I currently have two bumper stickers on my car. One says, "A man of quality is not threatened by a woman seeking equality" and the other says, "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle." Yes these are feminist stickers, but I don't think they are offensive or put down men. Otherwise I would not have them on my car.
Well, I was at a stop light today and a van with two 20-something guys pulls up behind me. I can see in my rear-view mirror that they are reading the stickers. The driver shakes his head and mouths/yells "F--K you!" At the next light, they pass me as I'm sitting in the left turn lane. The driver flips me the bird as they whiz by.
Now, his behavior should not upset me as much as it has. Obviously he is immature and I should just write it off as that. But it does upset me. I guess mostly because it feels unjust. I didn't do anything to deserve that kind of treatment. I didn't call anybody names. I didn't swear. I didn't say all men are stinky boys with cooties and we'd be better off without them. My stickers simply state that feminism really isn't threatening to men and that the notion that a woman must marry, or needs a man to be complete is bogus.
I guess is this why most people don't put bumper stickers on their car. It's stepping up, making a stand on an issue/topic you believe in. Something that makes you stand out from the crowd. And instead of embracing folks strong enough to stand up for what they believe in, we live in a culture where it's more acceptable to knock those folks down. The cynic in me says it's because what people are usually speaking up about is not what you see on your TV. And if it isn't a view expressed by the mass media, well then it just ain't American, is it?
