Sunday, August 8, 2010

Say It Loud, I'm Whack and Proud

Fellow blogger David Steinlicht sent me this photo, which he took in St. Paul's Como Park. He said it seemed like a better fit on my blog than his. I guess he's on to me.

Gray shiny pickup truck back with bumper sticker reading Green is the new Red accompanied by green earth and red hammer and sickle symbols

So many things to say:

  • First, the natural home for a bumper sticker like this has to be on the back of a shiny, new, full-size Silverado pickup truck. Doesn't it always seem as though folks with sparkling, full-size pickups buy the biggest one possible, then never use it for its intended purpose? But I suppose the reason it's so shiny isn't necessarily because it's never used for hauling. It may be because its owner washes it constantly, sending sudsy water down into the government-owned storm sewers.
  • The sentiment expressed is clearly just another oddity from the crazy wing of the Republican party. Kind of like Dan Maes, a leading candidate in the Colorado governor's race, who recently called bike sharing programs (like Minneapolis's Nice Ride) an attempt to make our cities "U.N. communities." The U.N. is, of course, code for "international socialism" in Maes's circle. Plus, there are a lot of bicycles in China.
  • It grieves me to think some of us have come to this type of conclusion, in the midst of our urgent need to change how we live so we can preserve the Earth for future generations of humans, as well as the plants and animals who also live here. Do Red Scare tactics really further intelligent discussion of our problems?
  • And finally, I can't end without pointing out that the truck was seen in Como Park. You know, one of those communist, community-owned green spaces that somehow seem to make cities more livable. This guy going to the park is kind of like Glenn Beck saying he learned everything at one of our "free" libraries.
There's more to say, I know. But I've already given this bit of nitwittedness more energy than I can spare.

3 comments:

Carmella said...

I'm so getting one of these stickers for my Outback...I just wish I had a Smart Car...

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

Wow. That's all I can say. I've just posted something about Koua Fong Lee and referenced several of your posts. Thanks for alerting your readers to the petition for a new trial months ago.

Ms Sparrow said...

What is with those people who are still fighting the "red menace"? There's something kinda old-fashioned and schizophrenic about it.