This Memorial Day, I have to share a sad commentary on how clueless and callous some people can be.
I was in traffic, sitting at a red light, when noticed the car a little ahead of me in the next lane. It had a big sticker on the trunk in the shape of a yellow ribbon, the kind people have to show they support the troops. I saw this sticker had words on it, and inched forward so I could read it. Someone's name? I wondered. A military battalion?
My jaw dropped. Support Pimpin, the sticker said.
When the light changed, I sped up so I could see the driver of the car. He was young, attractive guy who looked to between 18 and 22.
I'm probably turning into a grumpy, middle-aged lady, but that sticker, and that guy, disgusted me. What got me the most was that he didn't even realize the message he was ultimately sending. He probably thought he was cool as hell with that sticker. Nevermind that it was an affront to people who use those stickers to show their support for the military, or breast cancer survivors or other important causes. Nevermind that he's either glorifying a practice where a man makes a living by brutalizing women and forcing them to sell their bodies, or he's abusing women by sleeping around with many of them and living off their largesse.
That's not cute.
That's not sexy.
And that's definitely not cool.
About This Blog
Alicia Roberts (39, married, two kids) is a news editor at the Charlotte Observer. Deirdre McGruder (39, single) is an online producer for CharlotteObserver.com.
Alicia is a big fan of the send-it-out-into-the-universe-and-
see-what-happens method of making connections ... romantic and otherwise. She also tries, with very limited success at this point in her life, to bite her tongue when anger gets in the way of reason in any relationship.
Deirdre is happily single and not looking for a mate (but some men can convince her to go on trial runs). She thinks close friends are crucial, self-knowledge is integral and an open-minded outlook is helpful.
E-mail Alicia Roberts or Deirdre McGruder.
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106 comments:
Grow a thicker skin lady.
You need to get a life!!!!! If THIS is the major affront of your day, then it was a pretty good one. You ARE a frumpy old lady. I am a frumpy old man and know of what I speak.
no, DON'T grow thicker skin...so many things i could say but don't have the space...
He's 18-24 remember...He is still learning what you already know!!!
Keep your skin just the way it is, there aren't enough people like you any more. "Support Pimpin" is probably too stupid to understand that he is advertising himself as an idiot, along with the people who say it's no big deal.
Deirdre,
STOP TAKING YOURSELF SO SERIOUSLY.
CHOOSING TO BE OFFENDED THIS
EASILY BY WHAT SOMEONE ELSE DOES
0R SAYS IS YOUR OWN PROBLEM.
YOU ARE CREATING WAY MORE DRAMA
THEN THE BUMPER STICKER ON THE
CAR OF AN IMMATURE BONEHEAD
DESERVES.
CONSIDER THE SOURCE NEXT TIME AND
GO ON WITH YOUR LIFE.
C'mon it's no more offensive than Calvin urinating on a Chevy or Ford logo. More important is it rightfully mocks those silly ribbon magnets gullible people buy to support a cause. NO worthy cause gets ANY money from sales of those except profiteers who print and sell them.
maybe his buddy Pimpin is somewhere on the front line?
I like the mocking of the cheap patriotism of these ubiquitous ribbons. However, I wonder if this young man has had enough life experience to understand satire. "Pimping" has entered the language in a host of ways that have nothing to do with the rental of flesh.
Actually, I find this article very disquieting morally. Since the begin of the Iraq war, around 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died. Those who blindly supported this war with their "support our troops" bumper stickers on their SUVs have a whole lot more to account for than this insensitive young punk. With a chance to reach so many thousands of people, why did you choose to focus on something so trivial and banal?
I am a mother of 4 boys and I have taught them to show respect. The ripple grows bigger as time goes on. You have to start at the beginning. I blame the parents for letting it go. Many parents want to be their kids FRIENDS. Be a parent first and TEACH your kids what's right. Your FRIENDSHIP will be stronger for it in the end.
You go girl! Don't grow a thick skin- you are so right. People are ignorant this kid probably doesn't even realize the true message he is sending.
As a parent of two kids this age I find that they don't have a clue most of the time, but a gentle piece of information from a parent can inform them. You will get rolled eyes and some comment but they will listen.
