I haven’t taken my Kerry/Edwards sticker off my bumper yet. I don’t know why. Maybe my period of mourning hasn’t passed yet. Or maybe I want to cling to it as my own “I told you so” for when Bush’s continued incompetence finally catches up to him, although his re-election leaves me little hope that it ever will.
Other cars sport magnetic yellow or flag colored ribbons reminding us to “Support Our Troops” and that “United We Stand”. I guess we’ve run short of ‘old oak trees’. I support our troops. But I do not support their Commander-in-Chief. Is he supporting our troops?
Now Lance Armstrong’s rubber yellow braclets have led a new wave of wearable advocacy. It’s not new really, I can remember the metal bracelet my father used to wear in remembrance of a POW/MIA soldier in Vietnam. And some have jumped on this bandwagon by offering blue or black bracelets to tell the world you’re no Bush supporter. I don’t know if I’ll get one, I might. Anyone who knows me doesn’t need to see a bracelet to know my politics.
Just be careful what color your put on your wrist, as there may be untended consequences, especially in a hospital.
update: too funny… tonight on my commute home I saw a truck with 7 various ribbon magnets, two American flags, and two racing number 3’s for Dale Earnhardt 🙂
For further reading:
Anti-Bush Bracelets Say, ‘Count Me Blue’
AP, 1/15/05
Heart on a wrist
San Francisco Chronicle, 1/14/05, editorial
Proliferating bracelets could pose hazards for patients
American Medical News, 1/3/05