Have you seen this bumper sticker? I saw this on a car yesterday:
Forgive my stupidity, but is this a pro-Obama or anti-Obama bumper sticker? I can quickly think of reasons why it might be either.
Probama: The sticker is basically saying, "Ha ha-- in your face! Our side won!"
Antibama: The sticker is saying, "Look where we are now, America! Still think you voted for the right guy? Haw haw!"
Your thoughts?
NB: Yes, yes-- PatriotDepot.com (you can see the URL in the fine print) is a rightie site. But when I did a Google Images search for the bumper sticker ("LOL Obama bumper sticker"), the image appeared on all sorts of sites, not just rightie ones. I simply happened to steal the image from PatriotDepot.com because it was a large, clean rendering. So-- what narrative is being alluded to in this bumper sticker? Are the righties rubbing it in, or are the lefties?
UPDATE, 9:38PM: Having gone back to those search results, I'm now convinced this is meant to be an anti-Obama bumper sticker. While some scattered sites hosting the image aren't obviously right-leaning, most are. Still, my feeling is that, without context, the sticker all by itself is hard to interpret. Not exactly the best foot forward if the aim is to be witty.
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Hi Kevin,
ReplyDeleteI like the theory that it was originally a pro-Obama sticker that eventually became, for obvious reasons, more of a anti-Obama-type sticker. When I say "like," I mean that this theory appeals to my sense of humour. Sometimes symbols continue, but users and usages change.
That said, I actually think that it was a rightie sticker from the start.
Cheers!
Blogger ate a comment I posted when I posted last a week or so ago, so I'm posting this again just to be sure that my switching windows hasn't caused any problems.
ReplyDeleteHi Kevin,
I like the theory that it was originally a pro-Obama sticker that eventually became, for obvious reasons, more of a anti-Obama-type sticker. When I say "like," I mean that this theory appeals to my sense of humour. Sometimes symbols continue, but users and usages change.
That said, I actually think that it was a rightie sticker from the start.
Cheers!
Perhaps it means "left of liberal" or something of the sort.
ReplyDeleteNathan,
ReplyDeleteI think you're right that it was a rightie sticker from the start. After reviewing those websites, I'd say at least 70% of them skew rightward.
It appears that Blogger didn't kill your first attempt at commenting; I was away from the computer for a long time, and never saw-- thus never had a chance to approve and publish-- the comment. My apologies for the delay. I'm in the process of moving, so things are super-busy right now.
John B.,
Heh.
Kevin
Hi Kevin!
ReplyDeleteOh dear, a typo, which should be "last week" or "a week ago." That wasn't my attempt at pressuring you to make your life revolve around your fine blog, of course, but Blogger really did eat a comment of mine about a week ago on another post. I wondered if my switching windows might have contributed to that. Anyway, best of luck with everything!
Nathan,
ReplyDeleteNo worries; I felt no pressure. I wish I could edit people's comments when they find typos, but Blogger, which remains consistently behind the times, hasn't provided that feature yet.
Sorry to hear that Blogger ate another of your comments. I worry that other people might be going through the same experience, but it's hard to tell: when a comment is eaten, no announcement is posted in my account. I wish something could be done about this; I've had some comments eaten on other people's Blogger sites (and some non-Blogger sites) as well.
Kevin
Well, Kevin, I guess Blogger, Wordpress, and other blogging platforms think our words are sweeter than honey in the comb. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I posted that on my site several months ago when it was obvious the wheels were coming off and all those "hope and change" folks were expressing buyers remorse.
ReplyDeleteAlthough what is happening in America these days is no laughing matter...
The Washington Post just had an editorial calling for Obama not to run again in 2010. I think he's been an unmitigated disaster.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, who was really inspired by that very odd match-up that was McCain-Palin? McCain couldn't convince voters that he knew anything about the economy, and Palin was not only inexperienced, but downright ignorant. If the Republicans had won that election, would it be now the Democrats' turn, under someone like an Obama, to implement another massive program that wasn't really addressing the main problem of the economy? I think it was good for the Republicans to spend some time in the political wilderness, (and it wasn't enough!) but what the Democrats have come up with hasn't been inspiring, either.