Do you think this is funny?

[fried eggs]

Because there are thousands of facebook posts saying that it is:

[hobbit709]

1. Only in the sense that someone is stupid enough to put this on their truck.

[loli phabay]

5. i reckon they get pulled over a lot.

[Katashi_itto]

32. I agree, it's funny that someone would be stupid enough to put that on their truck

That would be constant pullovers. But I am not going to judge someone's personal brand of humor.

[loli phabay]

42. humour is always a subjective thing, hard to judge what others find funny.

[Katashi_itto]

54. Agree!! I refuse to judge someone over a drawing

Way to much of a lemmings mentality about this thread.

[LanternWaste]

84. I imagine many people perceive social mores as "lemmings". On the other hand...

I imagine many people perceive social mores as "lemmings". On the other hand, often what we find funny does indeed, advertise much about who we are.







From 'Der Sturmer' 1933

( “One can do anything to those Goyim. Our people crucified their Christ on the cross, and we do a great business on his birthday....”)

[Katashi_itto]

104. Equating Social Mores and a single thread is a stretch

As for humor, what I would think is funny you may not. Deciding "who" we are via our humor is rather a sporty proposition. And it's stilll judging the person on your perceived merits.

[CTyankee]

69. What's your guess as what the truck owner thinks about women?

What is the message here, in your opinion?

[loli phabay]

73. i dont know, mayby she hates other women, or its a pic of her in the bed.

its like trying to give a diagnosis over the phone or from a pic.

[CTyankee]

75. So your opinion is that it might be a woman's truck...OK...

and I did ask for your opinion, not any kind of diagnosis...

[loli phabay]

76. just as valid as your assumption that a guy owns the truck.

but that would not fit the agenda.

[CTyankee]

78. Oh, but I didn't refer to the truck owner as a guy...that was your assumption...

[loli phabay]

80. true, but i am pretty sure that was your implication

or are you willing to concede it may be a female owner with a different sense of humour. i do think its probuably a guy owner though. though i have seen female owners with funny and on the borderline of sick stuff about guys on their vehicles so i am not jumping to a conclusion.

[CTyankee]

83. I guess it could be a woman's dark view of how females are treated

in our society, I guess. Or a man's dark view of how he would LIKE to treat women, but can't, so he passes it off as "humor."

Certainly, it sends a "message." Or else why would we be discussing it here?

[loli phabay]

93. or it could be just someones sense of humour, i may not agree with it but people have different stan

standards of whats funny.

[CTyankee]

116. but again, what about a bound and gagged woman is funny? In your opinion, of course. And...

beyond that, WHY is it funny? I have given you two of my guesses.

You know, loli phabay, we are both moral agents. And, as such, we can make judgments on such issues. Of course, you do not have to respond to me. But I hope you will, in the interest of future discussion and deeper analysis. In good faith, I have tried to go into this with you on a philosophical level because I want you to think deeply about this picture. Is it a terrible picture of what can happen to women? Is it deeply satirical, even depressing about women? Is it angry? Is it retaliatory against women's rights in this country?

Can we discuss this in the context of our society? Are we even serious about having a debate about politics on DU?

These are issues we can debate here and it is why I joined DU in 2004.

[loli phabay]

120. dont think i said anywhere i found it funny, actually said it was not my taste.

everyday i see stuff that people find funny that i dont just get, some even borderline offensive, some.downright offensive. as another poster said he has seen the same thing as this with a guy bound. people at heart are jerks when seen by others, especially when it comes to humour. i got no idea why they have it, it could be for reasons listed or it could just be a different sense of humour, i got no idea.

[CTyankee]

123. thank you for your thoughtful reply.

How do we respond when we see images of human beings being bound hand and foot to where they cannot move? What does this say to us? Surely, we have a human response. Surely, something rises in us and says "this is not how I, a human being, would want to be treated."

So if we get to that level, what further do we say? Do we say "This is not humanist." and respond or do we shrug and say nothing?

And the fact is, we don't see the "guy" you talk about bound, do we? Shouldn't we ask, "Why don't we?" and not just brush it off?

