A Bright Red Sticker
I have a bright red sticker on the back of my yellow Jeep that says "United States Marines." It is not just a proud affinity; it is my way of conducting an experiment in stereotypes - how people judge a man by his window sticker – and even the kind of window itself.
It has become one of the best ways that I have discovered to tell who tends to make judgments – at least form strong first impressions – based on the car we drive and the stickers we put on them. One co-worker recently told me that she and I we were obviously from different “walks” because of my Jeep and her VW Bug. And that was before she noticed the Marine Corps sticker!
There must be more to this that I thought. The politicians and song writers have noticed this too.
A recent study by a political analyst found things like (1) the “…Jeep Grand Cherokee S.U.V. was more than half again as likely to be bought by a Republican than by a Democrat, at 46 percent to 28…”, and (2) “…Volvos were the most "Democratic" cars, by 44 to 32 percent, followed by Subarus and Hyundais…”, and (3) “…The Saab is a Democratic car…(who) were about twice as likely to be Democrats. It's an upscale car an affluent Democrat can drive without feeling guiltily ostentatious while also reveling in a different sort of status symbol…”, and (4) “…All surveys found that nothing is more Republican than a big pickup…The No. 1 vehicle bought by millionaires is the Ford F-Series pickup truck…" and finally (5) “…The most left-leaning models with at least a dozen sightings in Mr. MacMichael's project were the Honda Civic (80-20 left-leaning), Toyota Corolla (78-19) and Toyota Camry (74-26). The list of most right-leaning was led by another Toyota, but a midsize S.U.V., the Toyota 4Runner (86-14), followed by the Ford Expedition (76-24) and Ford F-150 (75-25)…”
The same study (see the URLs below)studied the connection of car brand and bumper stickers stuck to them. “…Volunteers counted more than 1,300 bumper stickers in a half dozen states from Sept. 20 to Oct. 31 and came up with results…”, and “…Saturn owners were also prone to put their Democratic loyalties on display…”
And then there is the Chely Wright song, "Bumper of My S.U.V." that opens with:
I've got a bright red sticker on the back of my car,
Says: "United States Marines."
An' yesterday a lady in a mini-van,
Held up her middle finger at me.
Does she think she knows what I stand for,
Or the things that I believe?
Just by looking at a sticker for the US Marines,
On the bumper of my S.U.V.
Then she adds:
I'm not Republican or Democrat.
But I've gone all around this crazy world,
Just to try to better understand.
An' yes, I do have questions:
I get to ask them because I'm free.
That's why I've got a sticker for the US Marines,
On the bumper of my S.U.V.
'Cause I've been to Hiroshima,
An' I've been to the DMZ.
I've walked on the sand in Baghdad,
Still don't have all of the answers I need.
But I guess I wanna know where she's been,
Before she judges and gestures to me,
'Cause she don't like my sticker for the US Marines,
On the bumper of my S.U.V.
And finishes:
So I hope that lady in her mini-van,
Turns on her radio and hears this from me.
As she picks up her kids,
From their private school,
An' drives home safely on our city streets.
Or to the building where her church group meets:
Yeah, that's why I've got a sticker for the US Marines,
On the bumper of my S.U.V.
---
For the New York Times article (registration required):
Your Car: Politics on Wheels
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/01/automobiles/01red.html
For the bumper sticker study:
www.laze.net/bumpers
For the Chely Wright lyrics:
http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/wright-chely/bumper-of-my-suv-14691.html
---
Update - Sunday 10 April 2005:
Whew! Lots of reaction to this one!!
"What does Wright have against private schools!?!"
"Why all the divides in the society?!!"
Etc., Etc.
I cannot think of a time when American politics was NOT a foodfight. Right from the start our politics has been loud and messy.
That frustrates those who would prefer the calmer "can't we all get along" tone that we treasure in interpersonal and private relationships. But, IYHO, that foodfight has led to things like the rejection of the European caste system, an ebb and flow of power that avoids permanent political minorities, the end of slavery, liberation of women, the later civil rights movement, an open economy, more acceptance of gays, the right to burn the flag without going to jail, and generally a more liberal, prosperous society than we started out with. It is messy, loud, often a little nuts. But it allows the steam to blow off less destructively than other systems. Stalin's Russia was internally calm. Maybe it has something to do with "strong disunity." At least that is how it appears to me this Sunday morning in Chicago. JB
It has become one of the best ways that I have discovered to tell who tends to make judgments – at least form strong first impressions – based on the car we drive and the stickers we put on them. One co-worker recently told me that she and I we were obviously from different “walks” because of my Jeep and her VW Bug. And that was before she noticed the Marine Corps sticker!
