Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

Professor, have an "Obama/Satan 2012" bumper sticker made, apply it to your car, and see if it's still there at the end of the day (and see if your car hasn't been vandalized).

I thought of an easy little experiment once. I just thought it up when I was waiting in line at my local Whole Foods--where all the employees are studiously hip. A customer a few places ahead of me in line had a T-shirt with Munch's "The Scream," portrayed, with "Bush/Cheney" printed above it.

The checker spoke approvingly of the customer's t-shirt and chatted amiably with him. I thought, "What if I were wearing a pro-Reagan t-shirt? I'll bet I'd get unfriendly treatment."

I thought it would be interesting for some political science grad students to wear politically inspired t-shirts in areas known to vote predominately the opposite of the views endorsed on the t-shirts.

Sometime later, I read a column by a liberal who did just that (it was either on Slate or Salon, I believe. I've searched for it since and couldn't find it).

First he wore a t-shirt supporting Gore in conservative areas. Nothing. Any reaction at all from passersby ... just playful and good-natured. He's a bit surprised at this point.

Then the liberal author puts on a t-shirt supporting Bush and frequents liberal areas near me on the westside of LA. Suddenly he experiences constant and rude reactions. People are cursing at him while walking by, yelling at him from passing cars, and making obscene gestures with their fingers.

The poor liberal is shaken and relates at the end of the story how he couldn't wait to get home to take off the t-shirt, as he's had enough of being the focus of so much hate from strangers.

I wish I had saved it so I could share it. I hope what he learned stayed with him.

Car needs an OBAMA/ BUMBLER sticker on the left side, the side that has two flat tires, that's been sideswiped, and which has the door to an empty gas tank with a cap missing.

In my city, cars with Republican stickers of any kind have an excellent chance of being keyed. Cars with Democratic, Peace and Hate Bush stickers either get cheers or eyerolls.

Are the times a-changin?

"The Harvard Crimson quite correctly notes the disturbing way Democrat First Ladies seem to view their jobs–as yet another power center."

The PJ Tatler

The Lady Doth Too Much

The Crimson

From the comments:

Gloria

"This is a wonderful item from a Harvard student! I’m a retired professor and just before I retired I began to see a new kind of undergraduate student in my classes. I will call them “post-postmodern.”

From my post-postmodern students’ comments in class and elsewhere it seemed to me that they were quite unwilling to accept the old platitudes that women were all oppressed and that we had to revere all multicultural practices, no matter how bizarre. This Harvard student’s questioning of a Black politician’s wife’s right to dictate what all Americans should and should not eat falls right in line with this new post-postmodern attitude. This new type of student has grown up with the platitudes uttered by and enforced by political correctness and seems to be doing what most young people of college age do–revolting against the previous generation’s platitudes and attitudes. I found my students’ post-postmodern stance surprising and quite refreshing and wonderful. I’m not sure that journalists and the general public are aware yet of this new way of thinking among our youth."
February 26, 2011 - 10:06 am

Old Civility, we hardly knew ye.

Which is why I live in Dallas. I have a bumper sticker "A taxpayer voting for Barack Obama is like a chicken voting for Col Sanders."

Nothing but compliments. Of course, I also have an NRA sticker so maybe they figure I'm packing (and would usually be right).

How about Obama=Santa.

It's derogatory in a way too nuanced for the left to understand.

Professor, with regard to your closing inquiry, to wit:

"And while you're at it, don't you miss the old civility?"

I suppose I would, if only I could recall a clear instance or two. Really trying here! Still trying!

In keeping with the bumper sticker theme, perhaps you were referring to something like this?

I found it amongst a collection put together by Zombietime (who, in turn, credited "Last Mohican" with the photo).

The Zombietime post consists of examples of both explicit and implicit threats upon the person of our former President, back in the not too distant past when any notion of civility in public discourse had decidedly taken a back seat to non-encomious vituperation. At least it had on the left!

You’ll note, as did the author at Zombietime, the other (Obama '08) bumper-sticker on the vehicle, up near the window.

That pretty well suggests that this particular instance of bumper-sticker incivility can fairly be attributed to a larboard-leaning Obama supporter . . . at least he or she was back in '08.

So it would seem, anyway.

So, no, I can't say that I really miss that sort of old "civility."