[loli phabay]

124. no problem, though being bound etc does not bother me so much as long as theres consent but thats a

a different du war.

[CTyankee]

126. well, consent has not been brought into this discussion nor has it been presented as such.

So that is a non sequitur to this conversation. If it is a question of consent, then I wonder why it is advertised on the back of a truck.

Is that your interpretation?

Tell us what you think it means. I think we'd like to hear it.

[loli phabay]

127. sorry was not meaning to bring it in, just was being polite and then saying that the bound part

is no biggie to me, i apoligise for sidetracking was not my intent.

[tblue37]

128. Humor is often used to *normalize* behavior and attitudes that are entirely

beyond the pale morally and ethically.

One reason why the racist joke emails that Repub officials sent around mocking the POTUS and FLOTUS were so offensive is that, in addition to revealing the senders' racist attitudes, those kinds of "jokes" make other people think that such racism is okay because they see it frequently and in situations (and coming from people) that are supposedly "respectable."

It isn't just a matter of "to each his own" where hunor is concerned. It is also a matter of where we want to set the boundaries of acceptable discourse and behavior in decent society.

When joking around, most of us are capable of saying questionable things in the presence of our closest friends that we would never say publicly, because (1) we do NOT want to normalize ideas, attitudes, and language that we actually do consider reprehensible, even if we occasionally make a sick jokey comment to one or two close friends whom we trust to know we don't really subscribe to such beliefs; and (2) since we DO genuinely deplore such things outside of our darkest or most questionable comic moments, we do not want to be seen as the sort of person who would approve of such things.

That is true even when the joke is actually not nasty but still plays on stereotypes that might offend the group being referenced.

For example, my paternal grandparents came here from Sicily. I deplore racial or ethnic prejudice or discrimination, but occasionally I have told an Italian joke--not nasty or hateful ones, but ones that are undoubtedly based on stereotypes. I don't want others to feel free to stereotype Italians and to encourage the spread of such stereotypes in a way that normalizes them, but I have found some such jokes amusing in private conversations with very close friends who know I actually delight in my family's heritage and am not given to self loathing because of that ethnic background.

That image in the OP attempts to normalize something that is not only horrifying and disgusting, but that is all too common in the US and all over the world. Furthermore, with so many women having been abused, raped, tortured, and held against their will in abusive situations, including under threat of death, there is always a real channce that some victim of previous torture or imprisonment might see that image.

Women are over 50% of the population, which means we are pretty much everywhere. Just as only a real sicko creep would march through a Jewish neighborhood showing off jokey images of the Holocaust, or through a predominantly African-American neighborhood displaying jokey images of the torture of slaves or of tortured, lynched African-Americans, only a real sicko creep would parade that image around where women are bound to see it.

[CTyankee]

131. "normalizing" sick behavior is true. But it is also that of normalizing deeply sick individuals in

their own homes, accessing the Internet.

What is disturbing to me is the "normalizing" here on DU. This is somehow OK because well, guys are guys and ya know...coupled with the demonization of feminists. This has become a common meme here on DU and it has to stop.

I refuse to believe that DU was not founded on the principle of FEminism as well as all the other principles that encompassed DU's founding that day! If it was not, I would like to hear a response from Skinner about this! And I mean it...

[RadleyJ]

79. Not nearly as stupid as someone thinking that it's real.

I'd be surprised to learn that the driver has ever gotten pulled over for it.

To the best of my knowledge, no laws are being broken and if the cops were called about it, they'd take one look at it then go about their everyday business of filling ticket quotas that will stick.

[loli phabay]

81. i think its one of those things that if you good pc to stop you would just to have a better look

[RadleyJ]

85. Just like having a Greatful Dead or Legalize Pot bumper sticker is good PC for a vehicle stop?

I know there are cases where cops have used instances like that to pull motorists over, and if the cop was stupid enough to admit to it, their ass would be in a sling (or at least the department they worked for would be).

Probable cause would have to entail a reasonable suspicion that a crime or illegal activity was being committed.

Tasteless as the depiction may be, it's a sad state of affairs when Democrats/Liberals heartily endorse the police wrongfully pulling someone over for expressing their 1st amendment rights.

