May. 11th, 2004 13:50
what does it mean?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cosPlease 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?
This weekend, I saw a bumper sticker that said,
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?
I am posting this
I would say that the owner of the sticker is probably a jerk. He put it on his truck or car because he feels like there is too much whining about the underprivileged. He has never really been a minority or seen the subtle struggles that those who are different go through. He was not born into a world where the odds are against him.
He thinks people in this country should learn English, but probably doesn't speak the language of any other country. He would not leave America to live in another country because he already lives in the greatest country in the world, but he would deny that chance or opportunity to anyone from another country who would come here and have trouble learning to speak the language. It is hard to learn a new language. People who try and still speak with an accent are made fun of. They should NOT be made fun of for trying, and I'll bet this guy does it, which is hypocrtical because hew wants people to learn the language.
If this guy is proud to be an American, that's fine. The other stuff is offensive because it's DEfensive - it is meant to provoke and anger, and it's ignorant and separatist.
He should get a bumper sticker that says, "I will HELP you learn to speak English by being polite to you, because I am a lucky American who was lucky enough to be born here to parents who spoke good English in the greatest country in the world."