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Yay or Nay? Bananas For Bumper Stickers?

Thu, 02/07/2008 - 6:00am by CitizenSugar
356 Views - 41 comments



Curious phenomenon, bumper stickers. When in the course of human events did we find it most important to voice our personal philosophy, loudly, in sticker-format, directly to the person behind us in traffic? Are cars a good vehicle for political discussion?

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41 Comments Add a Comment

  • KrisSugar's picture
    KrisSugar
    1

    I was raised by a very civic minded mother, but the impression i got from her was that your right to vote went hand in hand with your right to privacy. it wasn't polite to talk about who you voted for, and if anyone asked you had the right to tell them it was none of their business. I guess that's the small-town girl in both of us, who like to be free from persecution. not to mention, arguments with people we love. so for me, bumper stickers are out of the question.

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • wackdoodle's picture
    wackdoodle
    4

    If your bumper has more than 6 words its too long. If its a paragraph- its too long. If people cannot tell what color your vehicle is and cannot tell if you have a back window because of the number of bumper stickers you have it's time for the goo-be-gone.

    I've got two stickers on my car. One says Major League B*tch it looks like a Major League Baseball sticker except its a woman raising her fist to smack the crap out of someone. The other sticker is of the wonderful Madonna dancing like a spazz from the Confessions Tour. Both are small.

    I learned quickly political statement bumper stickers in SF will get your tires slashed and your car keyed.

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • ilanac13's picture
    ilanac13
    5

    i'm definitely not into that piece of self expression. it's funny - my grandmother used to have a TON of those on her car and she said that it made it easier for her to identify her car in a parking lot - but i'm sure that it was also some what politically driven.

    i don't like any bumper stickers - regardless of what the message is

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • FinnLover's picture
    FinnLover
    6

    The first time my boyfriend went to the USA, he couldn't stop laughing at those idiots on the roads. Seriously, it's an American phenomenon. Never seen a car with more than one bumper sticker in the +40 countries I've been to so far in my life.

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • hausfrau's picture
    hausfrau
    7

    Wackdoodle - I agree with you. Having political bumper stickers on your car, no matter what side you're on, is like saying Give me the finger! Make snap judgements about my intelligence!

    It's asking for trouble, and does it really ever make anyone else think anyways?

    Though I do love a good funny bumper sticker, I saw one of those Scion XBs or Honda Element looking things that had a sticker that said "How does it feel to have been passed by a toaster?" I still laugh about that!

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • raciccarone's picture
    raciccarone
    9

    As the Central Committee Chairman of The People's Republic of China, I can safely say that after seeing so many bumperstickers advocating a "Free Tibet", I am now considering this. I had no idea this subject was so important to people.

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • kh61582's picture
    kh61582
    10

    I don't have a car so I guess maybe this isn't the best discussion for me to get into however my question is why is the question formed to promote the liberal agenda! Why Kerry/Edwards? Why can't you say "I want people to know I voted for Bush/Cheney?"
    Just goes to show you how liberal this site really is.

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • wackdoodle's picture
    wackdoodle
    11

    Oh I forgot I'm waiting for my new #88 bumper sticker to arrive before Nascar season starts. Then Madonna will go byebye in favor of Dale Jr. Ummm Dale Jr...sorry drooling.

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • hausfrau's picture
    hausfrau
    12

    kh - what's wrong? you don't like "groupthinksugar"???

    hehehe Smiling

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • gigill's picture
    gigill
    13

    I voted "yay!" not in the sense that I'd actually put one on my car, but I'm all about freedom of expression and if that's what people want to do, then so be it.

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • Princesskitty22's picture
    Princesskitty22
    14

    I have a sticker of the Pink Panther on my car because it's cute and I can identify it in the parking lot, but I don't need to tell total strangers my political views through snappy phrases plastered all over my car. lol

    Here in Michigan quite a few people have one that reads "Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign!" One time I saw this sticker on a Toyota and laughed so hard I nearly crashed my car.

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • foxie's picture
    foxie
    16

    The Kerry/Edwards stickers are as retarded as stickers of the Confederate flag. It's over, ditch the sticker already. I have 2 on my car that I had custom made at Zazzle.com. One just says "Love Animals? Then stop eating them." and the other matches it and says "Meetyourmeat.com." If it even causes one person to change their minds, then I've helped save 60+ animals, so it's totally worth it.

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • CitizenSugar's picture
    CitizenSugar
    17

    Hiya kh61582! I picked the Kerry/Edwards example because in my neighborhood, I see more bedraggled specimens of that variety than any other. But..."liberal"? I'm glad to see I'm keeping a good mix of coverage Smiling
    http://citizensugar.com/1013154

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • Bookish's picture
    Bookish
    19

    I love reading them, but I wouldn't put a political one on my car.

    I do have a sticker on my car now, but it's of the "My kid is student of the month" variety.

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • remedios's picture
    remedios
    20

    raciccarone - I like your sense of humor.

    There are a number of different thoughts from this question -
    --I prefer t-shirts
    --I don't like stickers on the car at all - figure it decreases the value (if not literally at least aesthetically)
    --I had a Radiohead sticker on my last car. All things Radiohead. Radiohead increases aesthetic value of everything.
    --T-shirts and bumper stickers are easier than writing letters
    --How many people really write letters to their politicians?
    --Stickers as ads for an ideology help people think it's ok to hold that belief; ads can help
    --CitizenSugar is schizophrenic.

    Ok, I made that last one up. But until I'm proven otherwise, I'm sticking with it. (That would explain the McCain vote though... kidding.. kidding!)

