Emma+H's+OpEd+Article

media type="file" key="emmah-muckraker-2011.mp3" align="center" It's pretty easy to tell who they voted for in the last election...but why is this something the general public should know?

Opinionated bumper stickers: what's the point?
I can picture it in my mind: the stereotypical soccer mom minivan or beat up old truck with so many bumper stickers that the driver can probably barely see out the rear window. Honestly, if I don’t know you, which is very likely on a road full of cars, then I don’t care who you voted for in 2004, or in 2008 for that matter. I don’t care that your child was an honor student at Anacapa Middle School, and I also don’t care that your child (or your husband, for that matter...yes, I have seen both) can beat up someone else’s honor student. I don’t care what companies you are associated with, nor do I care to what degree you hate George Bush. Good thing you support our troops, I would be pretty worried if you didn’t. And that’s great that you like Patagonia (presumably, because you have a bumper sticker for it); now we are all left guessing as to whether you really are some great outdoorsman and environmentalist or you just want people to think that you are.

We are very opinionated creatures. Every minute of the day, we are forming opinions and telling others why we are right and they are wrong. We want our peers to know what we think and why we think it. One way to exhibit our views to the general public is by displaying them on a bumper sticker. The general idea is that everyone will see that bumper sticker and be given a general impression of the person behind the wheel. But honestly, what does that accomplish? I have come to recognize several cars on my drive to Foothill every morning by the myriad of bumper stickers that they have used to decorate their vehicle. I have no idea who these people are, but I without ever speaking to them I know whether they are a Republican or Democrat, if their child is an honors student, and other miscellaneous interests of theirs. But I don’t know what their face looks like…a weird phenomenon, isn’t it?

By giving your opinion to the world without any evidence or support, you aren’t changing anyone’s mind or causing any noteworthy reaction to occur. A few words on the back of a car does nothing but amuse (or annoy) a few passersby. Sure, maybe you will win the approval of the anonymous woman behind you at the Mill’s Road and Telegraph stoplight because you both voted for Obama; is that what you want? To be approved of, to be roped into a certain stereotype? Why don’t you just roll down your window and shout out how much you love your three grandchildren Bob, Billy, and Ben? Doesn't that achieve the same purpose as the little sticker you have on the corner of your rear window? Maybe the sticker is a better way to get your point across if you are playing music so loud that the bass feels like an earthquake to everyone in close proximity. Of course, that's a topic for another time and place.

Need to get rid of an annoying bumper sticker on your car (or someone else's)? Here's how: [|Obama Bumper Sticker Removal Kit]