Supporting “Not-Supporting”

Often I find myself wanting to support charitable causes for which I agree with or find an emotional connection to. Especially when it comes to causes that friends or family members find comfort in and advocate for. The perfect example of this is October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Some of my friends have found this cause to be very personal in their own lives and therefore go above and beyond to support and promote it. One of the ways they are doing so is by redecorating their blogs to participate in the “Pink for October” sub-campaign. However, in this case, for this cause:

I won’t be redecorating my blog. I won’t be posting a support badge or telling stories about how breast cancer has personally impacted my life. I won’t be wearing a pink ribbon and I won’t be going out of my way to buy specially marked “pink products” at the store.

What does this mean? Am I an anti-boob Nazi and a cold-hearted consumer (and friend)? Or maybe I’m just an uneducated moron? Does my “not-supporting”* mean I’m saying that by default that I’m against breast cancer awareness, or that I don’t acknowledge the need for breast cancer awareness support?

When I make a conscious decision to be an “not-supporter”* for a cause, the decision sometimes feels as if I’m turning my back, or denying the importance of what the cause stands for. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Oftentimes, I see people and places (i.e. businesses) “supporting” for the sake of being a part of a trend, but not so much for the sake of the cause. In those cases, what is the motivation behind supporting that cause? Is that motivation selfless or does it have an ulterior motive?

IMHO, to dedicate oneself (or one’s blog as in “Pink for October”) to a cause should mean that by doing so the motivation isn’t to obtain popularity or an attempt for more blog readership. It should be because one truly believes in and supports what is being represented. The motivation for supporting should be pure and uninhibited. If one is going to be a supporter (of any cause) one should support something one believes in or something that one has personally had experience with. One should never support a cause “just to be a part of something”… Sometimes there’s something to be said about being a “not-supporter” that speaks volumes about what one DOES support and how convicted one is to those other causes.

With that reasoning, I can’t be a “Pink for October” blogger - I can (and am) for awareness, education and the dedicated efforts of all individuals who get out the word. I applaud my friends who dedicate themselves and their blogs because of their personal experiences as well as their personal ties to the cause. I support my friends, but I’m a “not-supporter” of the cause. I’m not personally involved enough with the cause of breast cancer awareness to be the flag-flier or the blog re-decorator.

There aren’t enough hours in the day to support everything and every one. So, if we’re smart supporters we make (sometimes difficult) choices. While I consider myself an advocate, I can’t (and shouldn’t) champion every cause, every time.

* To me there is a difference between not supporting a cause and being nonsupportive. In this post I’ve used the made-up terminology “not-supporting” and “not-supporter” for this reason. I’m not a “non” or “un” supportive bystander, just a “not-supporting” blogger.