If I saw that ribbon bumper sticker, I would laugh, drive away and forget about it. And I'm the same age as you, Deirdre. I don't personally support "pimpin," whether it's the real thing (prostitution) or the modern term (being a player)....but I'm not going to have a bad day because somebody else does. He's young...give him a break.
I would like to see this guy drive up in his car to pick up a date. If my husband saw this on car, our daughter would NOT be getting in it.
The only people who should be looked down upon, or in this case mocked, are the sheep who buy those ridiculous magnets as a show of 'support' for causes. The only people you are supporting are profiteers who recognize gullibility and herd mentality.
I realize you have deadlines to meet and content to generate, but this one should have been thrown back.
When you have never really had to pay for anything, then nothing has value.
Perhaps he was talking about "pimpin his ride"... or some other meaning that those of us in the older generation are as yet unaware of. Did you ask him what it meant, or just immediately take offense to that youngun's comment based on your experiences and teachings?
Remember, the same servicemen who died defending the Constitution that grants you the right to complain about it, gives him the right to express it.
Just my humble two cents worth.....
Wolfy
The reactions to this article clearly demonstrate the lack of spine people in our culture have developed.
Allowing kids to use prostitution as a form of humor while knocking off a charitable emblem is just a reminder of how our society is going to hell quicker than a handbasket.
I had plenty of laughs with my friends during my wild oats years, but I had the ability to share them with my peers while respecting those who worked and ran world around me that I enjoyed.
Now to ask for even a sign of decency (how many will get the pun)
is to be declared thin skinned, frumpy and a participant in "cheap patriotism."
Lazy minded people with little to stand for are quick to criticize those willing to stand up in life.
Go get em, girl!
The other day I was drivng and there was this volvo in front of me and I saw a fish on the trunk and I was excited and rejoicing in the lords glory when I noticed it had little feet on it.
I honked at the guy who appeared to be about 34 and could have been attractive but he looked like Jesus.
Then I came home and wasted my time writing about it.
Did someone just use the term "you go girl"?
Now that is the frumpy old lady
Who cares? I am not much into a holiday that was put in place to honor Union soilders. Give me Veterans Day! You Yankess can have this day.
Yesterday I went to Marshall's and I had to wait in line and I only had one item and this young man in front of me had 15 items and didn't let me go first. I was so mad i went and broke out some windows of some cars in the parking lot and screamed at people. Then I laid down in the parking lot until the police had to remove me by force and pepper spray me
I teach 3rd grade and the oher day some kid wrote the word "Kool" instead of "Cool" on his notebook and it made me so angry that he would defile the english language like that with his Slang thug street talk. Where is the man in his life to show him the way!
Everyone that has posted an anonymous reply to this stupid idiotic sticker and stand with it is just a F***ing IDIOT!!!!
This is journalism? I think they should stop using ink and just use crayons for the print edition
hey give the kid a break. Everyone knows "pimpin' aint easy"
KB said...
Everyone that has posted an anonymous reply to this stupid idiotic sticker and stand with it is just a F***ing IDIOT!!!!
5/25/2009 10:17 AM
LIKE KB REALLY GIVES US YOUR TRU IDENTITY. GIVE ME A BREAK. TELL US YOUR FULL NAME, ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER BIG MAN OR LADY.
Interesting mix of comments. You've got the moonbats taking another swipe at the war in Iraq and plenty of cretins telling you to get a life.
It's all a part or redefining deviancy. Hollywood pumps the street, gutter culture into our radios and televisions and far too many sit and listen or watch, slack-jawed, in mellow apathy.
I am truly amazed that someone gets paid to write this worthless garbage.
The most disturbing thing about this blog is how many people are deriding this woman, instead of the pathetic kid that would put something like that on his car...that his idiotic parents probably bought for him. If you had a kid in Iraq or Afghanistan, you have more than enough right to put a magnet on your car showing your pride in somebody that's defending this country -- as opposed to some little punk that's showing support for our pathetic celebrity-driven/hip hop culture in this country. I'm sure he attends CMS schools. Yeah he's got every right in the world to show how stupid he is. Welcome to Obama's America.
