Just who are you addressing with that bumper sticker, sir?

[elfs]

There are several different classes of bumper sticker. There is, of course, the allegiance-to-a-cause bumper sticker, epitomized by the various political and religious bumper stickers. Subclasses include the more threatening evangelical ones like, "If you're living as if there is no God, you'd better be right!" and the positioning oneself as a do-gooder "There's no excuse for domestic violence" variety. Both of these still advertise the user's allegiance to a cause, and that's still their main function.

Then, of course, there are the humor and philosophy category. "What if the hokey-pokey really is what it's all about?" and "I love cats. Wanna trade recipes?" fall into this category. The idea is that the sticker brought a smile to the reader's face, and he hopes it will to yours as well.

But then, today, I saw this sticker: "It's time for you to pull over and change the air in your head." That's neither funny nor philosophical. To whom is it addressed? To every driver except the man behind the wheel?

At best, it proclaims allegiance to the subcommunity best known as "dickheads."

Comments

[shaterri.livejournal.com]

I saw another one of these the other day: 'Curious about the afterlife? Touch my truck and find out!'. I suppose it could be loosely categorized into philosophy/humor, but it's more in the not-so-veiled threat camp...

[dv-girl.livejournal.com]

Once I was sitting downtown painting early in the morning. Some woman in a big smoggy SUV parked directly in front of me (the scene I was painting across the street) though there was lots of other parking around. She gave me that sort of knowing smirk that she knew she was being a total bitch for no reason and then walked off up the street (past several empty spots) to go to her destination, which was of course, a high-end shoe store.

On her bumper she had a sticker that said, "I SEE DUMB PEOPLE". which is the sort of sticker you describe.

Dutifully, I took out my white paint (as it was white lettering on black) and carefully added an M to the end of the second word and a comma after the 3rd. Then I resumed painting and smiled icily at her when she returned, got in her vehicle and drove off.

I've always wondered how long it took her to notice and whether or not she learned anything.

I came here to say I had seen one a lot like that.

[shunra.livejournal.com]

Except that the one that I saw was on a T-shirt. It was also white-on-black.

I count that as a class of gratuitous nastiness, which is a form of malicious mischief engaged in by societal saboteurs.

I found it terribly disturbing, and eventually wrote it off as a form of magical thinking ("I am so powerful that anything I see is beneath me"). But why would someone want to put down *everyone*?

Re: I came here to say I had seen one a lot like that.

[zonereyrie.livejournal.com]

Well, they're not saying *everyone* they see is dumb, just that they see dumb people.

In all likelihood it is a true statement - I've seen some pretty dumb people myself. (And pretty, dumb people for that matter.)

But yeah, they're more likely just being snarky.

[amythis.livejournal.com]

Perfect revenge.

[drhoz.livejournal.com]

mine used to be "I do what my rice crispies tell me"

Our current one

[norincraft.livejournal.com]

If God wanted us to filter our beer he wouldn't have given us livers.