# Bumper stickers -- you're doing it wrong **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 11, 2008, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600 "2008-08-11T13:27:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/41 "2008-08-12T15:38:02Z")
[QUOTE=RiverRunner] Really? It striikes me that it _is_ clever. Having a bigger fish eating a smaller one as part of the “bumper sticker debate” works on a couple of levels. See **Max Torque** ’s post above yours, for one. [/quote] Um… scrolling up to his post, I see that Max Torque notes that it’s “self-contradictory”. If your idea of a riposte that works well is one that contradicts its own position, then yeah, I guess it “works” for me. Knock yourself out. > [@](#): > > Saying “We responded to what you say, but you can’t respond to what we say!” makes you guilty of the very thing you were complaining about. Fail. First, I didn’t say they couldn’t respond; second, I wasn’t complaining about them being hypocritical, I was complaining about them being not clever. Adding feet to the fish; that’s funny, it adds a new angle. Adding another fish to the original fish… well, you already had a fish, what’s the funny new take on the dialogue? ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/42 "2008-08-12T15:43:39Z")
[QUOTE=Cosmic Relief] The fundies couldn’t say “ok, we’ve got our little symbol, and you did your own little thing with it, now we both have little symbols of our own”. No, now there’s a bigger fish labeled “TRUTH” eating the little Darwin fish. If you’re going to go to the trouble of actually stamping out sheet metal, be clever, don’t just graphically say ‘Oh YEAH? Well “YOUR” wrong’. [/QUOTE] I was disappointed that there wasn’t another “oh yeah?!” fish sticker in the other direction: a “science” fish eating the “truth” fish eating the “Darwin” fish. Then there could be a “faith” fish eating the “science” fish eating the “truth” fish eating the “Darwin” fish. Then… …eventually, the recursive fish-eating sticker would have to be a full-window vinyl decal. Then I could put up a sticker of Calvin urinating on all of the fish. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/43 "2008-08-12T15:59:45Z")
I have an "[Evolve](http://www.northernsun.com/images/thumb/2363.jpg) " fish. He’s got little feet, and he’s holding a wrench. He’s awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/44 "2008-08-12T16:02:03Z")
The window stickers of Calvin praying irk me to no end, and they’re incredibly hypocritical. Calvin’s image was never licensed. So basically, the holier-than-thou folks who sport those stickers are stealing. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/45 "2008-08-12T16:15:46Z")
[QUOTE=Litoris] Every now and then, you stumble across a bumper sticker that has the exact opposite impression that is meant. Mine for the weekend: **Try Jesus. If you don’t like him, Satan will gladly take you back!** I saw this and couldn’t help but laugh my ass off – I mean, seriously, who doesn’t like a guy who will always take you back, no matter what you’ve done? In 2 lines, it conveyed to me that 1) Jesus is a simpering turd who will only like me if I do exactly what he wants, when he wants it and how he wants it, while 2) Satan is a non-judgmental kinda guy who will always accept me, no matter what. Pretty much exactly the opposite of what they were trying for, methinks. [/QUOTE] It could also convey that Satan is a wussy doormat who will put up with your bullshit even when he shouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/46 "2008-08-12T16:49:51Z")
[QUOTE=Telperien] It could also convey that Satan is a wussy doormat who will put up with your bullshit even when he shouldn’t. [/QUOTE] Exactly, but that still conveys to me that he is the kinda guy who accepts me just the way I am. I know, I know… I used to have a bumper sticker that had the same issue, it did NOT do what I think they wanted it to do – and that’s why I bought it. It said: **Born OK the first time.** Cracked me up, because I know it was a slap in the face of the born-againers, but it also hit at the “old soul” new-agers and well, pretty much anyone else who believed in any form of reincarnation. I loved that sticker. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/47 "2008-08-12T16:59:36Z")
[QUOTE=Turek] The window stickers of Calvin praying irk me to no end, and they’re incredibly hypocritical. Calvin’s image was never licensed. So basically, the holier-than-thou folks who sport those stickers are stealing. [/QUOTE] You couldn’t throw a cat without hitting at least six vehicles around here that have that on their vehicle somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/48 "2008-08-12T17:00:13Z")
