The Journal

Issue date: 4/12/07 Section: Opinion/Editorial

Rachel Lebo

Rubber bracelets have come to represent the fight against disease, war, political movements and now - whining. They cover most of the colors of the spectrum. There are knockoffs, fakes and a lot of people already wear them.


The newest color of rubber wristbands to join the ranks of awareness bracelets is purple, which now represents wearers' efforts to stop complaining. One of the more archaic methods of stopping bad habits, snapping a rubber band against the wrist, is being ignored for a less painful method. Regardless of my own habit of complaining every day, at least once a day about my out-of-date laptop, this movement toward a complaint-free world is a good suggestion and should not be taken lightly. I'll gladly don a bracelet if it gets my roommate to stop throwing things at my head every time I grumble under my breath about bad battery life.


The purple bracelets aren't that bad. Some people need a kick-start to have a positive outlook on life, and cutting down on griping could do just that. Others find no problem complaining a little, so as long as cynicism isn't the only thing verbalized throughout the day.


Complaining can be good at times. However, despite what these bracelets signify, the ability to complain about a boss, coworkers, classmates, neighbors, family, pets and troubling situations can be therapeutic. Where would half of the blogs on the Internet be if the world was truly complaint-free?


The bracelet was developed after Pastor Will Bowen, of Kansas City, Mo., gave a Sunday sermon that inspired church members to resist the urge to complain and gossip.


The Web site for Bowen's church stated that, as of April 7, 4 million bracelets had been mailed out to families, sports teams, other churches, businesses, prisons and schools. This includes mailings to Germany, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, Turkmenistan, Estonia, Nairobi, Tamil Nadu and Peru. The reach of these little rubbers is worldwide.


Members of the church volunteer their time to pack and prepare the envelopes to be mailed, and the church pays all postage. The bracelets are free, but donations for the bracelets are given to the church for production costs and postage.


Bowen introduced the purple bracelet idea July 2006, and the objective to have a company produce the bracelet was revisited and reprised August 2006. Soon after, the bracelets were created and church members began striving for 21 complaint-free days. When the Kansas City Star wrote an article about the bracelets, the story spread like wildfire.

Continued...

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