Buckeyes: What's Up with These "Support Our Troops" Signs?

[Kukesa]

You know, the ones we're seeing on cars -- they're magnetic ribbons and are either yellow or red-white-and-blue.

Who's selling them? Proceeds go where?

The most pro-Shrub people I know have TWO on each of their cars . . . hmmm . . . just wondering.

And WHY is it assumed that if we don't support this horrible war in Iraq, we don't support our troops?

I've seen B-C'04 yard signs next to "Support President * and our Troops." What's up?

[markus]

1. At five bucks a piece, I'd say the profit motive.

We should have some made up that say.

Support The Troops-Dump Bush

[VolcanoJen]

8. In defense of the Yellow Ribbon magnets...

... which I find personally distasteful, because they make my spiffy little sports car look like everyone else's spiffy little sports car, my best friend in the world is selling the magnets for $5 a pop, to raise funds so that the families of her brother's National Guard Unit can buy a laptop computer for the guys to take with them to Iraq.

:-(

I gave her $20, and told her to keep the magnet and sell it to someone else.

I'm not sure which groups are benefitting from the sales of the ribbon magnets, but at least my friend's cause is a worthy one.

[Kukesa]

16. "Support The Troops - Dump Bush"

Now, that's a keeper, markus.

I'll be your Dayton, Ohio, distributor!

[Trajan]

2. You seem a tad naive ....

Confuting support for one's soldiers with support for the ruling party is as old as the hills ....

I think it wise to support the Troops AND reject the GOP government .... dont LET them tie the two ....

[VolcanoJen]

7. OK, but it would be a little tricky...

... to fit that message on a lawn sign or magnet. Ineffective, to boot.

And, Trajan, speaking from personal experience, Kukesa does not possess a naive bone in her body. It's a valid question; I remember Gulf War I (wasn't that long ago), and since then, we've really jumped the shark on the "yellow ribbon" imagery, haven't we?

[AngryOldDem]

11. "Tie A Yellow Ribbon..."

...whoever thought a Tony Orlando and Dawn song would take on such a life of its own? Hell, the song wasn't even that GOOD! (Knock Three Times was much better...but I digress...)

The Iran hostage crisis must be a little before your time, because that's when all this silliness started. And I say "silliness," because these ribbons have become cliche.

Just bring the troops home. Period. And vote the moron who sent them there out of office and into oblivion.

[VolcanoJen]

12. Tony Orlando is loving the money!

Can you imagine? He probably thought his career was dead in the 70s, only to be resurrected in the early 90s.

Now, here we are, 2004, and his stupid freaking imagery remains front-and-center.

Ferchrissakes, wasn't that song written about a FELON? When did the transition from "felon-supporting" to "patriotic" occur? Seems like a weak-ass argument, especially from the Republican side.

I'm comin' home, I've done my time
Now I've got to know what is and isn't mine
If you received my letter telling you I'd soon be free
Then you'll know just what to do
If you still want me
If you still want me

Whoa, tie a yellow ribbon 'round the ole oak tree
It's been three long years
Do ya still want me? (still want me)
If I don't see a ribbon 'round the ole oak tree
I'll stay on the bus
Forget about us
Put the blame on me
If I don't see a yellow ribbon 'round the ole oak tree


That's a cause I can really support: Democrats Against the Unnecessary Resurrection of Tony Orlando's Career. I think I'll just go ahead and start my own blog. :-)

Does Tony have his own "theater" in Bransford, Missouri yet? If not, he'd best get busy.

[AngryOldDem]

15. That's What's Always Amused Me...

....about those damned things in the first place (and I almost mentioned it in my post) -- the song is a about someone getting released from prison! I could KINDA see the tie to the Iran hostages...kinda. And I could understand how we needed some kind of emotional release/tie to these people since we had never experienced something like that before. But now we seem to haul it out for whatever reason. My dog's lost...break out the yellow ribbon.

I'm surprised Tony's not booked for the RNC. He'd be perfect.

