I've always hated stereotypes...

[ElboRuum]

...but I've always had a specific detestation of those who would support them by being a complete spittin' image of the person the stereotype was created to describe.

Case in point...

Today, while driving to work I spotted the following:

Bumper sticker reading "Rick Santorum 2006"...
On a dingy pickup...

As I passed...

I see another bumper sticker in a side window... one of those 'American Pride' type of stickers which doesn't actually say, "Hey, I support foreign adventurism!" but goes a far sight to implying it.

So I take a gander in the driver's window...

Yep, as expected, late-middle-aged obese Caucasian with obligatory uber-masculine fur-bar on his upper lip. The only thing missing was some NASCAR bric-a-brac and a IXOYE or Jesus fish on the back (sorry, I'm not looking for the Greek letters... deal with it...). That could have been on the other side of the truck for all I know.

I shook my head in migrained disgust, and left him behind, puttering in the slow lane, apparently with no immediacy or care of getting to his destination. Seemed oddly symbolic on a few levels, to me.

Funny thing is, you take any one of those elements out of context, there's nothing particularly infuriating about any of them. Lots of people drive pickups... some people are going to vote for Slick Rick regardless of what you do... 60% of the people in this country are overweight... some people, however misguided, think we're doing the right thing overseas with our military... plenty of people dig on NASCAR, even though I still don't understand how watching motorsports except for the occasional wreckage could ever be interpreted by a functioning human brain as entertaining... and there are plenty of good Christians who want everyone to know who their co-pilot is. Each one of those things, I've never had any particular problem with.

Problem is that you put them all together and you get the Real American Guy stereotype, a little mental picture of a narrow interpretation of just the sort of person that qualifies as culturally acceptable in this country. If this is what's 'in', then I'm out.

[Jed Dilligan]

1. I sometimes think of conservatism as a vice.

People who know they should be liberal, just as they know they should eat healthy food, not smoke, and enjoy alcohol moderately.

They know their politics are bad for the country and ultimately for themselves, but they can't break the habit because it's too much fun to engage in simian tactics, in-group behavior and territorial aggression.

[wussoch]

4. More Irony

God Love You... but there is nothing more "in-group" than this website. And for posting moderate (rather than full-tilt liberal) leanings, I have been insulted repeatedly by liberal residents of DU (territorial aggression). Regardless of what many members of this website may think, we are not higher-evolved forms of humanity than the guy driving the pickup truck who, for all you know, may be the greatest humanitarian of his community. It's funny, because I just read a post by a guy starting a thread who was talking about how bad it is to stereotype people...

[Jed Dilligan]

5. The question is...

Are you here for any other reason besides posting this kind of criticism?

I wouldn't absolve liberals or progressives of indulging in some of the behaviors I attribute to the other side. The big difference is, it is not WHY we are liberal or progressive. The conservative makes political decisions from his ape-brain, while the liberal makes political decisions from his human-brain.

[gaspee]

9. Oh Please

And people are forcing you to come here and be upset and all passive aggressive. My views are pretty far left of most people here, meaning I don't agree with about 75% of what's posted but I'm not all "Woe is me," passive agressive.

Typical. You people are intolerant of my intolerance!

So, if by middle of the road you mean appease the rightwing whackjobs, get rid of social security, don't move toward a better, universal, system of healthcare, do *something* about the rape of the earth that's been going on since the modern industrial age, tackle poverty by any means neccessary, including more taxes on the most wealthy, keeping abortion legal and safe, do something to address intstitutionalized racism and sexism... Stamp out homophobia and make sure *all* Americans receive protection under the constitution (which currently I don't believe they do.)

And you can even be a little nutty like me, being a feminazi, I'd like to get some type of ERA passed. but since most men are are quite comfortable with their position in the patriarchy, including those on the left, I'm not holding my breath.

So, are you that type of moderate?

Perhaps if you were better at articulating your points instead of resorting to this type of behavior, you may see better results.

For now, I'll just play the world's smallest violin for you.

[ElboRuum]

11. He's apparently going to vote Santorum...

If he agrees with Santorum on any of his platform 'issues', humanitarian is probably not his stock-in-trade. I could be wrong... but I doubt it.

[YOY]

2. Just be careful...

Some of us here have mustaches (Never had and never will)
Some of us here have like country music (not me really)
Some of us here have a bit of a gut (yeah, that's me)
Some of us here have a taste for country music (:puke:)
Some of us here drive pick ups (I did at one point in time)
Some of us here like NASCAR (Jebus only knows why...)
Some of us here have a thing for American Idol (Although I have no idea why...)

Granted when someone usually falls in all of those categories they fit the bill well.

[Warpy]

3. The stereotype here is completely different

This is a city and the Stupid/Corrupt04 sticker is generally on the back of one of those big, black monster SUVs being weaved in and out of lines of traffic by some blonde bimbette chewing gum, smoking, and yapping on a cell phone, oblivious to all the screeching brakes and near accidents around her.

I'm afraid Stuck on Stupid has several viable stereotypes. Yours was just one alternative.

[Jed Dilligan]

6. We got both where I live

And then there's the weird nut who claims to be a former black ops agent and has weirder conspiracy theories than you'll ever hear on DU.

[ElboRuum]

12. Both types are there...

My reaction is different when I see the kind you describe... I have a waking dream of seeing the all-of-a-sudden-smacked-back-to-horrifying-reality look on her face as an angry mob (probably the sum total of all the people she's cut off in her young, stupid life) rolls her rolling status-symbol onto its roof, thereby bringing the carnage to an ignominious end.

[Rosemary2205]

7. Hey, leave us NASCAR fans out of this.

entertainment is in the eye of the beholder. :)

[RaleighNCDUer]

8. You do, of course, recognise that stereotypes could not exist

if there wasn't some truth behind them. Otherwise, they could not have become stereotypes.

But yeah, it is a little disturbing when you come across the prototypical example. You think, just for a moment, that the world might be just as simple and black-and-white as some people would have us believe.

Fortunately, we know different.

[bainz]

10. don't stop there

Why stop with caucasian men? Let's go after asian females, young black males, black women, etc, etc. I am sure that you could find all types of examples to fit your stereotypes.

[ElboRuum]

13. Well...

What I'd like to know is how they are MY stereotypes?

[bainz]

14. My bad

It was irresponsible for me to assume that you would stereotype many different groups of people, rather than just one. The initial post still seems somewhat bigoted to me though.