vanity/trendyness?"
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 11:32 AM on April 27, 2005