would i get punched out for this?

[maxsolomon]

Background: yesterday i drove by a woman sitting in front of her house with several flags & red white & blue signs saying "support our troops". she's waving & smiling & giving the thumbs up to the cars passing. this is in deep blue socialist tree hugging peace loving north Seattle. it got me thinking: "what does 'support the troops MEAN to her?"

so i'd like to conduct the following public survey:

get a clipboard, an official looking form, a big flag, a red white & blue sign that says "What does 'Support the Troops' mean to You?". Stand out on the Seattle waterfront (tourist central) at the park which is designated "for the exercise of free speech" (if you can be heard over the noise of the viaduct freeway), near the Aquarium, and just ASK people. no judgement. no editorial from me. just ask.

because, 15 years after gulf war 1, i genuinely do not get what this phrase means to people except "Shut Up & Sit Down, Hippy".

any suggestions as to how to handle the inevitable question "why do you want to know?"

[minnesotaDFLer]

1. does it mean

1: support the war
2: support the troops who are there not of their own choice
3: support the bad-ass troops who just want to shoot poeople

[CrispyQ]

9. Or does it mean

4. support the lying administration who started this war.


on edit: Great idea! Hope you post results here.

[NMDemDist2]

2. suggestion-- tell them it's for a school paper you are doing for your

polisci or sociology class :evilgrin:

[maxsolomon]

8. maybe i could get my 16 y.o. step-daughter to ask that

people won't buy that from a 41 year old. i guess i could try to pull off PhD candidate, but i can't back it up. better not to lie.

i should be guileless & say "i just don't understand why everyone has that on their cars."

i mean, who DOESN'T "support the troops"? either paying for the war with my taxes, or not wanting anyone to die, i "support the troops" by definition.

its the POLICY i disagree with.

[uppityperson]

11. Be guileless and say it's for a paper

It is a good question. Be prepared for rants, but acting guileless, naive will help. Bring your answers back here too please.

[cosmik debris]

3. Or does it mean

I forgive all war crimes committed by US troops?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. I think it is a good idea

one that should spread. Results could be posted here or elsewhere on the internet. Maybe even get a local paper or two interested. But tell inquiring minds that you need the data for a school paper you're writing (or if you're as old as me, that you are helping out your son/daughter gather said information for said paper).

[sandnsea]

5. Research

You are going to write a paper or article of some sort after you do this, right?

Very good idea.

[Wilms]

6. Had exactly the same thought. LOL!

I was thinking the whole clipboard routine, tell 'em it's for a paper I have to write for school.

And, like you, it's prompted by me wondering just what the hell they are thinking (if anything).

[kliljedahl]

7. Saw a bumper sticker yesterday, 2 lines

Support President Bush
Support Our Troops

Wasn't one of those "Support the Troops" ribbons, that to me have always implied the first line. Does anybody else think that too?


Keith’s Barbeque Central

[unhappycamper]

10. Actually,

I just ordered a four-ribbon pack from

http://supportourribbons.com/

I'm too cheap to pay $6.99 for the ribbon in this post.

[sellitman]

12. Actually

If I never see another friggin ribbon again it will be too soon. I don't care what is printed on them.

A pox on ribbons.

:rant:

[maxsolomon]

13. oh i agree with that

but if you rememeber gulf war 1, "support our troops" stickers were ubiquitous.

to the point that Bill Hicks (RIP) can up with the brilliant antithesis "I was FOR the war, but AGAINST the troops".

the entire ribbon phenomena, deriving as it does from tony fucking orlando & dawn, is a pox on our culture, or what remains of it.

[Stinky The Clown]

14. "why do you want to know?"

Play dumb, say your unemployed and doing it out of a temp agency, and you have no idea who is paying for the survey.

As a larger topic .... this would be a wonderful idea for our side. No mass announcement, just pick some day (mid summer, maybe? ... whatever ... ) and have people all across the country do this and send the data to some central point. I suspect it would turn out to be a study in hypocrisy. However it turns out, that much data on a topic like this has to have some real value.

[The Doctor.]

15. "Hi... I'm doing a 'patriot survey'. Do you have 45 seconds?" n/t