Welcome to Obama's America.And there it is. You guys just can't help but reveal yourselves. Yep, kids were never anything like this before January 20, 2009. Dang lubrals, ruining 'merica for us God-fearin' folk!
There are too many uptight prudes on this board and in this city. Lighten up and let it go folks. There are more important issues to be bitching about.
Andrew Freeman:
Since when did a yellow ribbon become a "charitable emblem?" Do you know where to money for these ribbons goes? I'd wager mostly to profiteers who take advantage of the mindless masses that think putting a magnet on their car equates to patriotism. I guess displaying some $3 magnet makes you better than a young kid who doesn't happen to share your antiquated views.
I also suppose making humor of prostitution like kids often do nowadays is much worse than your "great society" of the past that simply turned a blind eye to it, and many, many other social issues. Some of us might say society has progressed but no, to you it has "gone to hell in a handbasket." Yes Andrew, everything was better 50 years ago back in your day, you know when blacks and women had no rights, there were no laws to protect children or the environment, etc etc.
And where do you think this "young punk" came from? It was your generation that created him. With the way your generation has behaved over the decades- repeated unjust wars, scandal after scandal in the news, bankrupting the future with social security and other huge amounts of debt that you've taken now for your benefit to the detriment of your children- it's no wonder kids like this have such little respect for their elders.
Is this really even a topic worth talking about? Some kid has a joke sticker on his car, let's everyone get offended. Work yourselves up into a tizzy and go home and just turn red with anger. The rest of us will keep living our lives- and probably more happily since killjoys such as yourself will be out of our way, busy at home writing inane blogs about every stupid thing that offends their holier than thou sensibilities.
You call others lazy minded but ironically nothing in your comment suggests any semblance of critical thought. You say you support "taking a stand." Wow, you really took a great stand here. Commenting on a blog about a sticker on some kid's car. Kudos, that took some moxie on your part, I'm sure your stand on this issue has already changed several lives.
@Matt
I'm glad you used the word "moxie" in your response to Andrew Freeman. It is exactly the type of antiquated word to which he can relate.
I don't understand how the Charlotte Observer makes big cuts to its staff and somehow this garbage is still being produced. Hopefully you'll be the next to lose your job.
I'm shlocked!
Good grief. I've read WAY more offensive stuff than this, but to each his own. I can see someone posting this on a personal blog, but getting paid for it? Wow, I need a career change. I work way too hard.
Geez...so much for your "open-minded outlook". You don't know that kid from Adam. He might have a bad sense of humor & taste, but that doesn't mean you get to be judge, jury, and executioner. What stickers do you have on your car?
Why does the lady on the right look like the cartoon character Heckel and Jeckel?
What was this young punk pimpin? Gay studs?
Yellow ribbons are stupid anyway in the mold of the US flag lapel pins controversy.
The yellow ribbon gimmick was a stupid 1973 song by Tony Orlando and Dawn about some jailbird ex-con coming home. To relate this to US troops is an insult.
You were supposed to tie a yellow ribbon around the ole oak tree not make it a decal for a car.
How about the other dumb song "Knock 3 Times" on the ceiling when the hubbie is gone to go get some hooch upstairs?
The Latino Wayne Newton Tony Orlando was a joke to say the least
US troops are fighing nothing but bogus wars anyway started by idiot Bush and his neocon frauds.
GimmicksRUs inc.
God, I love being at work on holidays. It gives me the chance to catch up on mindless fodder like the preceding article. I love all the comments, too. Charlotte is such a lame city.
Charlotte is such a lame city.
Move....you are only taking up good air.
We are slowly turning into a society of ideocracy. Kids has no clue. He will look back in a few years and realize how much of a dumba** he is and if he doesn't or refuses to see that the sticker is offensive, then we can start debating just how important birth control is to our way of life because this one shouldn't have been born.
18-24? He should know better. Sounds like a gang- banger. I didn' know so many ignorant people read the newspaper, but by the comments here it appears many do. They were probably hoping to read a story about their hero rushie limpbutt the drugster
God, I love being at work on holidays.