[loli phabay]

94. if thats why you get pulled complain, if available get the crusier tapes

any cop dumb enough to pull someone over for that is dumb, especially as pretty much every driver breaks at least one traffic rule every mile they drive.

[RadleyJ]

134. I've been pulled over plenty enough

having 'improper' bumper stickers was never in play.

[cyberswede]

88. The fact that it obviously isn't real is hardly the point.

The point is that it's pretty disturbing that people think abduction and/or violence against women is funny.

[RadleyJ]

130. But, that wasn't cited as a point by the poster I was responding to;

whose comment was "Only in the sense that someone is stupid enough to put this on their truck".

"Stupid" wasn't defined in this case.

I took it to mean any, or all of the following...

A) Stupid as in... someone could think it was real.

B) Stupid as in... someone could come along and key my vehicle.

C) Stupid as in... it looks as idiotic and stupid as Truck Nuts, Pissing Calvins, car grill Mustaches, etc.

But anywho, while I don't find it funny myself, I neither outraged nor upset by it.

[nomorenomore08]

111. + a whole lot

[treestar]

2. No

Whoah, they could have shown off that talent a better way.

[loli phabay]

12. seen one in my area which looks like four or five big bucks

its very clever and when first seen it really looks like big twelve pointers.

[loli phabay]

3. took me a minute to realise its the paint on the tailgate.

i look at it the same as the fake arms hanging out of trunks or strange shaped parcels on truck beds. humour is a very personal and strange thing.

[etherealtruth]

29. It took me more than a minute (I had to read your post)

[loli phabay]

38. yeah and ive seen similar stuff in the past and i still did not get it

my fave was a guy who had his door painted so he looked like a gorilla from the chest down with the door ripped off. no idea why he did it but it was a nice piece of artwork.

[etherealtruth]

64. I guess we don't have to "get it" n/t

[sufrommich]

4. No,it's not the least bit funny. There are

plenty of sick fucks who do though.

[MineralMan]

6. Not funny at all.

In fact, if I saw that, I'd call the cops. A few stops by the police and this moron might rethink his paint job. I'm proactive that way.

911 operator: What is your emergency?
Me: I'm driving on I-94, just west of the Snelling exit in St. Paul. A gray pickup truck just passed me, and it looks like there's a woman tied up in the bed of the pickup. The license number is 123 ABC.

Yup. That would do it. It does look like there is a woman tied up in the bed. Absolute truth.

[loli phabay]

10. probuably after the first couple of interactions the tag would be flagged

and known to have the artwork, its the same with the art bulletholes on vehicles.

[MineralMan]

13. Maybe, but until then, this guy is going to get pulled over.

That would be my goal. It's something I would do, for sure.

And I'd give the 911 operator my name and address, too, when he or she asked for it. I don't care. I'd be telling the truth. It does look like there's a woman tied up in the truck bed.

[loli phabay]

14. yup, but prob after the first stop it would be in the cad system

and dispatch would advise responding officers. as i said in an earlier post there is an awesome paintjob that looks like trophy bucks in the bed, first call the vehicle was stopped, nowadays there is no response.

[kcr]

17. Yes, in an earlier post you compared a tied up woman to a buck and a bullet hole.

Why you think other people should automatically agree with you that it's the same thing is beyond me.

[loli phabay]

19. its the same thing as its artwork that has people calling 911 to report

seems you have an agenda or are trying to read more into the explanation of how leo deals with artwork like this.

[kcr]

26. All artwork is the same?

LEOs deal with all artwork the same way? I don't know about that. Seems like LEOs everywhere are pretty varied in their responses to different things.

My agenda is simply that I find that artwork beyond disturbing. I certainly wouldn't compare it to artwork depicting a buck, or those little fake bullet holes. That's all.

[loli phabay]

40. yes the artwork is the same as someone with bucks painted on

on first look it depicts something illegal, but its only a picture and not illegal if annoying with the calls being received by dispatch.

[kcr]

46. Hardly. I really doubt a buck gets the same reaction

nor do I think whoever painted that picture wanted the same reaction as someone who paints a buck on his/her truck.

