Ribbons Gone Amiss

In 1989, my dad revealed that he was HIV+. Oddly (or perhaps not), his confession came the same year that The Names Project – AIDS Memorial Quilt was touring to several host cities across the US and Canada. It was a surreal time filled with intense emotion and shock.

Along with the quilt display was a memorial ceremony where the names of people who had died from this devastating disease were read in public. My dad asked me to join him in reading names for the ceremony. I accepted.

I am still confounded by my own inner gumption and emotional fortitude to stand alongside him in a public ceremony all the while knowing that some day his own name would be added to and read from that list. Sadly, his journey was short, and in the summer of 1991, my dad finally succumbed to the infections that had ravaged his body.

Why talk about this 23 years later? And what does it have to do with ribbons?

From an early age, I had a passion for tackling injustices. Not that death is an injustice, necessarily. In fact, it is a moment that we all have to face sooner or later. But the injustices surrounding his death (HIV+ and gay) were what propelled me to look deeper into the dark corners of humanity — or rather, into the eyes of fear and loathing.

In the months following his death, I decided that I would take my own experiences and put them to work as an educator and public speaker. It’s amazing to me that while grieving my own loss, that HIV+ artist Patrick O’Connell and a group called the Visual Aids Artists Caucus were hard at work developing the now iconic Red Ribbon Project.

The symbol was created to bring awareness to the AIDS epidemic and to express compassion and support for people living with AIDS as well as their caregivers. I also view the ribbon as a symbol of hope and memory for those grieving the loss of loved ones. It remains a powerful symbol that became the harbinger of the “cause marketing” we have seen for charities ever since from the pink ribbons for breast cancer to the blue ribbons for child abuse.

The red ribbon has a strong personal connection for me, obviously. However, I also know the power this simple iconic gesture has evoked collectively. The red ribbon was a “flag ship” that brought global awareness and political advocacy to a disease that had provoked an immense amount of fear and loathing. The beauty of this billowing red gesture is in how eloquently it transformed this fear and hate into a message of compassion, positive action and love.

So, where am I going with this?

Let’s spin the clock forward to 2013. Much has changed in how we’ve consumed and used media since the 1990s. What was once a more responsible use of journalism and public protest (or opinion) has been turned on its head through the onslaught of social media (often used anonymously) and an increase in sleazy reality and tabloid TV.

Talk about spotted couches!

Now people can sit with potato chips and pop in front of their television and computer screens letting their own fears and prejudices be aroused into frenzied hate mobs, public bullying and irrational posturing or posting.

In fact, the internet through social media like Facebook and Twitter have taken the use of symbolic or public imagery and opinion to a whole other level — one that can be either greatly empowering or threatening and defamatory.

In 1997, Canadian artist, Shelley Ouellet, crafted a beautifully conceived Quilt sculpture made entirely of a rainbow of ribbons used since the early 90s to promote causes.

As quoted on her website:

“Quilt is based on research into the language of lapel ribbon campaigns in the mid 1990’s. A palette of ten colours was developed to represent more than 100 different ribbon campaigns. Many campaigns shared colours with seemingly opposing forces and aside from the AIDS red ribbon campaign, the symbolism of the ribbon colour was not universally shared by any other organizations at the time.”

The piece is a brilliant and monumental eulogy that speaks to the power of our collective conscience and to the positivity of using popular symbols or iconography to impassion the masses to take positive action or support social causes.

Still wondering where I am going with this?

I was moved to write this article because of my own recent obsession with a high profile Death Penalty trial in the US that has provoked very disparate and disparaging opinions (to say the least). During this trial, both the family and friends of the victim, Travis Alexander, and defendant, Jodi Arias, sported ribbons to represent their particular causes on clothing or through the public use of on line avatars. But there is a vast distinction between the two uses of these ribbons. I will also say that I am not convinced that wearing ribbons in the courtroom was an appropriate venue for showing sympathy or remembrance. A court of law is a place where such biases are supposed to be minimized and not flaunted on lapels for the jury to emote or ponder upon.

In the case of the defendant, the ribbon worn by the family was the Purple Ribbon Campaign for Domestic Violence and Abuse. This also highlights one of the controversies of the case whereby those who want “Justice4Travis” have refused to accept or believe that Jodi Arias may have suffered verbal, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of the victim, Travis Alexander.

In contrast to this Internationally recognized symbol, is the Blue Ribbon “campaign” crafted specifically for “Justice4Travis.” Along with family and friends it was massively promoted by a swarm of public supporters who never met the Alexander family (or even Travis), and only learned about this case through mass media. And in particular, as represented through the salacious and biased “reporting” of the infamous tabloid pundits of HLNTV, Nancy Grace, Dr. Drew, Vinnie Politan et al.

Now let me be clear. I do not believe that Travis Alexander deserved to die , nor in such a brutal way, or that Jodi Arias should not be held accountable for her actions. It’s a tragedy for everyone involved and my heart goes out to all of their family and friends.

But, I am gravely disturbed by the use of a “blue ribbon campaign” to not only amass huge public support during a criminal trial, but to do so with a non-sequestered jury — and then use that ribbon to incite (and encourage) mass intimidation, threats or harassment of witnesses, jurors, lawyers and public citizens who have criticized the fairness of the trial.

It is an insult to causes that affect people on a mass scale and work to promote compassion, positive action and an educated awareness. Within the context of my own experiences, I find this “blue ribbon campaign” to be an offensive use of a collective symbol that has typically brought positive messages to social causes. If the ribbon had been used to bring greater awareness of the plight of victims, then I am sure I would feel quite differently. But sadly, long after this trial, I will not be looking at Blue Ribbons with thoughts or feelings of hope and positivity. Instead, I will be reminded of a public hate campaign that was stirred into a frenzy of cyber bullying and the vilification of the “defendants” — and all of this in the name of justice! What a shame.

So, for me, this “ribbons gone amiss” article ends as a very sad commentary on the maligned use of popular culture, art as advocacy and the freedom of speech that I hold so dearly as an artist, writer and global citizen.

I would love to read your comments — so please, just hit the comment link and talk away.  Thank you!