I know it has happened
to just about everyone at one time or another. You’re stopped at a stop light
and you happen to glance at the vehicle in front of you. Something catches your
eye that is plastered to the window, the bumper or is hanging from the rear of
the vehicle.
You quickly think to yourself, “I hope my 8-year-old daughter sitting next to
me in the car didn’t see what I’m looking at. If she did see it, then I probably
have some explaining to do.”
The vehicle in front of you has an obscene bumper sticker, a vinyl cartoon
characterture stuck to the rear window that is depicting someone urinating on
an object or there is an extremely large pair of plastic bull testicles hanging
from the rear bumper.
Your feelings are paradoxical in that you first think what you observed is
offensive and obscene to you. However, then your mind wanders to the First
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. You reflect on what the constitution says
about freedom of speech and that what you just observed is offensive to you,
may not be to others.
There is the “thin line” that defines what is offensive and what isn’t. The
phrase “patently offensive” first appeared in Roth v. United States
(1957), referring to any obscene acts or materials that are considered to be
openly, plainly, or clearly visible as offensive to the viewing public.
However, in Miller v.
California (1973), a five-person majority agreed for the first time
since “Roth” as to a test for determining constitutionally unprotected obscenity,
superseding the “Roth Test.”
Miller v. California was an important U.S. Supreme Court case involving what constitutes
unprotected obscenity for First Amendment purposes. The decision reiterated
that obscenity was not protected by the First Amendment and established the Miller Test for determining
what constituted obscene material.
The advertising or subjects being proudly displayed by individuals on their
vehicles may not necessarily highlight a business. They might make you laugh,
make you mad or make you think that the person who is driving the vehicle in front
of you is utilizing a venue available to them to display their thoughts and
opinions.
Signs and objects displayed on vehicles have been around a long time. But you
might want to take into consideration that maybe the underlying justification
for the bumper sticker on the bumper itself or on another portion of the
vehicle isn’t actually for making a political or sectarian statement. It’s
holding the vehicle together or is covering up a dent or some rust.
It is widely believed that bumper stickers came about prior to World War II and
in 1934, the “king of the bumper sticker” Forest P. Gill, a silk screen printer
from Kansas City, founded the “Gill-line” in his basement.
The first bumper stickers were attached to the bumpers of vehicles with wires; however,
Gill later realized utilizing a pressure sensitive stock was a good way to
replace the wire attachments.
The use of bumper stickers became very popular in political campaigns after
World War II. The practice of placing bumper stickers on vehicles was deemed an
outstanding way to get the message out. Many advertisers grabbed onto the
concept for commercial purposes and bumper stickers appealed as a medium for
all kinds of slogans, often just to get a laugh from someone who saw it.
Bumper stickers’ slogans and messages can be an expression of pride in our
country and military. But to others, the same bumper sticker can take on an
entirely different meaning.
A prime example would be a U.S. Marine Corps bumper sticker.
To some, Marine Corps bumper stickers display the pride someone has in a
particular branch of the military; their parents, brothers or sisters may be
serving our country in. Maybe a loved one of theirs sacrificed their life for
our freedom. But to others, especially anti-war groups and certain individuals,
it is an advertising bumper sticker for baby killers.
I especially like the vinyl charactertures that show the family unit of the
driver of a particular vehicle. Some drivers even show if a pet is part of their
family. They didn’t want to leave Fido out.
And when I see some of the vehicles with the vinyl stickers with a horde of little silhouettes depicting each of the family, I think someone didn’t practice birth control or has adopted a lot of children.
There are numerous bumper stickers that depict the president of the U.S. in an
unnecessarily bad way and insinuate he is the cause of many of our problems.
Some of the bumper stickers even allude to a former president not being an
American.
Some individuals love to display bumper stickers depicting efforts by the
Sierra Club and other purpose-driven groups. They believe the club is America’s
oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization.
They also boast to having more than 1.3 million friends and neighbors, working
together to protect our communities and the planet.
But, to off-road enthusiast, ranchers and prospectors, many of them despise
seeing Sierra Club bumper stickers and believe they are a radical-environmental
group dead set on diminishing the inalienable rights of U.S. citizens.
Many believe the efforts by the Sierra Club are particularly damaging and
curtail their efforts to have fun in the outdoors and also to make a living.
They believe the Sierra Club is the main driving force behind certain
legislature that curtails activities on BLM and other public lands.
I know that there have been efforts by the Sierra Club and other
ecology-environmental related organizations that want to close off major blocks
of acreage of public lands to motorized vehicles in order to protect a bug or a
flower.
I myself would rather drive on my quad to the location where the bugs or
flowers are so I could take a picture of them. That way, my camera wouldn’t
shake from me being out of breath from having to walk miles just to take a
flick of the bug or flower.
There is a myriad, if not millions, of different types of bumper stickers and other signs for vehicles out there for sale. And their subject material is wide and varied. Some are cute and others can be deemed downright disgusting.
Some of the bumper stickers that have cute sayings and sometimes, an underlying meaning deal with water conservation and about politics. Examples are “Conserve water, shower with me” and “Water – more precious than gold.”
If I was a bumper sticker kind of guy, I might choose “Without nightmares, I’d
have no dreams at all.”
All I suggest is to exercise a little common sense when you think about
affixing a sign, characterture, bumper sticker or a plastic replica of a body
part on your vehicle. Think twice to consider what you are about to do might be
deemed offensive or obscene to others.
Remember the kind of message you might be sending to children and adults whom
see your bumper sticker or diagram on your vehicle.
However, that doesn’t mean you should never place a bumper sticker on your vehicle. Why not tell the world how you feel! Bumper stickers are perfect for expressing yourself while cruising down the highway or just for posting on the wall.
Butch Meriwether
Golden Valley
