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

[bouncingleaf.livejournal.com]

I've always had mixed feelings about "straight pride marches" and the like. On one hand, I understand why oppressed groups gather, do visibility activities like marches, etc. On the other hand, being ashamed of self for being a member of a privileged group isn't especially useful either (not that this knowledge has prevented me from feeling shame).

I'd like to see more people asking themselves "what does it mean to me to be who I am?" and finding ways to be proud of it that don't involve putting down other people. Because I've thought about this in the past, it was my first reaction to the sticker.

But quickly my more pessimistic side says nah, the sticker belongs to someone who thinks that anything else is Wrong, or who at least doesn't understand why anyone who deviates from that formula might want to speak up about it. And I find that sad.

Would I put the corresponding sticker on my car ("Bisexual, White, English-Speaking, Somewhat Ashamed American")? Uh... probably not in those words, but I note that two of the bumper stickers on my car deal with my two deviations from the original slogan, and none of the other bumper stickers deal with any of the other words.

Hmm.