Driver suspended for pink tie

[The Straight Story]

Driver suspended for pink tie


SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Oct. 14 (UPI) -- An Illinois bus driver said he was given a one-day, unpaid suspension for wearing a pink tie in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

William "Bill" Jones, 46, said he wore his pink tie to work with the Springfield Mass Transit District on the first Friday in October as part of a campaign encouraging men to wear pink on October Fridays as a reminder to women to get annual mammograms, the Springfield State Journal-Register reported Wednesday.

Jones said he was ordered to change out of the pink tie and was later informed of the suspension as a consequence for breaking the district's strict dress code.

However, officials ruled after the incident that drivers can wear pink on Fridays in October as part of the monthlong awareness push.

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2009/10/14/Driver-suspended-for-pink-tie/UPI-19261255551793/

[obliviously]

1. That was an intresting little tit bit!

[ecstatic]

2. Freudian slip?

[obliviously]

3. I have a warped sence of humor.

But on the serious side my sister had breast cancer. They caught it in time and were able to remove it all. On reconstruction she had them bump both of them up a couple extra sizes. That made her twin sister jealous so another operation was in order. Now they have two matching pairs and are quite happy. It's been about nine years with no recurrence.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. One of my best friends died of breat cancer

Which is why I don't joke about it. Nor do I find levity fitting to the subject matter.

[obliviously]

6. people die of everything

Imaginable it's part of being human.

[Berry Cool]

4. Well, that was kind of a dumb action for the bus company

but to tell you the truth, I don't need any man wearing a pink tie to "remind me to get my annual mammogram." Besides, mammograms don't prevent breast cancer, they only detect it--and sometimes what they detect is something that would never really cause a lot of trouble anyway. They also bathe the breasts in radiation every time you get one, which is a calculated risk.

We need a better diagnostic alternative to mammograms. We need real prevention for breast cancer. We need better treatment for breast cancers that are horrifyingly aggressive no matter how "early" they are detected. We need all that way, way more than we need guys wearing pink ties to remind us to get mammograms.

For some people, breast cancer is a whole lot more than the opportunity to get the boob job of their dreams.