To Ricki Kanter, 49, vice president of a D.C. nonprofit, "John Kerry" means a lot of things. "It's anti-president, antiwar, anti-Republican," she says. "It's a declaration against our existing president, for getting us into this war and not getting us out." For Ippoliti, a Bush sticker is a matter of unwavering pride. "I like to display I voted for a winner," he says. "I'm all for the war, I'm proud of [the stickers], I'm proud of what we're doing."
Americans have historically taken their bumper stickers seriously. In 1976, the courts upheld that a juvenile court could prohibit its employees from showing political partisanship, in this case banning a bumper sticker for George McGovern on a social worker's car. A 1995 case similarly allowed an Air Force base in Georgia to prohibit bumper stickers that "embarrass or disparage" a sitting president, even on civilian cars.
Even now, a disturbing trend of bumper sticker violence menaces our society. On Aug. 10, an Air Force colonel was charged with felony criminal mischief for allegedly "keying" (scratching the paint of) pro-Bush cars, obscuring Bush bumper stickers with spray paint and writing obscene messages on 12 cars over a six-month period at Denver International Airport. Police caught him through a sting using a Bush'd car as bait.
In November, a 63-year-old man told a liquor store clerk in Santa Fe, N.M., that he had removed another driver's "George Bush is a serial killer" sticker without the driver's consent, because the sticker constituted sedition. Another patron disagreed, citing freedom of speech. The disagreement became threatening, according to news reports, and the threats became a rumble and the rumble became a lawsuit.
In March, a man in Tampa followed, harassed and threatened a woman as she drove her two young children to baseball practice, trying to run her off the road and holding up an antiwar sign. He has been charged with aggravated stalking -- aggravated, apparently, not just by her Bush bumper sticker but also by her obscene hand gesture.
Usually, the conflict is more subtle. How you voted in the past election might no longer matter, but in traffic you can really express your political will. Kerri Polce will let you cut in front of her more readily if you have a Bush sticker.
Jim Ippoliti says he likes to pull in front of people whose cars are marked "Kerry."
Thomas Street sees a Kerry sticker and thinks, "Good! Yay!"
It's about . . . relationships. Will we ever break up with 2004?
Ippoliti had three Bush stickers. Taking off the first one left unsightly marks, so the other two remain.
Polce's original "W'04" was damaged in an accident. She's replaced it with "Bush: He led, terrorists are dead."
Ricki Kanter sold her car that had a Kerry sticker on it. When driving her new car, she says, "I miss the fact that it's making a statement. I may yet put a John Kerry sticker up."
A 2004 election sticker on a 2005-model car?
In a gridlocked nation, of course, we're stuck.