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • CitizenSugar's picture
    CitizenSugar
    22

    Oh no! Liberal AND schizophrenic, remedios? I am having a hard morning, aren't I? Smiling

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • popgoestheworld's picture
    popgoestheworld
    24

    I love bumper stickers that are hilarious. All the other ones are pointless in my opinion. I don't care if you love dogs, or hate the french.

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • littlemissme's picture
    littlemissme
    25

    This really must be an American phenomenon...I've never seen any other country have bumper stickers on their cars like this Puzzled I don't see anything wrong with it, unless it blocks the whole backside of the car, like in the pic

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • brittanyk's picture
    brittanyk
    26

    I love bumper stickers. I can honestly say I don't have any, but some of the ones just crack me up. A cheesy? Yes. A little tacky? Most of the time. Definitely American. I'd rather see a bumper sticker on a car than a tacky, air brushed vanity plate from Florida stating John's love for Jane or whatever. haha. Smiling

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • CaterpillarGirl's picture
    CaterpillarGirl
    27

    I have one sticker on my car, its been there on the bottom right hand corner for 10 years, its Siouxsie and the Banshees and the girl is all cracked and peeling.

    I cant stand political, humorous bumperstickers. Here in florida I see them all.

    -the "memorial" stickers you know the "john smith 1973-2007 we luv ya bro" ones. Everytime you go to put groceries in your car its like "oh yeah john is dead" its MORBID

    -the "Git r done" or "dale earnhardt" numbers

    -the calvin pissing on something

    -the gigundus magnetic ribbons to support troops, end the war, get your boobs checked etc..

    -happy bunny, emily strange,or any other hot topic top seller.

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • bluesarahlou's picture
    bluesarahlou
    29

    My friend and I routinely text message funny bumper stickers to each other....there are some pretty funny ones out there! I love reading them but I'd never put one on my car (its brand new! Smiling )

    Another thing...you're about 60% more likely to get rear ended if you have a bumper sticker on the back of your car.

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • bluesarahlou's picture
    bluesarahlou
    30

    Ugh. The peeing Calvins really irk me...and here's why..

    Being a Calvin & Hobbes fan...its pretty well known that Bill Watterson refused to merchandise his comic strip, because he felt it would devalue the characters and their personalities.

    So basically those peeing Calvins are stolen images from a wonderful artist.

    They don't even celebrate the comic strip, they're just a lame way to show your distaste for something (ford, chevy, ICE (yes I've seen it) ).

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • AKirstin's picture
    AKirstin
    31

    Yeah, almost every time I see them they are the same dozen or so stickers/decals. At this point I don't even notice what they actually say, I just notice that the person driving is really sheep-like.

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • omilawd's picture
    omilawd
    32

    Bumper stickers are very tacky. If I wanted to voice my opinion, I'd do so orally instead of sticking someone else's words on the back of my car.

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • LesleyP825's picture
    LesleyP825
    33

    Ticky tacky!

    Someone bought me a bumper sticker that said, "My Chihuahua is smarter then your honor student." Thought it was very cute but there was no way I was sticking that on my car!!

    42 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • KrisSugar's picture
    KrisSugar
    34

    i just have to say when the peeing Calvin stickers were popular, i made myself a rule. if i a guy had a peeing calvin sticker on his truck, that was a deal breaker. or anything to do with the silent war between Fords and Chevy's.
    Now in the case of Free Tibet, honestly that bumper sticker was the first I had ever heard that there was a problem in Tibet. so I learned something. I also learned who Ron Paul was via bumper sticker.
    I tend to think that if you HAVE to have a sticker, you should pick one message and go with it. A college sticker doesn't count. (I have one).

    42 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • freegracefrom's picture
    freegracefrom
    35

    I think anyone that might've had a "Bush/Cheney" bumper sticker on their car peeled that sucker off a looooong time ago.

    42 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • Schaianne's picture
    Schaianne
    36

    I hate bumper stickers. I have a small American flag sticker and a small German flag sticker on my back window, though.

    42 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • Michelin's picture
    Michelin
    37

    CitizenSugar, I disagree with ther person who said your site is overly liberal. I have found your coverage fair and balanced. However, voting for John McCain is not going to help your case. He's the most liberal candidate running in the GOP race, he might as well be a democrat...

    42 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • ktacce's picture
    ktacce
    38

    i hate those calvin stickers too! i am passionate about bill watterson, and it makes me as angry as it does, you, bluesarahlou!

    i used to be a big bumpersticker person, then i realized that i could have my opinions and now i just have a UNC Chapel Hill sticker (cause i'm a tar heel LOUD AND PROUD!) australia and martha's vineyard sticker. i feel like places are much less annoying to face when you're driving!

    42 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • ktacce's picture
    ktacce
    39

    oooh but, i will decide in traffic whether or not to let someone over based on their stickers. yes, yes i will.

    42 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • Matdredalia's picture
    Matdredalia
    40

    Personally, my answer is: why not both of the poll results? I may slap bumper stickers on my car but I can also be politically active in other, more direct ways.

    Personally, I wear my politics on my sleeve. I have an opinion and I'm not afraid to let the world know just how I feel.

    42 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • MandyJoBo's picture
    MandyJoBo
    41

    I like bumper stickers because it gives me something to look at in the car. People want to differentiate their selves from the millions of other people that are all basically the same. At the same time, they want others like them to know that they are like them. Humans are strange! I think it's incredibly rude to call anything tacky unless you are 100% sure that you aren't in the company of people who exhibit said "tackiness". That in itself is the epitome of tacky and low-class.

    41 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment

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