[loli phabay]

47. yes a bed with a load of bucks depicted lying in it gets calls to 911

it looks like poachers and in rural areas thats a big issue. the reaction would be the same calls to 911 and then a traffic stop.

[kcr]

49. So, now hunting a deer off season is the same as kidnapping a woman?

Look, I know you soooooooo want this to be considered the same as any other artwork. But most people aren't. They're going to think it's sick. At the very least, they're going to see it for what it was meant to be. Shocking and provocative. We just don't live in a world where most people are going to shrug it off, because kidnapping a woman, tying her up and throwing her into the back of a pickup is seen as horrific.

[loli phabay]

50. jeez way to read more into something than is written

have a great day.

[kcr]

51. Hey, you choose to write what you write n/t

[oldhippie]

89. There seems to be a certain .....

..... proclivity for that in certain quarters recently.

[kcr]

91. Would that be the "quarters"

that do things like call out posts trying to equate art depicting violence against women with art depicting bucks, bucks being hunted off season and other things? And just how am I misinterpreting? That's exactly what the poster was doing.

[loli phabay]

95. once again your missing the point, i said that the bucks get the same reaction from leo

people call in saying they saw a truck with multiple bucks in the back, leo responds does a stop finds its artwork and it gets entered in the cad so if the tag gets called in again yhe officer knows its probably artwork. now the same thing would happen with this truck, one stop nd it would be flaggged much the same as serial complainants who call about the mysterious barking dog every night.

[kcr]

98. I'm not the one missing the point

Your attempt to present the two subjects as the same is a great big fail. I don't care if people will call the police on both of them. It doesn't even matter to me. If they are, I suspect they're doing it for different reasons, right? Bucks? Caller is reporting a poacher for hunting off season. Woman tied up? OMG, kidnapping victim! See? Not the same.

[loli phabay]

99. they are the same, pieces of artwork that people may call leo on

after first encounter, entered into cad, cops know about them, you seem to have missed the whole point of the subyhread which was about calling the cops and having the driver pulled over all the time. but then i think it may be intentional on your part.

[kcr]

100. For one thing, I've seen you compare it to other kinds of artwork totally out of that context

And for another, I didn't miss it. I even addressed it. I will repeat that I think is possible someone with something this graphic will be harassed by police, despite your claims. I don't see how you can claim you know how all police will act.

[loli phabay]

101. they may be, but if it was me i would start the lawyer up.

especially if it was the same officer or jurisdiction. but my point still stands its the same as the bulletholes and the bucks, people call them in, they get checked out and then added to the cad. its not a big deal other than the first time.

[kcr]

102. Lawyer up all you want

I think having a realistic graphic of a woman tied up like that will mean a whole hell of a lot more lawyering up than those dinky little bullet hole stickers. Your claim to the contrary is laughable.

[loli phabay]

105. no, its the exact same thing for the first time, running code to intercept

the actual bullethole artwork is a lot more lifelike as well so a lot more calls come in for them. the lawyer is not for your defence of the artwork but rather the rights violations if the cops started targetting you.

[kcr]

107. See, that goes to my point that you claim to know how all cops will behave.

Sure, all cops run code to intercept, and never harass simply because they don't like the images they see, or what they think of the driver. That also has to assume that the truck driver will never leave the town/county/state.

[loli phabay]

108. you know something, have at it, you just want to argue for some reason

have fun.

[loli phabay]

96. its like there is a disconnect here, i dont particularly like it but its not a crime, bad taste mayb

but it is the exact same as other artwork that people call in mistaking it for real stuff. not sure what the hell some people are thinking what i am saying when i have said it numerous times even citing an example that i have seen in my own county.

[nomorenomore08]

112. "Bagging" a human =/= bagging a buck. I think that's kind of the other poster's point.

[loli phabay]

118. i got no idea what he is on about, i am simply talking about how cops would react to it.

as per the subthread. the pic aint my taste, but ive seen shit loads of vehicles with stuff that is borderline, just not my thing.

[nomorenomore08]

121. Okay, fair enough. And as I said downthread, the "pic" is sort of useful in the same way

a Confederate flag is, i.e. lets you know upfront the kind of dude you're dealing with.

