SUV: severely unpatriotic vehicle? or "No Mullah Left Behind"

[dutchdoctor]

I don't know know whether this has been posted before, but here is an interesting article from Thomas Friedman. He spends most of his time defending the Iraq invasion with all kinds of BS arguments, but this time I think he really hit the nail on the head in his column.

Here is an excerpt:
"By adamantly refusing to do anything to improve energy conservation in America, or to phase in a $1-a-gallon gasoline tax on American drivers, or to demand increased mileage from Detroit's automakers, or to develop a crash program for renewable sources of energy, the Bush team is - as others have noted - financing both sides of the war on terrorism. We are financing the U.S. armed forces with our tax dollars, and, through our profligate use of energy, we are generating huge windfall profits for Saudi Arabia, Iran and Sudan, where the cash is used to insulate the regimes from any pressure to open up their economies, liberate their women or modernize their schools, and where it ends up instead financing madrassas, mosques and militants fundamentally opposed to the progressive, pluralistic agenda America is trying to promote. Now how smart is that?"

You need to sign up to read the entire article, but if you don't want the trouble use bugmenot.com

I think it would be a very powerful way to re-frame the debate on the environment if it would become generally accepted that people driving SUVs or Hummers are seen as unpatriotic sponsors of terrorism. I also like the phrase I read here on DU (don't remember who wrote it): "Our soldiers die in their Hummers so I can drive mine".

Is this meme being used in the U.S.? I don't recall ever reading this line of thought before, but, then again, I don't live in the U.S...

[cornermouse]

1. The story on tv yesterday was that the SUV and gas

saving vehicles will become mostly unimportant due to the states looking into ways to tax cars per mile driven. They were talking about installing computers that track how many miles driven between fill-ups.

[dutchdoctor]

2. but if every car gets taxed the same amount per mile..

..regardless of the amount of gas it uses for those miles then it would not be adressing the problem of those gaz-guzzling SUV's would it?
Or did I misunderstand you?

[cornermouse]

3. People are looking more and more at smaller cars due

to the price of gas. A lot of people are going to look at tax per mile and see less advantage in buying a smaller car.

[cornermouse]

5. Short version.

They think they can save 5 cents now and either don't realize that its going to cost them $50 later or think they can somehow avoid paying it completely. A surprisingly large number of Americans think like this.

[FuzzyDicePHL]

4. My neighbors seem not to get it

My "Osama loves your SUV" bumper sticker appears to just go over their heads. My rough estimate would be that 80% or so of the SUVs I see entering and leaving my neighborhood each day have a single person in them, and the hypocritical bastards ALL have those dumbass yellow ribbon magnets on them...

:wtf:

[dutchdoctor]

6. great bumper sticker

Exactly my point. It seems so ironic that the people who most desperately defend the "war on terra" are the same ones sponsoring terrorism every time they fill up the gas tanks of their Hummers.
They have to have this inconsistency pointed out to them again and again..

[Ian David]

7. Look at Me! I'm Changing The Climate! Ask Me How!

Changing the Climate
Anti SUV movement utilizing bumper stickers and a tagging campaign.
www.changingtheclimate.com

[FuzzyDicePHL]

9. Point it out to them...

...and they'll still stick their fingers in their ears, close their eyes and sing, "La la la la laaaaaa!" so they won't have to hear it.

My other fave bumper sticker/teeshirt wisdom is one I saw in some CafePress shop or other: Nostalgic-style illustration of a soldier on crutches with a leg missing, the text reads, "He gave his all..." in big letters, and below it in smaller letters, "...so soccer moms can off-road."

[BiggJawn]

8. Compensation for Penis Envy.

Oh, sure, they'll tell you that "I feel safer in my SUV", but it all boils down to feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy.

Stupid fuckers, guzzle all you want, Jeebus and Dumbya will getcha more, right?

[dutchdoctor]

10. I know, they are shiny dick extensions

Just strange that SUV-drivers claim to feel safer when they donate a few dollars to repressive regimes in the middle east, every time they fill up their tanks. How does sponsoring terrorism make you safer?
Maybe they think that when WWIII breaks loose it'll be time for the Rapture anyway?

[newportdadde]

11. The SUVs and the stickers combo is all about being 'cool'.

They dont realize or care that more gas = more power to the middleeast... infact they don't care that by them driving those gas guzzlers we all pay more at the pump.

Why have an SUV? If your looking for large family transport a minivan would probably work, or for a family of 4 a Buick like my wife drives would work. Here is the difference though... minivans and Buicks aren't 'cool' and aren't as good at towing overpriced boats.

SUVs became in the late 90s a status symbol a way of shouting out the world "Look at me I have so much money I can blow 35k on a friggin car!" Its like the diamond tierra of soccer moms as soon as one in the PTA got one they all needed one.

Stickers? Same deal, nobody really gives a shit about what they mean but they are 'cool'. Remeber the 80s and 'parachute pants' once a fad builds steam you need it just to be hip, then when you look back 20 years later you think "WTF was I thinking with the sticker?".

Want to be extra cool? Then buy two, I'm seeing more of that now, its becoming a patriotic sticker arms race.

[dutchdoctor]

12. I don't care about the stickers, but driving an SUV is uncool

I mean, its soooo 90s! It so pre-Peak Oil!