There must be more to this that I thought. The politicians and song writers have noticed this too.
A recent study by a political analyst found things like (1) the “…Jeep Grand Cherokee S.U.V. was more than half again as likely to be bought by a Republican than by a Democrat, at 46 percent to 28…”, and (2) “…Volvos were the most "Democratic" cars, by 44 to 32 percent, followed by Subarus and Hyundais…”, and (3) “…The Saab is a Democratic car…(who) were about twice as likely to be Democrats. It's an upscale car an affluent Democrat can drive without feeling guiltily ostentatious while also reveling in a different sort of status symbol…”, and (4) “…All surveys found that nothing is more Republican than a big pickup…The No. 1 vehicle bought by millionaires is the Ford F-Series pickup truck…" and finally (5) “…The most left-leaning models with at least a dozen sightings in Mr. MacMichael's project were the Honda Civic (80-20 left-leaning), Toyota Corolla (78-19) and Toyota Camry (74-26). The list of most right-leaning was led by another Toyota, but a midsize S.U.V., the Toyota 4Runner (86-14), followed by the Ford Expedition (76-24) and Ford F-150 (75-25)…”
The same study (see the URLs below)studied the connection of car brand and bumper stickers stuck to them. “…Volunteers counted more than 1,300 bumper stickers in a half dozen states from Sept. 20 to Oct. 31 and came up with results…”, and “…Saturn owners were also prone to put their Democratic loyalties on display…”
And then there is the Chely Wright song, "Bumper of My S.U.V." that opens with:
I've got a bright red sticker on the back of my car,
Says: "United States Marines."
An' yesterday a lady in a mini-van,
Held up her middle finger at me.
Does she think she knows what I stand for,
Or the things that I believe?
Just by looking at a sticker for the US Marines,
On the bumper of my S.U.V.
Then she adds:
I'm not Republican or Democrat.
But I've gone all around this crazy world,
Just to try to better understand.
An' yes, I do have questions:
I get to ask them because I'm free.
That's why I've got a sticker for the US Marines,
On the bumper of my S.U.V.
'Cause I've been to Hiroshima,
An' I've been to the DMZ.
I've walked on the sand in Baghdad,
Still don't have all of the answers I need.
But I guess I wanna know where she's been,
Before she judges and gestures to me,
'Cause she don't like my sticker for the US Marines,
On the bumper of my S.U.V.
And finishes:
So I hope that lady in her mini-van,
Turns on her radio and hears this from me.
As she picks up her kids,
From their private school,
An' drives home safely on our city streets.
Or to the building where her church group meets:
Yeah, that's why I've got a sticker for the US Marines,
On the bumper of my S.U.V.
---
For the New York Times article (registration required):
Your Car: Politics on Wheels
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/01/automobiles/01red.html
For the bumper sticker study:
www.laze.net/bumpers
For the Chely Wright lyrics:
http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/wright-chely/bumper-of-my-suv-14691.html
---
Update - Sunday 10 April 2005:
Whew! Lots of reaction to this one!!
"What does Wright have against private schools!?!"
"Why all the divides in the society?!!"
Etc., Etc.
I cannot think of a time when American politics was NOT a foodfight. Right from the start our politics has been loud and messy.
That frustrates those who would prefer the calmer "can't we all get along" tone that we treasure in interpersonal and private relationships. But, IYHO, that foodfight has led to things like the rejection of the European caste system, an ebb and flow of power that avoids permanent political minorities, the end of slavery, liberation of women, the later civil rights movement, an open economy, more acceptance of gays, the right to burn the flag without going to jail, and generally a more liberal, prosperous society than we started out with. It is messy, loud, often a little nuts. But it allows the steam to blow off less destructively than other systems. Stalin's Russia was internally calm. Maybe it has something to do with "strong disunity." At least that is how it appears to me this Sunday morning in Chicago. JB
posted by John Barry at 4/01/2005 09:24:00 AM
1 Comments:
Just a quick note to point out that I am definitely *not* a "political analyst"... I'm just a dude on the street who got some friends together and we catalogged bumper stickers obsessively for a month. :)
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