[kcr]

132. My point was never about your specific taste

I was "on about" your insistence on the results of the reactions being the same regardless of the pics. I'd be willing to bet that a truck driving around with those fake bullet holes, bucks, stick figures, whatever vs a truck driving around with that graphic would garner much different results most of the time. I don't know what your motivation for this is. But people have a strong reaction to it for a reason. It is different. It's very graphic.

[madinmaryland]

117. Considering how stupid the guy is, he probably drives around drunk. Maybe the

added attention will get him busted and off the road.

[Kelvin Mace]

18. I'd pull him over anyway

On the provision that anyone who would think this is funny, would probably think kidnapping a woman for real would be "hysterical".

[loli phabay]

20. then you run into civil rights violations, if you dont have pc for the stop

especially if advised by dispatch of the artwork.

[Kelvin Mace]

27. Yeah, cops are all about the civil rights

People tell me there are rules and we are ALL required to obey them. However, large classes of people do NOT have to obey the rules, so there are no rules.

For example, killing someone in cold blood is wrong. Unless the person is black, and you are white and can simply claim "I felt threatened".

Now some would argue that "Well, that's the law, so them's the rules." Except if a black person kills a white person under identical circumstances he goes to jail 20+ years.

Rules either apply to all or apply to none.

[oldhippie]

33. Maybe all cops aren't, but we should be .....

... all about civil rights. That's the progressive thing, isn't it?

[Kelvin Mace]

70. Yes, it is,

but we are in the minority. Even on this forum.

Just pointing out that either there are rules, and everyone is expected to obey them (and a good-faith effort is made to compel that obedience), or there are no rules.

How long do we pretend we live in a democracy before we face the reality that we do not?

[loli phabay]

37. no point talking if you miss the point and go off on a rant.

[Kelvin Mace]

72. I am perfectly willing to talk/discuss,

just pointing out reality. You might respect civil rights, I might respect them, but this is a minority view.

Personally, I am more concerned with justice than law, since the law these days is all about perverting justice.

A policeman who violates the civil rights of a liberal seldom faces any punishment, and if punished, rarely is the punishment significant.

However if I were a liberal policeman using my powers to go after gun-toting, women-hating sociopaths, I would soon find myself unemployed at best, in prison at worst.

[loli phabay]

74. in your scenario you would be no better, you would be going after people in your words

now to what i was saying, if you have no pc for a stop then youbare infringing on someones civil rights and opening yourself up to being sued. now this pic on the truck, first stop would be legit, any others after it is noted in the cad and dispatch informs you then you could not argue pc or reasonable suspicion as you know its just art. i am not for or against idiots putting stuff on their trucks, minivans etc as its not my vehicle.

[Kelvin Mace]

87. My point is that people are stopped

for being the wrong color, being the wrong color in the wrong part of town and for having bumper stickers cops don't like.

This happens daily and there is seldom ANY repercussion.

Give conservatives a taste of their own medicine and the cop loses his job or worse.

I am NOT disagreeing with you. In a just world, the police would respect EVERONE'S civil rights equally, even effin' morons like this truck driver.

My point was to use the same spurious logic that is routinely used against liberals/minorities. According to the police, the fact that I worked for the Occupy Movement makes me a potential, if not actual, terrorist. By the same logic, a person who paints that on his truck is a potential, if not actual, kidnapper/rapist.

[nomorenomore08]

113. +1000

[Sheldon Cooper]

53. Meh. George Zimmerman was "advised" by dispatch not to pursue Trayvon

Martin. And we all know how that ended up. But seriously, why are you trying to defend this? Because that's what you're doing, no matter how much you might try to deny it. Why?

[loli phabay]

55. because its two different situations right you get that.

when dispatch advises a unit that they are responding to a vehicle that has been stopped before, they are advising of what the particulars of that stop entail, whether its previous duis, suspensions, wants, if the vehicle is wanted etc. i am defending this as no matter how much i may not like it same thing applies with the deer art or fake bulletholes, people have a right to paint shit on their vehicles and unless there is a law that prohibits it then i can think they are an idiot but i cant do anything about it.