Nice to know someone is cooking the fries.
It is interesting to note the fervor that the satirical use of a recognized symbol ignited in both the offened and those who find being offended as trivial. With such demonstrative responses from both sides, it would now seem that there is nothing trivial about the whole matter; therefore, making this topic and the reactions to it newsworthy.
Blyndog. Do you have any Grey poupon?
I've made quite a few ribbons in my day and suffice it to say I'm getting quite a kick out of these responses.
Truly and lame punk who needs learn what real life is, because spreading sperm everywhere like a dog is not real life.
I saw a lady with a Baby on Board sign in her window and there was no baby on board.
I was tricked into driving slower I am furous. Can someone post this to the AP? Can't they pass a law for this.
This is why the Observer is a joke of a publication.
The CO is paying *two* girls to write a blog and this nonsense is the best their collective intellect could come up with?
Heaven help us if either of them ever decides to blog solo.
I saw a bumpers sticker that said "Stop the killing" in traffic yesterday. I was furious. How the heck do they know if I killed anyon or not.
I saw a bumber sticker that said "Honk if you love Jesus" So I honked at the guy and he reached out his window flipped me off and said "Jesus H. Christ you idiot pass if you want to pass just lay off the G.D. horn!!!!!!!"
I am not going to go to church anymore if that's how these Christians act.
Anonymous said...
Actually, I find this article very disquieting morally. Since the begin of the Iraq war, around 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died. Those who blindly supported this war with their "support our troops" bumper stickers on their SUVs have a whole lot more to account for than this insensitive young punk. With a chance to reach so many thousands of people, why did you choose to focus on something so trivial and banal?
5/25/2009 9:17 AM Wow, where were you to protest the MILIIONS Hussein (not Barack) killed during his reign. He killed 250,000 Kurds because they worshipped the same God slightly differently than he did. Such self grandiosity, we should all bow down to your way of thinking, what an idiot. I guess the world would be so much better with Saddam still in power, at least in your world.
I saw a bumper sticker that said "Proud parent of an Honor role stunent at Myers Park High School" and I got so furious. How dare that strumpet take credit for her child's achievements! Just because her life ended after highschool. So I took the Chihuahua out of my Prada purse and smacked her with it.
I saw a bumber sticker in the rear window of a Honda Civic that said "Wake forest Alumni"
It made me so angry. I mean you went to Wake Forest and all you can afford is a civic!
ROTFL anon 1:04!
Who's "Pimpin" and why should I care. In fact why doesn't the Charlotte Observer concentrate on the news and getting into a truly unbiased mode and out of the liberal pockets rather pay people to write this garbage.
This just adds to the new moniker for the USA "The Land of The Offended." Political Correctness needs to be put out of our misery.
I saw a broken down 1978 Pinto on the side of the road and the guy was standing there waving people down for help. It had a bumper sticker that said "My other car is a Porsche"
I was furious. I'm not stopping to help someone with a Porshe Why is he waving me down if he can afford a Porsche. He should have driven the Porsche if his other car was having problems. He can afford a tow anyway.
This rude young man was honking at me in traffic the other day and yelling at me to get out of the left lane. His mother should teach him some manners. Doesn't he know to be quiet while someone is on the phone!
There was a school bus in front of me the other day witha bumer sticker that said "Caution I make Frequent Stops"
I was so furious that I called CMS to complain. They should fire that bus driver. Children see that! I don't care how many times he goes to the bathroom.
I was behind this truck the other day and it had a bumpersticker that said, "Hows my driving" and the liseted the number. I am so furious.
I called the number and asked how well I was driving but they wouldn't tell me. What kind of sick prank is that?
Deirdre is just upset because he wasn't pimpin' trannys.
You know, I support our TROOPS but do not support the WAR! That being said - I have one of the stickers on my car that says "Pray for our troops" but if this kid wants this on his car, he is young and thinks he is cool. So what. Maybe he doesn't support the war or the troops. Maybe he likes to sleep around. So be it.
You need to get a life. If this is the biggest thing you can find to complain about then you must life in one sheltered world!
