Thursday, February 2, 2012

EXCLUSIVE to BooBeeTrap..."Ms. Brinker Bares All on the Latest Battle of Political Agendas: Profit vs Women's Health (...not again!)"

******
******


STOP the PRESS!!!!

With all the online flurry about Susan G. Komen, I felt I could not add anything original to the current virulent discourse. Then I was given the unique opportunity to interview Ms. Nancy Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen. What a coup for an Anti-Pink Blogging Grumbler such as myself. Ms. Brinker would only allow seven (7) select questions in this exclusive interview. She wanted to to tap dance aroundjustify, put to rest all the speculation circling regarding Susan G. Komen's recent controversial decision to pull funding for breast cancer screening, medical referrals and mammograms for women who utilize the services of Planned Parenthood. A "set-the-record straight" tete-a-tete. Despite the sensitive nature of this topic, Ms. Brinker  PROMISEd ME that she would answer honestly on all accounts. A one-time only exclusive for all you Boo-Bee Trap fans!

All right it only took place in my head, and I didn't draft the questions - Nancy from Nancy's Point http://nancyspoint.com/susan-g-komen-for-the-cure-planned-parenthood-a-tidal-wave/ was the author of the insightful questions in bold, below. But wouldn't it have been refreshing - a candid discussion with Nancy G. Brinker!?

This is how it played out in my head:



1. Do you genuinely care about the health of all women? 

Old adage, "actions speak louder than words" - because of SGK's actions in this instance and in the way we have historically and consciously decided not to address issues, like metastatic breast cancer (you know...that loser cancer cause) I would think you already know the answer to this question....The answer is a resounding NO, not ALL women -- only the vocal right wing conservative non-minority women. You know, the ones that can actually afford to pay, or have comprehensive health care that pays, for breast cancer screening. And, of course those women that Rep. Stearn tell me are the "good women." He's been compling a list.

2. When did caving to political pressure from any source become acceptable for an organization like Komen, the self-proclaimed world leader in the fight against breast cancer?

It  all became acceptable when my little "nonprofit" greedily took money from companies that perpetuate cancer (by the wide spread commercial use of known carcinogens) -- it is a lucrative reciprocal business relationship after all. This discriminating myopia was reinforced when we got away with requisitioning a product, for profit and marketed to women, containing identified hormone disruptors. It was a brilliant business decision as it ensures our longevity as a necessary organization. BTW, I brought you a complimentary bottle of PROMISE ME, since I was informed prior to our interview that you are a stage IV cancer patient. Honestly honey, what harm can a little PROMISE ME behind the ears do to you in your situation? And make sure to share it with your daughters - if SGK is going to thrive through the 21st Century we need the next-generation.

3. Unfortunately, I have to ask, is this really about breast cancer, or is it more about pro-choice vs pro-life agendas and possible contributions Komen may or may not receive if they do not pull funds from Planned Parenthood?

It was an economy of scales decision: the extreme right-wing conservative political faction in this country hold more wealth than the minority/women population served by that sketchy organization, Planned Parenthood. SGK may well alienate the "liberal" financial base that is outraged by the burden and impact of our decision, but SGK will still be able to meet targeted fundraising goals through our now public support of these new BFFs. There is a great surge in the country to undermine efforts in making health care affordable and accessible to all, SGK does not want to be behind the curve on this surge.

4. Since many women rely on Planned Parenthood for all of their health care needs, do you really want to send the message you don’t care about them? What if they die from an undetected cancer? Don’t their lives matter?

They will be dead, duh! Our lawyers have advised us that since we are not obligated to provide this service. We are a nonprofit philanthropic organization so we don't need to do everything for everyone. Well, our lawyers advised that, because of our 501(C)(3)status, the surviving families of THOSE dead women will not have any legal causation for a wrongful death suit. So, in a nutshell, since there is no liability on our end...NO...they are not even a blip on our spreadsheets! Then there is the consideration of our new BFFs on the right. They showed SGK's board that statistically PP's target population have low voter turn outs, so they don't calculate on their spreadsheets either. Our messages is: this decision is a win-win for us and our well-heeled BFFs. Besides, I have truly exaggerated the impact that SGK has had in deterring breast cancer deaths over the last 30 years. Bottom-line (don't you just love that term!) my obligation is to our financial stake-holders...oops, maybe I shouldn't have said that, that may be in violation of SGK's by-laws as a 501(C)(3). You will delete that last statement, right?