[NuclearDem]

7. Sick, not funny.

[struggle4progress]

15. +

[nyquil_man]

8. It didn't make me laugh, no.

And the perspective's off. You'd have to be closer to the ground for the illusion to work.

[idwiyo]

9. WTF?

[Brigid]

11. Put me down for "Not Funny."

What a moron this guy is.

[City Lights]

16. Not funny.

Sick. Deranged.

[Egalitarian Thug]

21. Indicative of possibly serious mental health issues. n/t

[Dash87]

22. Not funny...

Oh ho ho! There's a terrified girl that's tied up in the back of that... Oh wait, it's a painting. So funny!

This is a highly artistic version of truck nuts.

[cyberswede]

23. Well, that's disgusting.

Who the fuck would put that on their truck? Who the fuck even THOUGHT of an idea like that?

[hamsterjill]

24. No, it's not funny. Not one bit!

n/t

[NightWatcher]

25. These are the same people who hang Truck Nutz from their hitch

Nothin says funny like plastic testicles and abduction.

[daleanime]

28. Not in the less....

the only person who 'might' find it funny would be those sad jokers that find amusement by shocking others.

[Vashta Nerada]

30. I don't know why anyone would find that funny.

It's disgusting.

In fact, if I saw that paint job, I'd call the cops.

[etherealtruth]

31. Not even remotely funny

[giftedgirl77]

34. very disturbing

We live in a sad place when anyone would deem this as acceptable.

[Gothmog]

35. Not remotely funny

You got to be kidding

[Xyzse]

36. No, disgusting, even if the paint job if done by hand has some skill.

[jollyreaper2112]

39. yech

It's a very clever idea, well-executed, but the subject matter is awful. Would have liked something else unexpected depicted in the bed.

This is a better idea.

[L0oniX]

43. Dude in our sailing club tows a fake shark.

[loli phabay]

45. rofl that is class, would rather have a ufo or a big dragon though.

[L0oniX]

41. What? No NRA sticker?

[Paper Roses]

44. NO!

[Inkfreak]

48. To quote my wife..

"That's fucked up!"

I agree.

[Jamaal510]

52. ???

[stevenleser]

56. Not funny.

[byronius]

57. Not funny, and definitely dangerous to his health.

My first thought was 'what's the license number'. Dude needs a terrible lesson. A life-changer. A visit from the Third Ghost.

[Glassunion]

58. Define funny.

[Sissyk]

138. Now that's funny!

haha, cute, funny.

The OP? Not to much.

[Liberal_in_LA]

59. nope. but company got a lot of biz from the publicity

[sufrommich]

63. What company is it? nt

[Liberal_in_LA]

122. don't know off hand. This story was posted in DU months ago, at the time the story

provided responses from the company. Their other pickup picks were selling like hotcakes from the publicity.

[spanone]

60. how is abduction funny? it could be funny with a funny 'picture'

[LadyHawkAZ]

61. A similar wrap was in the news a few months ago

http://www.leftlanenews.com/a-texas-vinyl-company-creates-controversial-tailgate-wrap.html

The cops got called.

[enigmatic]

125. I hope you don't mind me saying

I popped back in at DU after quite some time recently and have absolutely loved your posts. Just wanted to mention that before I go again; thank you for upping the discourse and and being even-handed in the topics and threads I've been reading w/ your posts.

[LadyHawkAZ]

129. Thank you

I can be a complete ass at times, but I'm trying to get a handle on it.

[Sissyk]

139. And I would like to add to what egmatic said.

You rock, Lady, and can speak for me any time.

[LadyHawkAZ]

141. .

[dionysus]

62. holy crap, there's more than one of these...the one i saw was a guy tied up with a bag over his head

where did this stupid shit come from?

[loli phabay]

66. its like truck nutz or stick families or my dog is smarter than your kid things

people just like to put weird shit on their vehicles.

[dionysus]

68. "wierd shit" is right..geez

[Initech]

65. Hope the owner of that truck likes getting pulled over.

Sick and twisted!

[Raine1967]

67. fried eggs: Do YOU think it's funny? I'd like to know. eom.