In the past week: I saw someone beat their child at the DMV on Friday. I saw a stray dog that an Animal control Officer drove right past. I saw a child at Discovery Place who was with a school group but was completely unsupervised for in excess of 25 mintes.
We may not agree with everything but it is freedom on speech and what makes the world go round!
You are a frumpy old lady...perhaps you should get out more often and then you would find something worthy to write about!
I agree completely with you on this. I am 30 and have noticed many people my age and younger have a difficult time with respect and for the most part are not knowledgable enough about day to day things they should know about. This guy is an idiot who did not harness the free education he was provided. And to all the people criticizing her blog you guys are the reason for people like this. It's all about leaving people alone so they can do as they please. The youth and general population of this country need a good kick in the rear. Not ALL things are acceptable and they should not be ACCEPTED!
Anon:
Yeah, that whole 'freedom' thing is way overrated. What people need is an overbearing, morally superior majority to impose their beliefs on use all and homogenize us into a pasty herd of cattle!
Those of you who told this writer to grow a thicker skin or get a life, maybe YOU need to get off your lazy duffs and grow a set - of MORALS and ETHICS, that is. What this writer portrays is a prime example of just what is wrong with today's children and young adults (who, IMO, are still children emotionally, as evidenced by this idiot's car magnet). Stop berating this woman for having a strong sense of morals and responsibility, and start PARENTING your own children so they don't turn out to be losers.
OK, I withdraw my earlier statement that this was not a worthwhile subject. Clearly it generated quite a discussion, and I am getting kicks out of watching people give lectures on ethics based on some of us not damning a kid to hell for having a magnet on his car. Fire and brimstone are still alive and kickin'!
Everytime I think this particular column couldn't get worse written, worse thought-out, or struggling more for ideas...
You restore my faith that next to the Nazi-Tree-infringeonpersonalpropertyrights-Lady, this is the worst part of the Observer and their Ultra Conservative bent.
Geez. Visit your doctor and get a chill-pill prescription. It's just a sticker.
And he's obviously a Democrat, just hasn't learned enough to know better yet. It comes with time and life experience. Check back in twenty years, there should be some improvement and possibly a well developed set of conservative values by then.
Yellow ribbon history:
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/ribbons/ribbons.html
"Kool" more than likely came from drinking Kool Aid --- not anything sinister. Third Grade teacher needs to relax and just correct the spelling and move on with life.
I proudly sport my Darwin fish on my car.
Ribbons are silly.
They deserve mockery.
I saw a fish with a yellow ribbon.
Does that mean Jesus is a POW?
I guess I should be offended because my dad is a veteran, but I'm really not. Just as I'm not offended to see Calvin peeing on the Ford logo, or by parents who trumpet their honor student kids--or even by parents who proudly proclaim that their kids beat up the honor students.
The kid did nothing wrong putting that sticker on his car, period. Sure, the sticker pokes fun at what has become a symbol for breast cancer, patriotism, and just about every other ubiquitous cause in this country. But every now and again, we need things like that to remind us that no matter how serious life is, there's got to be some time for play and humor. We "responsible" adults sometimes tend to forget that we were that kid's age at some point--and that quite a few of us did some wild and crazy things we don't have the stones to own up to.
Most of the people that are saying this is typical behavior of kids age 18-24 these days are DEAD RIGHT!
It is totally typical. Which is irnoic, considering that's the same age range that most of the kids serving abroad today are.
Yep, these YOUNG PUNKS that voluntarily enlisted to put their lives on the line to protect YOUR right to get offended by a sticker on a car should have more respect for YOU.
A good friend of mine is in Afghanistan right now with the Army Rangers. He is 26 years old and would find that sticker hilarious. Young punk! He should have greater respect for the out dated sensibilities of oblivious people that go about their daily lives under the freedom he puts his life on the line to provide.
Does the author of this blog know if the young person driving the car with the "offensive" sticker is in the military himself? None of us can know for sure, but she sure made that leap for us.
Could be worse....The Observer could have run a story about "Rapping For Success"
One of things I lament about watching society the past 50 years is how crass and self-centered we've become. Nothing matters anymore. There are no limits and consideration for others at all. The comments on this blog reflect a growing meanness in society that's alarming. This is where two generations of moral relativism have taken us. Sad.