[QUOTE=Litoris] Exactly, but that still conveys to me that he is the kinda guy who accepts me just the way I am. I know, I know… I used to have a bumper sticker that had the same issue, it did NOT do what I think they wanted it to do – and that’s why I bought it. It said: **Born OK the first time.** Cracked me up, because I know it was a slap in the face of the born-againers, but it also hit at the “old soul” new-agers and well, pretty much anyone else who believed in any form of reincarnation. I loved that sticker. [/QUOTE] I never thought of that bumper sticker the second way, but it fits. I like that, too. I’m not sure what the intent of the “In the event of the Rapture, this car will be unmanned” bumper sticker is, but what it says to me is, “I’m a self-righteous person who thinks that I’m so good I’ll ascend to heaven and not be left down here with the rest of you dorks.” (I guess that wouldn’t fit on a bumper sticker) I see a lot of those here. I would like, in response, “If the Rapture comes, can I have your car?” ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/49 "2008-08-12T17:27:42Z")
[QUOTE=Telperien] I never thought of that bumper sticker the second way, but it fits. I like that, too. I’m not sure what the intent of the “In the event of the Rapture, this car will be unmanned” bumper sticker is, but what it says to me is, “I’m a self-righteous person who thinks that I’m so good I’ll ascend to heaven and not be left down here with the rest of you dorks.” (I guess that wouldn’t fit on a bumper sticker) I see a lot of those here. I would like, in response, “If the Rapture comes, can I have your car?” [/QUOTE] LOL. My daughter and I have joked about one that says “In the event of Rapture, I will be taking your car” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/50 "2008-08-12T17:51:47Z")
> [@](#): > > The window stickers of Calvin praying irk me to no end, and they’re incredibly hypocritical. > > Calvin’s image was never licensed. So basically, the holier-than-thou folks who sport those stickers are stealing. i’ve never seen those, thank Og. I DO see a lot of the Calvin-peeing-on-something rear window stickers. But you know that the folks who make those and who use them DON’T care that they’re stealing. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/51 "2008-08-12T17:58:12Z")
I always wanted a sticker that says “tell god the gas is on the right” (in response to the “god is my copilot”) ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/52 "2008-08-12T18:14:54Z")
[QUOTE=Cosmic Relief] Um… scrolling up to his post, I see that Max Torque notes that it’s “self-contradictory”. If your idea of a riposte that works well is one that contradicts its own position, then yeah, I guess it “works” for me. Knock yourself out. [/quote] Slight nitpick here: If you quote someone as saying a word, you might want to check to see whether they said it or not. That’s immaterial, though; I know what you mean. The thing is that it doesn’t necessarily contradict its own position. It does for **Max** , and probably for many other people. That’s why he posted it. Obviously, the “fundies” see it a different way. (For that matter, if I understand things correctly, it doesn’t even mean that in a scientific sense. If a bass eats a bream, which has eaten a minnow, which has eaten whatever (I know pretty much diddly-squat about fish, as you can probably tell), then that is the way things are supposed to function. It would only be natural selection if it was a picture of a bream out-eating all the other middle fish or some such. ) > [@](#): > > First, I didn’t say they couldn’t respond; second, I wasn’t complaining about them being hypocritical, I was complaining about them being not clever. And I said that it looks clever to me. > [@](#): > > Adding feet to the fish; that’s funny, it adds a new angle. Adding another fish to the original fish… well, you already had a fish, what’s the funny new take on the dialogue? That would be the “couple of levels” I mentioned. You can take it either as: **a** ) Bigger fish eating smaller fish reference to [the old big fish eating little fish diagram](http://www.fotosearch.com/IMZ226/csh0188/) , although they are facing each other in this case. **b** ) Natural selection in action, which is what **Max** , et al., see in it, although I tend to think it doesn’t really apply here. **c** Darwin has part of the truth, but not all of it. **d** God is bigger than Darwin. Look, the topic of the thread is “bumper stickers which didn’t have the effect on you that the owner intended.” If that applies in this case, then bully for you. I have no problem there. > [@](#): > > Fail. :rolleyes: I fail at things all the time. I obviously have failed in my attempt at communication in this thread. Fortunately for me, though, I don’t look to you to determine my successes and failures in life, or even on the SDMB. RR ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/53 "2008-08-12T18:19:02Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I DO see a lot of the Calvin-peeing-on-something rear window stickers. But you know that the folks who make those and who use them DON’T care that they’re stealing. [/QUOTE] I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts that the people who buy them and use them have no idea they’re stealing in the first place. All they did was buy a sticker. Most of them wouldn’t even be able to tell you the figure is Calvin. Now, the people who make them, on the other hand . . . RR ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/54 "2008-08-12T18:24:54Z")