[fried eggs]

155. I think it's awful!

I didn't mean to do a post and run. This week has been hell!

[Raine1967]

157. Thanks for the answer.

I personally found the image disturbing.

[pipi_k]

71. Not funny...but...

what I would think is funny would be a picture of some money bags from a bank.

A lot of money bags.

Or a truckbed full of weasels. Or dead fish.

[RadleyJ]

77. I don't think it's funny

but I have to give the person an A+ for creativity, imagination and thinking outside the box.

[Iggo]

82. Gross.

[Rex]

86. What is supposed to be humorous about it?

That it is a picture of a woman being kidnapped? That it is not real? What is supposed to be funny about it?

[mokawanis]

90. Nothing funny about it

It's disgusting and disturbing.

[Orrex]

92. I think it would be funny

If they showed a tied-up cartoon character or space alien or thelike. But a picture of a tied-up woman? Not so much.

Also, wouldn't this omly work when seen from directly behind? From any other angle it would look stupid in addition to sick.

[Sheldon Cooper]

97. The person who dreamed that up is sick.

Anyone who buys that and puts it on their vehicle is sick. They should all be scorned and ostracized until they seek professional help.

[Demo_Chris]

103. If it's actually PAINTED then that's amazing...

I have a pretty dark and decidedly twisted sense of humor but I am missing the joke here -- that's okay, don't bother to explain. But if someone actually painted that it's pretty amazing.

[loli phabay]

106. i think someone said it was a transfer of sorts, if it was painted its good work.

[Demo_Chris]

110. Thanks. As a wrap it's less interesting and more obnoxious...

Of course, people put obnoxious and offensive crap on their vehicles all the time. Confederate flag crap falls into this category for me.

[nomorenomore08]

114. I actually think the Confederate flag is a good comparison. If only in the sense that you know

right away you're dealing with a real asshole.

[LittleBlue]

109. No, it's weird

Not cool. Wonder what his dates are thinking when they see that

"Will that be me?" must be an involuntary thought.

[SolutionisSolidarity]

115. Neither funny nor particularly outrageous.

Funny is funny because it creates a novel and unexpected thought pattern, which is why humor can't be explained without killing it. I remember the Simpsons once had a joke where a school bully attacked a Harry Potter-esqe character for having dead parents. I laughed at the absurdity of someone being cruel enough to make fun of someone for their parents being murdered, in spite of (or because of) the fact that I would be horrified to see someone do that in real life.

This doesn't strike me as funny, but I wouldn't assume that people who did find it funny are any less anti-kidnapping/rape than everyone else.

[mike_c]

119. it's certainly attention getting-- yes, it's funny, but not in the way you think....

I recall reading some years ago a number of theories about the nature of humor. Not happiness, mind you, but humor. Things that make you laugh. Psychology is totally not my field so bear with me-- I'm digging up old textbook memories, might get them wrong, and modern views might have changed. And as you'll see, humor is culture and context dependent.

But here it is. One theory suggests that humor results when we perceive something that has one set of mental associations, which often set up a sort of cognitive tension, that then suddenly "resolves" itself into some other set of associations, and laughter is the way we discharge the psychological tension from the first set of associations. "What's black and white and red all over?" That's impossible, so it creates cognitive tension. "A newspaper!" Red is revealed to be read, and the tension discharges through laughter. See?

In this instance, we see a woman bound in the back of a pickup truck-- the tension is immediate and real. Oops! It's just a painting! It's the same formula as slapstick comedy, where things that ought to hurt or cause distress, like pratfalls, do something else entirely.

So yes, by that rather clinical definition of humor this is funny. Not saying it made me laugh, but I certainly recognized the release of cognitive tension when I realized it was painted.

[CTyankee]

133. I had no idea it was not painted!

But, even tho you got some "cognitive tension" what do you think others see? Perhaps what you don't see. Perhaps a woman sees this differently? Perhaps to a woman this is not funny. Why is that?

[mike_c]

136. of course you did....

