Let's talk about bumper stickers.
Over the years, I've found this to be pretty much axiomatic -- the more bumper stickers a person has on his car, the less likely you'd want to talk to him (or her). This is especially true of cars that are filled with political bumper stickers. Consider this example, from a vehicle in Portland: what are the chances that this individual can tell you anything that you don't already know? I would imagine that every opinion this person has is expressed on the back of the vehicle. The one that's especially amusing is the one that says "Think Outside The Box," especially when juxtaposed with just about every liberal nostrum that on offer these days.
With the various campaigns now in full swing, we'll start to see a few more bumper stickers. As I make my current, not-exactly-carbon-neutral commute from New Brighton to Burnsville each day, I'm starting to see Obama stickers, some Hillary! stickers and a few McCain stickers. And sometimes I see a phenomenon that's always amused me -- campaign stickers for these guys on vehicles that weren't available in 2004, like this one. I saw a version of that combination today as I was working my way through the Crosstown commons.
Dr. Helen (the wife of Glenn "Instapundit" Reynolds) noticed something else about the campaign stickers that are starting to appear, too.
I looked up both of the official websites of the two candidates and got a
kick out of the differences in the bumper stickers and logos. Here are
McCain's bumper stickers-- note that they are plain although
there is one that says "Veterans for McCain." Obama's bumper
stickers, in contrast, run the gamut from "African Americans for
Obama," to "Latinos for Obama" to "Women for Obama" all the way to "Asian
Americans/ Pacific Islanders" for Obama." I have to hand it to him, he does
include "Republicans for Obama," but why break everyone up into every group
imaginable? Good grief. I thought Obama was supposed to be the candidate
that brought us all together, in spite of race. It seems to me that even his
bumper stickers emphasize the differences between us--rather than just being
Americans, suddenly, we're divided into whatever group we belong to. Is that
really the message he wants to send?
It's a fair question, doncha think?
HT: Instapundit
5 comments:
that's some flawed logic.
i would think the more bumper stickers the more open to discussing their opinion and various ideas the person might be, so they're exactly someone i would want to talk to.
someone without bumper stickers would be like opening a book about their life and finding nothing but blank pages.
something someone with a blog should understand.
-m
Mark,
I am pretty much in agreement with you on this bumper sticker stuff, although I don't have a problem with folks showing support for political candidates and sports teams (collegiate or pro) when not over done.
The stickers I personally find most loathesome are the ones designed to make other people think you are smarter than them, or that you know something they don't. Examples: "Subvert the Dominant Paradigm", ENTROPY (usually on a sports car), COEXIST (spelled out in cute little religious symbols), etc. You get the piture. Nothing like broadcasting how smart you are to the world.
But I can't be too much in agreement with you. It just wouldn't seem right. So I do have to add that I found your and Helen Hewitt's tangent on Obama bumper stickers to be a complete hoot. You both are really grasping at straws here, and you don't have a leg top stand on. In three months, you will be able to by 30 different McCain stickers on TownHall.com, WorldNetDaily and NRO. And this is made all the more amusing by my personal recollection that 4 years ago, the Hewitt's themselves were shilling about 20 flavors of Dubya stickers for fun and profit on FreeRepublic.com. I know GWB is a Uniter, not a divider, but he sure did have a lot of different people sporting tailored bumper stickers for him. I had neighbors with Illinois Snowmobilers For Bush, MaryKay Women for W, Michigan Sportsmen for Bush and W is for Women stickers. I didn't agree with them, but I never thought of trying to make political hay out bumper sticker diversity. It's an election, and it only happens once every 4 years. Let the people wave their freak flags.
Regards,
Rich
It would appear that you're missing my point, anonymous lowercase m. It's been my experience that the type of person who would cover the back of their car isn't someone who's looking for dialogue. Such people are looking for a monologue. And it's been my experience that people who are looking to monlogue aren't pleasant company. Your mileage may vary.
By the way, the only sticker I have on my car is one promoting my alma mater. I'm likely to add one sticker to my car later this year, supporting my local candidate for the Minnesota House. But I won't have a dozen. Other motorists don't need to know what I think about every issue.
And here's the thing about a blog - you can run it any way you want. 'Round here, I tend to have dialogue. And when I disagree with someone, I try to be pleasant about it. You've posted here twice, I've noticed. I'm glad you're here and I appreciate the challenges.
Rich,
Two things - Helen is married to Glenn Reynolds, not Hugh Hewitt. That's just housekeeping. As for the larger point; you may be right that McCain may have "Left Handed Lithuanians for McCain" stickers on offer at some point. The only variations on Bush stickers I saw up here were a few "Viva Bush" stickers. I did see a similar demographic sprinkling of Kerry stickers to what Obama is offering. There is at least a little irony in a guy who is trying to get past identity politics trafficking in it on his website. But what do I know -- I'm a typical white person. ;)
I'd also humbly suggest that bumper stickers offered by third parties like the Freepers and Townhall are different than ones that issue directly from a campaign. But we can agree to disagree about that.
Please understand -- I support people waving their freak flag. It helps identify who the freaks are and that's always useful information.
I'm pretty much with Rich on this one, especially when it comes to that that obnoxiously sanctimonious "COEXIST" sticker.
One use Mark doesn't mention is that in many cases bumper stickers are actually better than duct tape for covering up rust holes on a Minnesota winter beater. A few strategically placed stickers can sucessfully tweak liberal weenies in their silly little Kyoto Pious hybrids while at the same time substantially reduce drafts and the risk of frostbite for the beater driver.
If you are a liberal welfare recipient who is forced to drive a crappy rustbucket because the government is not generous enough you could make good use of Knuth and McCollum bumper stickers as it is a proven fact that there is nothing stronger than the glue on the back of a loser politician's bumper sticker.
Mark,
thanks for the clarification on the Hewitt/Reynolds thing. I do know better, but sometimes all those typical right wing radio hosts look the same to me. It was Reynolds and his wife selling election paraphernalia. )I really shouldn't be blogging at 3am).
Rich
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