Flag Waving

Chris Beggy news at kippona.com
Tue Jul 2 13:27:24 PDT 2002


Wojtek Sokolowski <sokol at jhu.edu> writes:


> In central PA, where my wife lives, there are more of them, many of
> them accompanied by the particularly obnoxious slogan "God Bless
> America" (it is the G.. word in conjunction with nationalism, not
> merely the flag that pisses me off), but then again only about half of
> the vehicles and houses display them.

That's one of my favorite places in the whole USA! Sometimes GBA is a slogan, sometimes GBA is the title of a song, conveying the sentiments of its verses, which would likely piss you off even more.


> Apparently, the bumper sticker mania, like long hair, finally trickled
> down and now is fashionable among rednecks and burb dwellers of
> redneck lineage. The more educated and liberal leaning folk tend to
> avoid them altogether.

That's an incisive analysis. (Does one use redneck when it's impolite to use white trash, or is it the other way around?)

I'd take it a step further and say that once a fashion is taken up by the despised and powerless, it probably becomes rhizomatic and is recreated subversively, at which point, some good may finally come of it.

I see more funny bumper stickers than any other kind. It's great to get a good laugh in traffic or when pulling into a parking spot.

Chris



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