Posted on 04/25/2005 7:37:51 PM PDT by qam1
On an afternoon in Sacramento, Calif., 147 vehicles are parked outside a theater complex under a hazy spring sky. There are shiny Town Cars and rusty Ford pickup trucks, perky Rav 4s and burly Silverados.
For all their differences in name and prestige, they have one thing in common: Their backsides are pristine. Not one of them sports a single gem of wisdom plastered to a bumper.
Bumper stickers, first used in election campaigns after World War II and once a powerful form of political and cultural expression, can still be found in trinket shops and Internet stores. But fewer and fewer of them seem to be showing up on the backs of cars.
The main reason, observers say, is the increasing political prickliness of Americans. In a divided society, commuters are wary of announcing the way they feel about the president or the war or religion or any other controversial subject.
“The car is the American icon, so there was something wonderful about the bumper sticker,” says Carol Gardner, who traveled the country a decade ago for a book about bumper stickers and the people behind them. “They used to represent the town hall of the American roadway. Now they’re disappearing, and it’s kind of a shame.”
Gardner, whose “Bumper Sticker Wisdom: America’s Pulpit Above the Tail Pipe” (Beyond Words Publishing, $19.95) got national attention when it was published in 1995, has a couple of theories about why fewer people seem to be adorning their cars with messages these days.
“With all of the violence and terrorism in our world today, people just want to be careful about expressing their views,” she says. “They are afraid of the consequences.”
Baby boomers who once plastered their Volkswagen vans with slogans that spoke to issues such as abortion and politics have become more introspective and less activist, notes Gardner, who remains a student of stickers.
“Bumper stickers really became popular in the 1960s when baby boomers were out there taking on all of the issues,” including civil rights and women’s rights, she says. “In the 1990s, the boomers were turning 50 and started buying ‘self-help’ and ‘how to’ books rather than standing up for causes and talking about issues.”
Others point to the fact that more people are driving leased cars or otherwise costly vehicles that they are reluctant to decorate with stickers, which likely will fade, peel and prove difficult to remove.
That helps explain the popularity of the colorful car magnets in the shape of ribbons that promote everything from breast-cancer awareness to supporting the troops. Bumper stickers, observers say, are more likely to end up in cubicles or bulletin boards today than on vehicles.
“We all have nicer cars now,” jokes Deborah Chausse, owner of Evangeline’s gift shop in Sacramento. “I think that’s the reason you rarely see bumper stickers. I know I wouldn’t want to put a sticker on my car that might leave some kind of residue.”
Chausse drives a Lexus.
Sales of bumper stickers have steadily eroded during the past decade as a percentage of all promotional trinkets, including hats and shirts, bags and computer mouse pads, according to an international trade association.
Promotional Products Association International reports that buttons, badges and stickers represented 3.5 percent of sales of such items in 2003, compared with 6.8 percent in 1993.
But although bumper stickers may be less ubiquitous, they do not yet appear to be in danger of going the way of the 8-track tape. Particularly during election years they remain popular, says Bill Prickett of the trade organization.
I send a message on the back of my van..
Of course, it's an 87 Astro Van..
I don't like to clutter my vehicles with personal statements. The only bumper sticker I ever special ordered said, "YOUR MESSAGE HERE."
The thing is, with the advent of color-keyed plastic bumper covers, removing a bumper sticker can actually damage your car. I suspect that's the biggest reason for fewer bumper stickers.
I would put on bumper stickers, but I fear taking my car to a mechanic who disagrees with me.
Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations (i.e. The Baby Boomers) are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.
Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.
My car proudly displays "Self-defense is a basic human right - Second Amendment Sisters"
(My favorite SAS slogan: "Firearms - the ultimate in feminine protection")
Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations (i.e. The Baby Boomers) are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.
Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.
Sorry for the double Ping - No idea why that happens sometimes
I have an old honda and I would put stickers up on there. It's in such a shape that I wouldn't mind someone keying up my car for my Viva Bush stickers *lol*
I've had stickers on the back of my window for years.
The first bumpber sticker that I remember from my childhood was circa 1979-1980. The sticker read "America: Love it or Leave it!" I also remember some stickers that had suggestive remarks regarding what Khomeni could do with himself.
I don't put bumper stickers on my car because I'm afraid the peaceful, tolerant, warm, loving, humanitarian ,fascist thugs of the "liberal" left will trash my car.
During the campaign I saw huge Kerry signs and stickers on the backs of some peoples' vehicles, like they were desperate for attention. It didn't seem to work on me...
Very interesting website. What? I was curious!
I have but one bumper (on the rear window, actually) sticker...replica of the Vietnam Service Ribbon.
Kerry bumper stickers are still around southern NH.
Also saw my first "Hillary in '08" the other day...
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