Get numb in this new Obama planet. Just don't give a hoot, that's what we are headed for, free thought and the right to do whatever you please no matter what others feel unless they are in the minority.
She didn't say that seeing the sticker made her upset to the point that she went home, crawled into bed and drew the covers over her head. She wrote that she thought it was offensive, and it was. How can Calvin peeing on a Ford logo be compared to mocking a symbol such as a yellow ribbon, which means so much to so many people? And now people are mocking the writer because she's offended by that? How can that be?
Yes, it's true that if the driver is young, he still has much to learn. But young people learn *because* older adults step up to the plate and say, "You know, that's just not right, and here's why..." To dismiss it as an immature, insignificant oversight by someone too young to know better is missing the point.
Don't grow a thicker skin. You're right to be upset. I am, too.
If you don't like his yellow ribbon, then stay on the bus, forget about us, and put the blame on me.
Everybody has a right to speak their mind. I support my husband and everyone else in the military and it's not a joke. I am only 26 and I have the common sense to know to teach my kids respect for our military. So if I saw some idiot with a yellow ribbon with some stupid message on it, then I would probably tell him so...after all that is my right...just like it's his right to be an idiot.
Michelle said...How can Calvin peeing on a Ford logo be compared to mocking a symbol such as a yellow ribbon, which means so much to so many people? You know what another symbol that meant so much to many people was? The swastika.
Sorry, I just wanted to be the one to invoke Godwin's Law.
Did you really have to share this "sad commentary" with us?
There are literally hundreds of bumper stickers out there that a lot of people would consider offensive or insensitive. Lots of other offensive things are out there, too, like maybe some billboards and TV and online advertisements.
Granted, the kid probably is insensitive and offensive...probably a bit stupid as well. Personally, I think it's stupid, too.
On the other hand, you've gone way overboard with your rant about the thing. Everyone isn't going to fit into your perfect vision of a perfect world, and truth be known, not everyone wants to.
My advice to you is simply to ignore the people who do crap like this. Don't waste your time and ours by writing about it.
I get much more offended at the idiots who ride at, or just above, the speed limit on I-485 and won't move over even when there's nobody in the right hand lane, just because they don't want to be passed. I'm too busy driving to notice, or care about, stickers/magnets on other cars.
The bumper sticker reminds us of another reason to bring back the draft. The driver could learn some manhood in the military.
If you REALLY support our brave soldiers, you would be demanding that they be brought home and that the people who have sacrificed the troops lives and health to puff up their own ego be brought to justice.
Another bumper sticker: "Honk if I'm paying your mortgage"
If you REALLY support our brave soldiers, you would be demanding that they be brought home and that the people who have sacrificed the troops lives and health to puff up their own ego be brought to justice.
I'll bet the person who scribed this also wonders where we went wrong with our criminals. I'll bet they support a "bully" law and I'LL GUARANTEE they are for affirmative action.
I thought all the liberals rode the light rail.
I hope the idiot who wrote this rots in hell and his family with him. "Actually, I find this article very disquieting morally. Since the begin of the Iraq war, around 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died. Those who blindly supported this war with their "support our troops" bumper stickers on their SUVs have a whole lot more to account for than this insensitive young punk. With a chance to reach so many thousands of people, why did you choose to focus on something so trivial and banal?"
I don't even know you, but I'm embarrassed for you. As was mentioned earlier: I am truly amazed that someone gets paid to write this worthless garbage.
Seriously, look into a new career. Postings like this are why people confuse Charlotte, NC with Mayberry, RFD.
I saw a fish with a yellow ribbon.
Does that mean Jesus is a POW?
No He is MIA
I can't believe people thought the bumper sticker jokes were serious. Someone took the one about the third grade teacher seriously.
"clueless and callous"
Very strong words for a 39 year old?
I think it's SO nice that these people are helping us along. White trash bumper stickers, tattoos, loud car stereos and lowered suspensions with angry hornet tailpipes all aid us in identifying morons. This way we don't have to wonder anymore.
