what does it mean?

[cos]

Please comment on this post before you read anyone else's comments.

This weekend, I saw a bumper sticker that said,
Straight, White, English-Speaking
Proud American
For a moment, I was offended ... then I started thinking of several different possible intentions, meanings, and contexts for this slogan. After a bit of confusion, I settled on curiosity. What does it mean? What did the people who sold it intend for it to convey, and what did the person who put it on their car intend to say by it? I can think of several different possibilities or nuances, and maybe there are more.

So tell me, what do you read in this bumper sticker slogan? And if, like me, you see several possibilities, which one came first, before you thought about it?

Comments

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

*laugh* Yes!

My secondary reactions right now also have a lot to do with the fact that just the other night, I was discussing this topic with some friends. Specifically, I noted the absurdity (to me) of being "proud" of something that you were simply born with. What is pride? Why does it apply to inborn traits?

It is my belief that "Proud to be X" is only relevant (in a positive way) to groups that have been marginalized, told to be ashamed because they are X, that sort of thing. It isn't about thinking there is something inherently better about X, but rather about affirming that it is not something to be ashamed of. I guess "I'm X and that's OK" would be more accurate technically, but it doesn't actually convey the feeling as accurately as "I'm X and I'm proud." Interesting, that.

In any case, the list on the bumper sticker above not qualify, imho.

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

How about "I'm happy to be X"? That sounds a little more positive to me than "I'm X and that's OK".

[epilady.livejournal.com]

Jonathan Ned Katz talks about "pride" in his text The Invention of Heterosexuality , quoting someone else's interesting point that the opposite of "pride" is "shame." When someone asserts they are "proud" of a cultural identity, they are often masking prior (or still existing) shame. There would be no need for "gay pride" if being gay was not something formerly considered shameful.

So let him be as "proud" as he wants to be facing extinction. Good riddance!