# I support our troops **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 11, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308 "2004-12-11T13:21:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Razishlyat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Razishlyat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razishlyat)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/1 "2004-12-11T13:21:16Z")
I’m getting kinda sick of all the “I support our troops” wartime propaganda. Those magnetic ribbons make me grind my teeth. They’re lucky I’m a hippie and respect their right to annoy me with bandwagon patriotism, and not just rip them off whenever I see them. Now, this isn’t to say, “I don’t support our troops”… whatever that actually means (I believe there was a recent thread on that subject in GD in the past week). I support our troops as much as I support any other person’s right to life. Now, maybe, if they were actually doing something that actually defended this country, I would support them a bit more. I’ve come up with a new bumpersticker… “I support our troops’ widows/widowers, and those of the Iraqi citizens” But somehow, I suspect that such a sticker would not result in mere tooth grinding… a slashed tire wouldn’t surprise me, and Oh Lordy save me (well, my car) if they happen to have a baseball bat. Pity that free speech doesn’t flow both ways. ---
**Author:** ![MrFantsyPants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MrFantsyPants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFantsyPants)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/2 "2004-12-11T17:41:07Z")
Well, according to some on this board, if you don’t support this war, and the asswipe who started it, then you have no right to claim that you support the troops. To them, I say fuck off. ---
**Author:** ![J\_Kallick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c4cdca/32.png) [@J\_Kallick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J_Kallick)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/3 "2004-12-11T18:01:25Z")
Oh God I thought I was the only one! For a while I had a sign in the back of my car saying “I support ALL troops and NEITHER leader” and I got a few angry honks and perplexed looks. Putting a fucking magnet on your car has got to be the most passive “support” I’ve ever seen. It’s a magnet! It doesn’t even have the permanence of an actual bumper sticker. You’ve paid your dollar and slapped a ribbon on your car’s butt and now you not only have a clear conscience but the moral highground? Well, bully for you. I’m so proud of your undying enthusiasm for protecting america’s youth :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/4 "2004-12-11T18:05:34Z")
I read a comment here that made me laugh. It said something sarcastic along these lines: “I support our troops, but only as long as it doesn’t actually damage my car”. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/5 "2004-12-11T18:06:34Z")
I hate those stupid magnetic ribbons. It seems like every minivan in Indy has five of them. I don’t get it, really. I feel supportive of the troops in that I wish they weren’t there and I know they are just doing their jobs. I feel sympathy for them and their families. However, in no way do I support this war or anything it stands for. The blind patriotism baffles me. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/6 "2004-12-11T18:12:18Z")
Well the “flag” fad is generally over (although I still sometimes see trucks covered with American flags). Now something else must come along. After 9/11 everybody had flags everywhere, but as soon as something else comes along it’s time to take those flags off/down and replace it with the newest fad (in this case, yellow ribbons and/or those ‘W’ Bush stickers). ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/7 "2004-12-11T18:23:42Z")
Okay, I’m confused here. The OP complains about being afraid of harrassment if he(she?) expresses his/her opinion in bumpersticker form. But then the OP expresses a wish to destroy the bumperstickers of other people because they express an opinion he/she does not agree with. Why doesn’t it work both ways, **Razishlyat**? If people want to put “I Support the Troops” or “Bush 4Evah” or “I (Fellate) Rumsfeld” stickers on their car, that’s their right to personal expression. They don’t need your permission to do so. But why is it okay for you to detest their opinion and wish to see their stickers destroyed, but it’s not okay for them to feel the same way about your opinion and stickers? Even if you are, as you say, a non-violent hippie, the urge is still there. What makes it okay for you to want to suppress their mode of expression but not okay for them to do the same to you? Would it not be better to understand that other people feel differantly from you and they, too, wish to express their feelings (in what sounds like a pretty harmless manner). ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/8 "2004-12-11T20:06:08Z")
Your lucky day OP, [http://www.antimagnet.com/](http://www.antimagnet.com/). There’s also a photoshop thread that turned these ribbons into a parody on the [somethingawful.com](http://somethingawful.com) forums too. Great stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/9 "2004-12-11T20:12:00Z")
This was done a few weeks ago, [here’s the thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=288076) if anyone’s interested. I think the magnets at least remind people that there’s more going on in the world than just their big important lives. What bothers me is how I see 18 year old kids behave on MTV worried only about clothes, sex, money, and having bad attitudes, completely ignorant of the fact that 18 year old men and women are fighting and dying overseas. Regardless of how you view the war, at least the magnets help keep our troops in our minds just a little bit more. ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/10 "2004-12-11T20:15:47Z")