Think about it. You're presented with an image. Until you cognitively evaluate the image and its context, all you have is the visual reference, i.e. a woman tied in the back of a truck. I don't doubt that you very quickly realized it was painted-- that's the ONLY reason it evaluates as humor to anyone. It goes from horrific to banal bad taste in the blink of an eye. You might not have been conscious of the cognitive inversion, but this particular theory of humor proposes that it happened just the same.

And I wasn't offering an anecdote about my experience with the image-- I offered only my memory of the theory, which I've since recalled was presented in A. Koestler's The Act of Creation (1964)-- using the image to illustrate Koestler's idea as I understand it. I'm not arguing that you should find it funny-- only that there is a logical, psychological explanation for why others might, that doesn't necessarily involve misogyny or sociopathy. Again, it's like slapstick-- horribly horribly un-PC slapstick, but bad taste is no stranger to comedy.

Finally, your last question. Much humor is not funny when it's analyzed beyond the point of cognitive release, probably most. If an image holds your attention long enough-- and that can be fractions of a second in some cases-- conscious consideration of the content can change any prior evaluation. Is it really funny when Moe slaps Curly over and over?

[Art_from_Ark]

135. I think it is sick

and I would not want to associate with the owner.

[Ken Burch]

137. Painting "Fuck You, douchebag!" on the guy's windshield would be funnier.

Last edited Tue Jan 7, 2014, 07:48 PM - Edit history (1)

(then again, so would slashing the bastard's tires. At least to people who have KNOWN actual rape victims)

(ON EDIT)

No, that wasn't a threat and everybody knows it. It was a harmless comment about a bully and that's ALL it was.

[LisaLynne]

140. I like the way you think!

[RadleyJ]

144. Strange world we live in

when the 1st amendment rights of those we disagree with are responded to with threats of illegal actions and violence, and it's acceptable.

Do that to my vehicle... teeth, meet tire iron.

[Iggo]

146. Yeah, THAT's the strange part.

[Ken Burch]

151. The poster you responded to thinks sardonic remark about spraypainting a truck

is WORSE than finding humor in the abduction and rape of women.

[Ken Burch]

147. Wasn't a threat...just an observation.

Last edited Tue Jan 7, 2014, 08:22 PM - Edit history (1)

Oh, and btw...you just threatened a human being with violence...which is far worse than spray painting a mere piece of property. Do you also feel that Martin Bashir was "threatening" Sarah Palin?

[Sheldon Cooper]

158. Ooooooh...

another internet tough guy. Those aren't a dime a dozen.

[Beacool]

142. No, I find it disturbing.

Last edited Tue Jan 7, 2014, 01:01 AM - Edit history (1)

Then again, I always find portrayals of violence against women disturbing. I don't think that most women would find it funny.

[RadleyJ]

143. But, is it art?

You wanna know what's funny (and not in a Joe Pesci kind of way), is if that particular piece of "artwork" was hanging in some NYC or LA "art" gallery (or museum), with an asking price of $$$$$, some of the very same people condemning it would be fawning and be beyond themselves commenting "what a wonderful and powerful statement about violence against women"!!!

Whether a $200.00 wrap job, or $200,000 "work of art".... you've all been had.

Controversy sells.

[LAGC]

145. Is that even a painting, or is it just a crude Photoshop job?

I can't imagine someone going through all the effort...

[dipsydoodle]

153. Looks like a paint job to me.

.

[bigwillq]

148. I don't find it funny. I also don't find it offensive.

Think it's just silly.

[dbackjon]

149. No funny. Disgusting

[Warren DeMontague]

150. No. Not "Funny" by any yardstick I would use, or even particularly clever or cute.

I'd call it offensive and stupid, personally.

Now, back in the day I remember once coming across a van that had been painted on the driver's side door so it looked like the driver's head was sitting on top of a skeleton's body, which was sitting on a toilet, which was situated in the middle of some sort of fiery psychedelic hell-landscape.

THAT was cool. And funny, although I'm not sure what the intended statement was.

[Agnosticsherbet]

152. No!

Not even if you wrote "You might be a red neck" above it.

[jschurchin]

154. Not even.........

MOTHERFUCKING remotely.
Actually its fucking disgusting.

[Solly Mack]

156. No

I find it distasteful and more than just a wee bit sick.