[Kukesa]

13. "Hey, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose?"

Remember that one? But, I, too, digress.

If you'd like some background on HOW this yellow ribbon emblem became a part of our national folklore, here's a good site:

http://www.loc.gov/folklife/ribbons/ribbons.html

Who knows, you might be on "Jeopardy" some day.

:P

[LosinIt]

3. I have seen them here in Central/Western NY also

I think it is part of a conspiracy that I am not a part of because I have never seen them sold or advertised. Maybe it's like an American Legion or VFW promotion.???

[RubyDuby in GA]

4. I can't speak for y'all in Ohio

but here in GA I have one of those magnetic yellow ribbons that says Support our Troops on my car along with my Kerry/Edwards bumper sticker and Mission/Nothing Accomplished bumper sticker and other democratic items. I simply refuse to let them paint us all as unpatriotic.

I also happen to have a dear friend whose oldest son, the light of her life, is an active duty Marine that was in the invasion of Iraq last year, then sent to Afghanistan, and then dumped back in Iraq. I support him and all the men and women like him who are doing what they are told to do because of a great big lie.

And I've seen that Support our Troops and our President sign. It makes me sick. Idiots.

[VolcanoJen]

14. Here's how to whip the "Support our Troops and our President" sign...

... into submission.

The signs in my own neighborhood read "Support President Bush. Support our Troops."

Accept the sign from the door-knocking Republicans, and replace the "President Bush" part with your own "Kerry/Edwards" bumpersticker.

Mission Accompished.

[Kukesa]

17. Mission Accomplished!

Terrific idea, Jen. Let's do it, folks.

(VolcanoJen gets her brains from her Mother.)

:loveya:

[Philostopher]

5. Actually, I thought that too, at first.

Then we got behind a couple of young guys in a Prius the other night who had a couple on their car. They looked like they might have been active duty Air Force (right age, short hair), though since we were behind them I couldn't see if they had a WPAFB sticker on the car or not. What I could see was the 'Kerry/Edwards' sticker right in the middle of the back bumper.

I wonder if they weren't selling them at county fairs or something.

I know we used to assume everybody who had the red white and blue stickers that said something ambiguously patriotic was a jingo, then we found out the home-improvement stores were handing them out. Somebody here on DU said they had one on their car, and when asked if they didn't think that was like identifying with Bush*, the person said, "no, I don't -- and besides, it was free!"

So I no longer make any assumptions about anything I see on somebody's car that's not overtly political. Apparently, they don't make them when they put the things on their cars in the first place.

[AngryOldDem]

6. Probably a Fund-raiser

Google has the answer to everything. I typed in "support our troops ribbons" and got this hit, one out of many.

http://www.magnetamerica.com/

Schools and church groups probably see this as the gold mine that it obviously is.

There are plenty more hits to this on Google than what I can post here.

Answer to your second question: Because this administration has linked one's "patriotism" to the support (or lack thereof) of one's leaders, or one's leaders' actions. That's what POes me most about those "Support President Bush AND Our Troops" signs. It says that it has to be both or otherwise you are not a good American. And note the billing on those signs. I support the TROOPS first. Small point, but telling.

And I know exactly the sign you are referring to in your last sentence. That's been up for almost a year -- certainly since last winter, because I wondered then what the hurry was to drag out the political signage.

[shirlden]

9. Seeing a lot of those

and I wish I had a sign saying "Bring them home" so I could put it right beside the "Support our Troops"

[VolcanoJen]

10. There's a Repub at work who has THREE RIBBONS on her car...

... a yellow one, a red-white-blue one, and a black "POW/MIA" one.

Guess that makes her THREE TIMES more patriotic than I am, huh?

God, how I loathe the sheeple mentality. Of COURSE I support the troops, but I mean that literally, and I'm not in it just to pay meanless lip service through the horribly misguided display of some stupid magnet on my car.

Support the Warriors, Not the War. Now, that's a magnet I'd put on my own car.