**Mississippienne** , you don’t see the difference between having an urge to rip a bumper sticker off a car and actually bashing in someone’s windows? ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/11 "2004-12-11T20:19:23Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > What makes it okay for you to want to suppress their mode of expression but not okay for them to do the same to you? Because she’s right. She’s a hippie, _ergo_ those who disagree with her must be the intolerant ones. Don’t you understand? ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/12 "2004-12-11T20:21:21Z")
> [@chula](#): > > **Mississippienne** , you don’t see the difference between having an urge to rip a bumper sticker off a car and actually bashing in someone’s windows? Cite that the OP has anything more than an unfounded fear? And if you want to move beyond the anecdotal, cite that conservatives are more likely to damage the property of political opponents? ---
**Author:** ![Milkman\_Dan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Milkman\_Dan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milkman_Dan)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/13 "2004-12-11T20:33:27Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Cite that the OP has anything more than an unfounded fear? > > And if you want to move beyond the anecdotal, cite that conservatives are more likely to damage the property of political opponents? You’re right. Conservatives don’t need to shit their own bed when they can be content with illegally invading other countries in order to ‘win the hearts and minds’ of the women and babies they rape, kill, and maim. ‘Compassionate conservatism’ my ass. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji_Kitakyusho)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/14 "2004-12-11T20:50:26Z")
What does it say about your position when your forum for expression consists solely of a captive audience of people stuck behind you in traffic? ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/15 "2004-12-11T20:51:00Z")
> [@Milkman Dan](#): > > You’re right. Conservatives don’t need to shit their own bed when they can be content with illegally invading other countries in order to ‘win the hearts and minds’ of the women and babies they rape, kill, and maim. ‘Compassionate conservatism’ my ass. :rolleyes: Great username. I love Red Meat. Sad that you’re not capable of intelligent and reasoned discourse. ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/16 "2004-12-11T21:00:19Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Cite that the OP has anything more than an unfounded fear? > > And if you want to move beyond the anecdotal, cite that conservatives are more likely to damage the property of political opponents? I’m not saying it’s not an unfounded fear, but having an unfounded fear does not make you a hypocrite. **Mississippienne** accused **Razishlyat** of engaging in the exact same behavior as the people s/he fears. Expressing annoyance at someone’s political views is not at all the same as taking violent action against them because of their views. Although it was not relevant to my post, it is pretty indisputable that non-violent hippies are less likely than other groups to express their views through violence. There are some groups on the left that do not necessarily condemn violence and property damage, but they are definitely not hippies. Since I know of no right-wing pacifists, it’s safe to say that you are more likely to be victim of a violent attack from a right-wing person than a left-wing person. (Unless you think that pacifists are just as likely to be violent as anyone else, which seems to be what **Mississippienne** is implying.) > [@](#): > > Because she’s right. She’s a hippie, ergo those who disagree with her must be the intolerant ones. Don’t you understand? Hippies claim to be more tolerant of people’s differences in terms of race, sexual orientation, handicap, lifestyle choices, etc. I’ve never heard a hippie claim to be tolerant of right-wing political views. How you express your opposition to others’ views makes all the difference in the world. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/17 "2004-12-11T21:53:05Z")
> [@chula](#): > > I’m not saying it’s not an unfounded fear, but having an unfounded fear does not make you a hypocrite. **Mississippienne** accused **Razishlyat** of engaging in the exact same behavior as the people s/he fears. Not quite; she was pointing out that the desire was the same: silencing dissent. > [@](#): > > Although it was not relevant to my post, it is pretty indisputable that non-violent hippies are less likely than other groups to express their views through violence. I dispute it. I’ve known plenty of people who think of themselves as tolerant and open minded who aren’t at all, and can indeed get physically angry. ---
**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/18 "2004-12-11T22:13:40Z")
> [@chula](#): > > Since I know of no right-wing pacifists, it’s safe to say that you are more likely to be victim of a violent attack from a right-wing person than a left-wing person. Unless like me you work in a research lab, in which case you are more likely to be attacked by the left-wing radical groups [ALF or ELF](http://www.furcommission.com/attack/) ---
**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/19 "2004-12-11T22:18:52Z")
> [@chula](#): > > Since I know of no right-wing pacifists, it’s safe to say that you are more likely to be victim of a violent attack from a right-wing person than a left-wing person. Unless like me you work in a research lab, in which case you are more likely to be attacked by the left-wing radical groups [ALF or ELF](http://www.furcommission.com/attack/) ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308/20 "2004-12-11T22:20:13Z")
Does the money for those magnets actually go towards the troops in any way? Or is some company (most likely Chinese) just making a killing, pun intended? Those ribboms make me grind my teeth too. The troops are not happy over there. They’ve complained about the backdoor draft, the crappy equipment, the shitty pensions, the lack of concern for disabled veterans, etc. How about supporting the troops by treating them well? By taking care of their needs even after their service has ended? That’s what I don’t get. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-support-our-troops/279308.md?page=2)