Alicia & Deidre - today is Memorial Day. When you wrote this article, you knew it wuold be printed today. Is this your version of an appropriate topic for today? For that matter, why would you think this is an appropriate topic for anyday? The only thing worse are some of the comments that I wasted time on reading.
This is a perfect example of the lost priorities we have as a society. Alicia & Deidre, hope you spend more time developing articles which are worthy of print.
First off, "pimpin" is not the same as "pimpinG". So the basis of your commentary was wrong.
Second, why didn't you complain about the disrespect CMS has for our fallen soldiers by having school today. I know Memorial Day is relatively new to the Southern states but it seems like most have caught on - other than honoring soldiers still serving, its for those who DIED. Would they have kids come to school on Christmas Day or Thanksgiving Day?
Terrible waste of a meaningful symbol.
Note to many of you. YOU do NOT get to decide what other people should, or should not be offended by!
The reality is however, that in our country, it was supposed to be OK, both to be offended and to offend. That's a little thing called "Free Speech" and it's something we are slowly losing.
You have a constitutional right to post your opinion on your bumper, whether well thought out, or flippantly slapped on with little to no thought. At the same time, everyone who sees it has a constitutional right to decide if that bumper sticker makes you look like Einstien, or the village idiot!
The funny thing is, those of you criticizing the writer for her opinion, are simply doing the exact same thing you criticize HER for doing!
Hard to support any holiday that was started to honor Union troops...give me Veterans Day.
Well, the USA of the 21st century *has* turned into "The United States of the Offended". That is, someone's panties always seem to be in a wad about something, somewhere, somehow. Of course, this was bound to happen, too: Writing in second person for emphasis - - if *YOU* have the unlimited right of free speech, then *I* must be allowed to retain the right to be p*ssed off about *YOUR* views and opinions. After all, the door *MUST* swing both ways - openly and freely - or it surely cannot move at all.
Amazing!! 101 comments so far,
is it raining non stop and everyone inside today in Charlotte? Or is everyone just so reacting because it is a patriotic memorial holiday! I surely am smiling at this blog and all the reactions, probably the most ever! I guess these 101 comments so far has deirdre smiling non stop and she is loving it! After all the blog would not be continued if there was no comments to either alicia or deirdre's writings. UMMMMMMM I guess that is what it really is all about and why we celebrate on this usa memorial day!!!!!! Remembering our freedoms in the USA and God Bless all the veterans and current armed forces for protecting this free country! FREEDOMS with expressing our opinions and the right to agree or disagree, I surely think is and see today on this blog wonderful and I cherish this right in the USA. I LOVE IT! My father was in World War II and I think he would be smiling if he was reading all these comments too; thinking and saying to me "some people read this blog seriously and some read it humorously and some just like to vent and disagree and that is all well and good too" and that young man he would be not judging also.
Then he would also say along with me, "someone is still reading the newspapers today" online and that freedom he loved also, reading his paper newspaper !!!!!!!!! I miss watching my dad read his newspaper and comment to me or show me articles or share with me the comics and one's that made him laugh that day (he'd be showing me a blog that made him laugh today I do believe).
I am glad he returned safely from World War II and remember him fighting for our country and keeping us FREE. And every Memorial Day when I visit his graveside and see the USA flag by his grave I am reminded again.
Has it stopped raining in Charlotte yet?
This is "The People vs. Larry Flynt" all over again. If you don't know who Larry Flynt *is*, then discussion is pointless. Rent the movie. Essentially, this bumper sticker is another case of "bad taste" - which, the last time I checked - wasn't against the law. It's another example, too, of "I hate what your symbol is so it should be banned!" - i.e. the Confederate flag. The NAACP is constantly riled over this - in a blatant attempt to squash what is another form of **FREE SPEECH**!!! When it comes to the rights of others - even if it means the *LEGAL* right - as protected by the Constitution of the United States of America - to display this flag, they are The National Association for the Advancement of Clueless People.
On Memorial Day I saw a pile of cigarette butts in an apartment's parking lot, like someone emptied their ash tray. I thought, why would someone do this to the place they, family or friends live at? Another reminder that people think differently.
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