# What memes or bumper stickers actually make a good point? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 22, 2022, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879 "2022-05-22T14:01:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/1 "2022-05-22T14:01:19Z")
I have no bumper stickers on my car, I do not read or post to Twitter. This is because I feel it’s very unlikely that any actual wisdom can be expressed in so few words. There is always context that goes beyond the pithy quote, often rendering it useless, untrue or at least incomplete. On Facebook, which I look at infrequently these days, I am sometimes exposed to memes. Lots of times I skip over them. But if I do read them I generally engage my skepticism filter and assume that, even if it sounds plausible, I need to look up whatever it’s talking about and research the context. Today I saw one that said, _“The formula shortage is an example of how free market capitalism does exactly what right wing fear mongers think socialism will do.”_ I haven’t looked this up yet. Sounds plausible. But a much better chance that it’s a straw man argument that applies to just a few hard liners. But I am aware that there’s a difference between skepticism and cynicism. Am I filtering too hard and disregarding some good points? What are some examples of short, meme-like statements that actually hold water, and why? What percentage of such statements we see do you suspect withstand skeptical scrutiny? ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/2 "2022-05-22T14:03:09Z")
A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle. (Sorry, feeling a titch snarky today) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/3 "2022-05-22T14:14:49Z")
I generally agree with the sentiment that different religions should coexist (as per the bumper sticker). ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/4 "2022-05-22T14:18:41Z")
I saw one years ago that I thought was great: Militant Agnostic: I don’t know and you don’t either. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/5 "2022-05-22T14:39:21Z")
“Don’t tell me what kind of day to have.” Guess I am feeling a bit snarky today too. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/6 "2022-05-22T15:05:59Z")
I’ve had exactly one bumper sticker in my life (if you don’t count very subtle Grateful Dead icons). It was during the George W. Bush administration (and the two US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan). It read: > If you can read this, you’re not the President I stand by it 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/7 "2022-05-22T15:13:30Z")
“Support our troops. Bring them home.” ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/8 "2022-05-22T15:20:10Z")
I had a '65 Ford with a bumper sticker that read: “Dick Nixon, before Nixon Dicks you”. I was not yet 21 and tried to cross the border into the US in 1973 at the height of Watergate news. Unlike me, the US border guards did not at all appreciate the humour in that sticker and made me scrape it off before they’d let me cross. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/9 "2022-05-22T15:22:58Z")
“Never mind world peace: Visualize using your turn signal” ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/10 "2022-05-22T15:23:00Z")
One of my favorite memes show a picture of the Pope riding around in the Popemobile captioned “Nothing says ‘I trust you GOD’ like 3 inches of bullet proof glass.” ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/11 "2022-05-22T15:29:34Z")
One I saw around town a long time ago, probably just the one car: Memento mori ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/12 "2022-05-22T15:33:31Z")
Get Involved The world is run by those who show up ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/13 "2022-05-22T15:45:54Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > It was during the George W. Bush administration (and the two US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan). > > It read: > > > If you can read this, you’re not the President OTOH there’s one in my neighborhood: _I never dreamed I’d miss Bush_ ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/14 "2022-05-22T15:51:36Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I never dreamed I’d miss Bush I think this one is particularly good because the point is obvious. But those with diminished cognitive capacity who are the supporters of the target of the barb would not necessarily follow the chain of reasoning to a point where they might try to tailgate you and sideswipe you with their pickup truck. After all, you’re saying you like a Republican president. Maybe you just think Biden’s senile and there’s a pedophile conspiracy, right? (And I’m not kidding about the safety issue with political bumper stickers.) ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/15 "2022-05-22T15:54:26Z")
“Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re NOT out to get you!” ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/16 "2022-05-22T18:04:25Z")
I’ve seen multiple iterations of this and can’t remember what the first one was about, but it pops up whenever there’s someone who is a popular topic of discussion/ridicule, especially if a lot of people are focusing on some aspect of them that isn’t actually part of what makes them legitimately despicable, such as their weight, disability, or sexual history. The basic structure is “when you make fun of X for being [fat/old/disabled/a slut], you’re not hurting them because they’ll never hear it. But your [fat/old/disabled/female] friends and family will.” ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/17 "2022-05-22T18:18:14Z")
Godzilla’s bumper sticker (courtesy of **The Far Side** ): I 8 NY ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/18 "2022-05-22T18:42:17Z")
Always bothers me. I can only reply I’ll try ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/19 "2022-05-22T18:47:41Z")
Or for anyone who has been busted, “Is it paranoia if they actually are watching you?”. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879/20 "2022-05-22T20:52:57Z")
I’m not sure how much of a point it was making, but I’ll always have fond memories of my bumper sticker 40 years ago that said, “Nixon/Manson in '84.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-memes-or-bumper-stickers-actually-make-a-good-point/964879.md?page=2)