You may, unfortunately, be right.
Ugh. You actually made me groan.
I hate them so much now I even turned down free tickets.
They are. I don’t think I said they weren’t, at least not in this thread… 
I know it’s the new hotness to be intellectual and heartless since the internet is anonymous, but can’t you all let the facade down for one minute and think that maybe, just maybe people really want to show that they support our troops? I have family serving overseas and God forbid I let others know that I’m thinking of them and praying for their safety. It’s worth the $4, and if someone took the time to put the magnets together, mass produce them, and offer them at locations near me, then they deserve a little profit. Lets face it, without incentive a lot would not get accomplished in this country. The last I checked even the SDMB isn’t free.
And who knows, maybe someone who’s so caught up in their everyday lives and miniscule problems will see the ribbon and think about what our troops do for us. Nothing pisses me off more than seeing 18 year old men and women fighting in Falluja while 18 year old boys and girls are back home only worrying about what they’re going to wear to the club that night, what chick they’re going to bang, and how to piss off people on the internet through their intellectual superority.
But your location — I see that it’s now been changed — said something like Ohio. Do you carry a laptop and change your location as you drive? 
Where do you think those people selling them on the side of the road get theirs? 
Um…hm. I change my location to be humours at times, and sometimes when I commute overseas I change it, but I don’t think it’s said “Ohio”. Perhaps something similar…
and be “humorous”…damn. Fingers too cold from shoveling snow.
As are we. I hope they’re safe, I’ll be sending good vibes in that direction.
Putting a cheap flimsy piece of crap does not support the troops. It’s a way to pat yourself on the back and tell other people what a “good american” you are. If you want to support the troops you write them letters or join the USO or volunteer at a vetrans hospital or like me you knit sand-colored hats and fingerless gloves for Adopt-a-sniper and send them jerky and Skittles and Kool-aid because they are down to like 5% body fat and pens and paper and envelopes so they can write to people they miss.
You don’t put a lame-ass magnet on your car so you can think “there, I’m awesome” and sleep like a baby because you’ve “done your part” for the war effort.
I can appreciate that sometimes part of the money goes to related causes, but why not just give the money? By the time something is developed and packaged and mass-produced and distributed like 10 cents of it is going to be left over for any cause. A check to the VFW would enable them to accomplish a hell of a lot more than some schmuck with the incentive to make a quick buck off people who can’t be bothered to do something personal.
Like already mentioned, it is LITERALLY the least you can do.
Those ribbons rub me the wrong way but not for the usual reasons. I support our troops. I even support taking as much time and effort as needed to stabilize Iraq for a hopeful future democracy. I was even in tentative support of going to war to depose Saddam Hussein.
I personally think Bush has made a huge cock-up of the entire thing, but that’s not my point right now.
My point is how those damn ribbons are phrased. “Support Our Troops” reads more like an order than a sentiment. “I Support Our Troops” is fine. I do, too. Some people do not. It is neither our right nor our obligation to tell them they should be doing otherwise in a free country. Bumper stickers should be used to express your own views, not yell at the views of others.
Personal pet peeve.
When I look around and see the way they’ve disappeared now that the election is over, I’m siding with this one.
Look at some of the above posts. In many cases it is not a small portion that goes towards the troops or their families, in many cases *all * of the money is going directly to the Family Readiness or Family Support Group. Ours happen to have our unit crest on it so I like them a bit more. Sure you can give money without getting the ribbon. You could also give money to the girl scouts without getting the cookies. I get the cookies. I also take the poppy on Memorial Day from the VFW. I could give them the money without getting that outward sign of my support but I take the poppy. If you don’t, thats fine.
You may not find them aesthetically pleasing to you but don’t look down your nose at people who have them on their car. I’m sure there are plenty of people who picked one up at 7-11, threw one on their car, and have never done anything for the troops. There are plenty of others who are doing a lot and that is only the outward sign of their support. When I was last home on leave I appreciated the sentiment. I’m sure others appreciate it too.
voguevixen, I support our troops - I vote. I also write letters and send care-packages. But if I also want to show others I support them with a yellow ribbon I don’t see why it gets everyone so up in arms. Tell me, what percentage of the people in this thread against the yellow ribbons voted against Bush? I’d guess 90% or more, and this anti-ribbon campaign going on here is merely a front for the SDMB Bush haters.
Just a silly question, but would anyone care to hazard a guess as to what percentage of the ribbon carriers actually do anything concrete to support our troops? I think I would like to ask that question of the ribbon carriers.
You’re right. It is a silly question. Impossible to answer and entirely irrelevant.
Some people like to put shit on their cars. Full Stop.
I’ve seen McDonald’s bags tossed out of cars sporting environmentalist bumper stickers and got the finger from a prick with a giant peace sign on his door.
Some people just like to put shit on their cars. I find it rarely says anything about the character behind the wheel.
I agree with the OP. They’re almost as stupid as those dumbasses that have a bumper sticker of/fly their nation’s flag. :rolleyes:
The ribbons bug the everliving crap out of me too! Every time I stand in line at Walgreens, there they are - as all of us go about our conspicuous consumerist lives. God forbid, if we had to ration. I’d rather do without to support our troops than slap a crappy magnet on my car. But I forgot this is the new milennium where shopping is patriotic.
I repainted a “Support a Cure” ribbon with acrylic paint. Now it’s a rainbow ribbon. I think I have to varnish it, though, before I can put it on my car.
It looks kinda crappy, though. I wish there were a pre-made ribbon that would succinctly announce my political leanings. 
Guess I’ll make it m’self.
That being said, they annoyed me for a while, but I got over it. It wasn’t a political annoyance, though, so much as the fact that these frickin’ things were EVERYWHERE. Like slap bracelets were, but not as cool.
They’re better than bumper stickers, at least. I noticed, though, as I was shopping for one to paint, that they’ve become harder to find this past week or so. If I see a plain old “Support Our Troops” one, I’ll have to pick one up for posterity.
You’re probably right about the 90% figure, and let me explain why…
“Support our Troops”, thanks to people like Loach, and many other right-wingers, has become synonymous with “Support the Iraq war”. If I put one of those damned ribbons on my car, it will be assumed by almost all who see it that I approve of Bush.
Imagine if the phrase “I Like Freedom” became synonymous with a movement to ban churches. If you put a sticker on your car, people would assume you supported the movement, and if you didn’t, people would say “what, you don’t like freedom? why do you hate America?”. You’d be starting a pit thread too.
But some of the proceeds have to go toward actually manufacturing the ribbons. Even if it’s only a small percentage, that’s still a few cents that would be better spent directly supporting the troops, instead of buying a token so other people know you support them.
For the record, I don’t think the blue ribbon is any better. Why not put that money toward an anti-war organization?