5.  And why the sudden change of heart? Komen has been partnering with Planned Parenthood since 2005. That’s seven years. This “investigation” came to the forefront in 2011. Grants from Komen totaled around $680,000 last year and $580,000 the year before, allowing Planned Parenthood to provide breast cancer screenings and other breast-health guidance services to more women in need at 19 of its affiliates.

Ms. Handel - our new, very out-spoken, vociferously anti-choice crusader, was hired 18 months ago. Part of our employment contract with her was that we would indeed make strides to transition away from our prior 6 year support of screening, referrals, etc. to THAT population served, largely in-part by Planned Parenthood. This was a real stickler for Ms. Handel. Well, Ms. Handel is a real go-getter and rallied the dormant politicized myopic agendas of our other board members and took care of business faster than we could all imagine. Securing her for SGK has been a real feather in our philanthropic cap.

6. Shouldn’t this be something Komen is proud of, not halting?

Despite what I said to the prior question (#4) - because I really don't have any qualms being inconsistent or contradictory, SGK continues to be proud of the significant inroads we have made over the last 30 years in striking a significant blow to the prevention and cure of breast cancer...even if over 40,000 women die of MBC every year in this country. Interestingly, no matter how many 3-day walks we hold, that number really has not significantly changed in the 30 years we have been in existence! I need to talk to the board about stepping up production of  BPA filled plastic pink water bottles...but I digress. Well, I am proud to be fulfilling the promise I made to my sister on her deathbed...um...that only a SELECT group of women who align with my political & religious ideologies will be afforded access to potentially life-saving health care! Between you and me, it is a good thing Susan is not here, she would so rip me a new one right now!

7.  How do you justify eliminating funds to support Planned Parenthood while also proclaiming commitment to your mission?

I am proud to be fulfilling the promise I made to my sister on her deathbed...um...that only a select group of women who align with my political & religious ideologies will be afforded access to potentially life-saving health care! Oh cr*p...did I just say that out loud, twice? This interview is so over - when you have this much Botox in your face, it really is hard to pontificate for long periods. Don't forget your PROMISE ME!

6 comments:

  1. I didnt know whether to laugh or cry when I read this - laugh because your imagined responses were hysterically funny, or cry because they were so close to the truth...
    Here in New Zealand our breast cancer organisations arent as bad as SGK and for that I am very grateful reading as I do a lot of US breast cancer blogs.
    As a metastatic Inflammatory Breast Cancer patient I would be doubly invisible to SGK

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jenny - Warm welcome to you from Drury. I had to find a way to laugh at this G-d awful, ludicrous situation. To do otherwise would just send me further into a tailspin as I lose faith in our society. If you read Nancy'sPoint, she was my inspiration with her insightful, and sadly rhetorical (becasue of the corporate behavior or SGK) questions. SGK just keeps living down to all our expectations.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I would love to see you get your hands on Ms. Brinker for an interview! That would be one worth watching! (Did you see the one she did with Andrea Mitchell?) Your points are well made through your sarcasm. Sadly, as Jenny sad, your "answers" aren't that far off base. Thanks for taking my post another step further!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nancy - THANK YOU for the inspiration and the poignant questions. I'm working on getting an interview with R.Stearn. ;-} Keep you posted. ~TC

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, Nancy's Point raised excellent questions indeed. Don't you wish you could get your questions answered by Brinker herself? But it would be frustrating, as I'm sure nothing substantial would ever come of it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beth - I agree on all points - NANCY's questions were, as you see, very thought provoking. Did you see Andrea Mitchell's interview with Brinker herself...all I heard was tap dancing.

      Delete