[QUOTE=Turek] The window stickers of Calvin praying irk me to no end, and they’re incredibly hypocritical. Calvin’s image was never licensed. So basically, the holier-than-thou folks who sport those stickers are stealing. [/QUOTE] Those stickers are the answer to all the **WWJD** stickers. What would Jesus do? Violate copyright. ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/55 "2008-08-12T18:36:32Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Those stickers are the answer to all the **WWJD** stickers. What would Jesus do? Violate copyright. [/QUOTE] Heh…I’ve often asked myself “what would Jesus do?” and the answer, after having carefully read the Bible, is always "trash the synagogue and hang out with whores, tax collectors and lepers. Since I live in the South and there aren’t many synagogues around and what with leprosy being all but obliterated, I am left to run with the whores and tax collectors. My daughter and I have also joked that we should do a tee shirt with a picture of Buddy Jesus and “WWJD?” on the front, on the back it would be a picture of the crucifix and “He’d just hang out.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/56 "2008-08-12T18:39:49Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts that the people who buy them and use them have no idea they’re stealing in the first place. All they did was buy a sticker. Most of them wouldn’t even be able to tell you the figure is Calvin. I suspect a lot of them know or suspect, and don’t care. As for not being Calvin, there’s an entire other class of Nasty-Kid-Who’s-Not-Calvin-Peeing-On-Stuff out there, too. They’re just as vulgar, but they’re not stealing. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/57 "2008-08-12T19:15:52Z")
[QUOTE=Runs With Scissors] … I’m-going-to-tell-you-how-to-live bumper stickers. … “Coexist,” [/QUOTE] Yeah, don’t tell _me_ not to cut the throats of everyone I meet who is in any way different from me, 'cause anyone who’s in favor of peaceful coexistence is a self-righteous, preachy asshole who’s interfering with my right to believe in genocide. ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/58 "2008-08-12T19:17:37Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I suspect a lot of them know or suspect, and don’t care. [/QUOTE] Perhaps so, but I don’t see it. How are they going to know? I know it because I’m a C&H fan and I read about it in one of the books. I have also seen one online article about it, and that was years ago. Somehow, I doubt that someone who sees a sticker in a store is going to go home and research the copyright status of it before he buys it. Do you do that? I certainly don’t, and I don’t know anyone who does. RR ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/59 "2008-08-12T19:33:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Perhaps so, but I don’t see it. How are they going to know? I know it because I’m a C&H fan and I read about it in one of the books. I have also seen one online article about it, and that was years ago. > > Somehow, I doubt that someone who sees a sticker in a store is going to go home and research the copyright status of it before he buys it. Do you do that? I certainly don’t, and I don’t know anyone who does. You don’t need the absolute certainty of copyright checking – the mere fact that the character is doing something like peeing on a symbol, when nothing at all like that happened with the character in the strips, is a pretty big tip-off. I don’t need to research the Disney copyrights to guess with high probability that the infamous “Disney Character Orgy” poster wasn’t officially licensed by Disney. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600/60 "2008-08-12T19:43:21Z")
[QUOTE=Jeep’s Phoenix] I also recently saw a pickup truck with a large cross on the back; printed underneath in fancy script was “IN MEMORY OF JESUS CHRIST”. I’m not quite sure what the message was supposed to be…that “in memory of” meme is typically used for dead people/animals. [/QUOTE] I don’t see where your confusion comes from…Christ is dead, after all. 😕 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumper-stickers-youre-doing-it-wrong/459600.md?page=4)