Symbolic deeds weak substitute for real action

Megan Roush Roush is a third-year American
literature and culture and French student whose birthday always
falls during Red Ribbon Week (Argh!). Wish her a happy 2-0 by
e-mailing her at [email protected]. Click
Here for more articles by Megan Roush

During the week of Oct. 23-31, we take the time to recognize
that drug abuse remains a serious problem in our nation. We go
about recognizing this problem in a decidedly futile way: we wear
red ribbons.

The idea for a week of drug abuse recognition came after the
tragic death of Enrique Camarena, a Drug Enforcement Administration
Agent, who was killed during a drug bust in Mexico in 1985. To
recognize this young man’s death, members of his family and
his community began wearing red ribbons in protest of drug abuse
and the violence it creates.

Since then, wearing red ribbons during the last week in October
has become a national annual tradition. Wearing a red ribbon today
means “no use of illegal drugs, and no illegal use of legal
drugs,” which is a slogan of the Red Ribbon Campaign.
(http://pages.prodigy.net/marlaw/red.htm).

This recognition program is directed primarily at school-age
children. Schools use it as a way to educate kids about the dangers
and health risks associated with drug abuse. Schools give red
ribbons to children to wear during the week, and they often
organize activities, such as tying ribbons on trees and fences,
organizing poster and slogan contests, or offering prizes to
children who wear their ribbons all week.

Illustration by ERICA PINTO/Daily Bruin To me, Red Ribbon Week
is a misuse of good energy. I’m not against teaching kids
about drug abuse; I’m against the passivity and the symbolism
that goes into promoting a program like Red Ribbon Week. I’m
against any program that doesn’t have a direct effect on
America’s drug problem, or that fails to directly engage
children in their community’s problem.

Unless the program is backed up with action and information that
benefits both the community and the children who live in it, Red
Ribbon Week teaches kids that serious problems can be addressed
solely through symbolic means.

As a society, we seem to enjoy symbolic acts, or at least
wearing ribbons. Every disease and social problem seems to have a
ribbon these days. We tie yellow ribbons around trees to end wars,
wear pink ribbons to stop breast cancer, sport green ribbons to
save the environment, and at UCLA, we even put daisies behind our
ears to stop the global oppression of women. If you want to see how
much the idea of “ribbon campaigns” has proliferated,
check out a Web site that lists 192 different ribbons all
representing some kind of social or political crusade. (http://www.gargaro.com/ribbons.html).

The campaigns range from the serious, such as AIDS awareness and
Mothers Against Drunk Driving, to the asinine, such as the
“Free Beer Online” campaign that demands freedom to
drink beer for internet users (they have a brown ribbon).
There’s even a ribbon campaign to end all ribbon campaigns.
There are so many ribbons that they are virtually meaningless, and
even laughable.

Our culture’s obsession with ribbons and similar objects
of symbolism concerns me. By promoting a program like Red Ribbon
Week, we teach kids that symbolism can be used to deal with
problems in lieu of concrete solutions. This same sort of mentality
is what leads some conservative Christians to believe that posting
the Ten Commandments in classrooms will stop school violence.

Symbolism has to be reinforced with real action. No amount of
green ribbons is going to change the fact that there are still a
million cars on the 405, and you couldn’t pay me to swim in
the water at the beaches off Santa Monica.

Perhaps our culture likes ribbons because it’s easier to
say “I’m trying to create awareness” than to
actually get up and do something about the problem. I must
seriously question, however, the effect that wearing ribbons or
flowers has on problems.

Some proponents of Red Ribbon Week claim that children who
participate in such programs are less likely to do drugs, but
consider what kinds of communities and school districts participate
in Red Ribbon Week. Programs such as this take time and energy, as
well as funds, to organize, and it’s no surprise that
wealthier school districts where there are fewer
“at-risk” youths are the same districts covered in red
ribbons in late October. I never participated in the program until
I moved into a neighborhood with a wealthy school district that was
replete with supportive, middle-class parents.

The application of the program in a neighborhood where there is
actually a problem would be more beneficial than promoting
awareness in a safe neighborhood. For example, Dykstra Hall
promoted an AIDS awareness program last year. What if a similar
program were promoted at an inner-city school or in a third-world
country? UCLA students, and college students in general, already
have AIDS awareness because we are educated people, and not because
people placed paper “blue lights” in their dorm
windows.

I feel my decision to remain drug-free has more to do with
growing up in a clean, safe environment with caring parents than
with having worn a red ribbon in grade school. I’m really
skeptical of the proclaimed success of a program like Red Ribbon
Week.

Although I think the overall concept of recognizing
America’s drug problem is extremely positive and, indeed,
beneficial to youth, the ribbon idea has been blown out of
proportion. To get students involved, schools should hold
fundraisers that will benefit local charities or drug abuse
programs, or facilitate volunteer programs associated with these
organizations. The programs should purposefully force students to
go out of their safe communities and confront the realities of
inner-city or underprivileged neighborhoods where their efforts
might actually make a difference.

The ribbons should not be a substitute for real drug education,
either. It’s not enough for a child to wear a ribbon and
blindly pledge to be drug free and to “just say no.” A
child should learn why drugs can be dangerous, understand the
difference between drug use and drug abuse, and most importantly,
develop the self-esteem and confidence necessary to make their own
choices about drugs.

To all ribbon-wearers, I encourage you to do something more
productive with your time, energy and money. I refuse to wear a
ribbon for AIDS awareness, but I do make regular donations to the
L.A. AIDS Foundation. And I’ll spend time searching for a
recycling bin on campus before I’ll don a green Earth Day
ribbon.

Don’t show your support for a cause by wearing a ribbon;
take action and get involved, even if it’s on a small
scale.