GreNME
03-02-2005, 02:24 PM
Something BannaOJ brought up in another thread caused me to begin looking into the subject of car magnets of the "Support Our Troops" type, and what I found bugged me so much I decided to put my reaction to it here:
Everyone has seen them: the ribbon-shaped yellow automobile magnets with "Support Our Troops" emblazoned on them. They are a sign of solidarity to some, a political statement for their personal opinions or ideals to others, and an extreme annoyance to others still. We can find them available for purchase in almost every store, from the local corner market to the nearest Wal-Mart superstore. They've become more than a craze, more than a fadthey are an expression of our thirty-year-old guilt from the treatment of soldiers coming home from Vietnam and a notice to the many families who have loved ones over there that many people appreciate the sacrifice in time, livelihood, and in some cases blood or life itself given by those soldiers serving in the armed forces currently.
But does having one of these magnets signify a true support of our armed forces? Is any real support going to our troops through the sale of these things? Are the people displaying the car magnets showing more than a superficial support? Has the meaning behind these convenient displays been trumped by a consumerism and commercialism that preys on disaster, pain, and suffering? I believe it has. But don't take my word for it: let's examine the brief history of these things and make our own decisions one way or the other.
The magnets' story begins in North Carolina in April of 2003, when Christian bookstore owner Dwain Gullion decided to whip up a thousand of them and distribute them from his store. The demand for the magnets grew as more people saw them, which led to more batches and them being distributed on a wider and wider basis. Mr. Gullion is even said to have made contributions to soldier aid charities from the proceeds, which is an admirable and heartwarming story of real support and activism in favor of the troops who represent us, the civilians of the United States, regardless of whether he stood behind the war or not. He has also since reported to have expressed a bit of frustration and amusement at the magnets having become symbols used for political partisanship on both sides of the fence. In its humble beginnings, the "Support Our Troops" craze seems to have genuinely be done with a true spirit of support for our troops serving in Iraq and elsewhere.
Enter Florida entrepreneur Robert Real and his company, Americas & Americas Inc. Having seen the intense growth of the cathartic outlet inherent to the car magnets, Mr. Real quickly applied for a patent on the phenomenon and added it to his company's already-long list of patriotic paraphernalia and began e-marketing on a website, flagsoncars.com. Real took the growing momentum behind these magnets and sold them in bulk to anyone who would buy them.
Mr. Real didn't enter into this out of nowhere, however. He and his company have been attempting to gain attention ever since the September 11th disaster in 2001, having sent the "9/11 commemorative flags" to both Virginia and New Yorkand likely others, but those are the only two his site brags ofin part with the intent on having their altered American flags (with a NY skyline showing the Twin Towers) become the "official flag commemorating September 11, 2001. With copies of the polite response letters from Senator Quayle (unprofessionally misspelled on flagsoncars.com, by the way) and former mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani displayed on their site under "donations," it's fairly obvious flagsoncars.com is making sure to show themselves as significant contributors (by name-dropping two politicians' names). They also have mention that they've given $10,000 to the United Way charity, displaying a picture of handing over the check to assure nay-sayers.
There is a common practice of large companies to give a certain amount of profits to charities, because up to certain amounts such donations are tax deductible. For those who aren't getting the implication I'm getting at, such practices offer the company a chance to avoid paying a larger amount of taxes, thus increasing their margin of profit the following year. Ironically, taxes paid by individuals, of which corporations pay taxes as, help in part to pay for the supplies, food, and living conditions of our troops deployed around the globe. Every company from Johnson & Johnson to Microsoft engages in such practices, since increasing profits is the aim of businesses. After all, it is the "American Way." However, considering that in the last year alone I have seen over 10,000 autos with the car magnets on them myself, it's fair to say that profits from a single city alone have been enough to foot the bill for Mr. Real's donation to the United Way, while the rest lines the coffers of his company, and thus further lining his own pockets. Ten thousand dollars seems like a lot to the average middle-class person sporting the car magnet on the back of the automobile they are still making payments on while working their butts off at 40-plus hours a week, but it is a drop in the proverbial bucket for a company that has managed to make an exorbitant profit on selling hundreds of thousands (or more) of these magnets to the whole country as the fad has silently grown to proportions rivaling the pet rock over the course of just under two years.
I am, of course, coloring the events with my opinion, but I am being very clear on the level of profit Mr. Real's company is pulling from this craze with only marginal contributions to charity, and so far none actually overtly supporting some 300,000 American soldiers serving in our military. I happen to be a very patriotic person, and seeing a company or private organization taking advantage of the great deal of nationalistic pride inherent in the American populace for what is almost straight profit with only token contributions to relief or support funds for the nation their paraphernalia claims to support makes me angry. It is more than slightly disingenuous of the producers of the merchandise itself, and is preying on the gullibility of the public (however accurately perceived) for its own ends.
One of the many gaudy car magnets out there says that "Freedom Isn't Free." This is true, but it also doesn't hold pending patent applications on fads they didn't create that contribute little or nothing to the groups their products demand of the reader to support. While I thought prior to investigating that the auto magnets were simply overly preachy, after finding out more about the American distributors of these thingsbecause in case many of you didn't know, a lot of those ribbon magnets out there were made in China or Taiwan that didn't come from Americas & Americas, Inc.I have come to the conclusion that supporting the increased growth of this phenomenon would not only be dishonest as an American, but it would be completely contrary to American patriotism to begin with.
If you want to keep the magnet on your car because it means something different to you personally, go right ahead and do so. However, I urge you to not convince yourself that the people making these things are doing anything to actually support our troops out there, a couple of whom are family to me. If you want to truly be confident in your support of our troops, send them care packages with comics and magazines, candy bars, thank-you notes, and home-baked cookies in them. Use groups like the Military, Veterans and Patriotic Service Organizations of America to find local or nationwide charities that are genuinely contributing to supporting our troops, especially after they come home. Instead of searching for a badge of honor to wear with pride, make that pride spur you into action that gives these men and women who have volunteered service to this nation the respect they deserve instead of the token nod given by a company who has been making a killing in profits on this for at least a year.
Everyone has seen them: the ribbon-shaped yellow automobile magnets with "Support Our Troops" emblazoned on them. They are a sign of solidarity to some, a political statement for their personal opinions or ideals to others, and an extreme annoyance to others still. We can find them available for purchase in almost every store, from the local corner market to the nearest Wal-Mart superstore. They've become more than a craze, more than a fadthey are an expression of our thirty-year-old guilt from the treatment of soldiers coming home from Vietnam and a notice to the many families who have loved ones over there that many people appreciate the sacrifice in time, livelihood, and in some cases blood or life itself given by those soldiers serving in the armed forces currently.
But does having one of these magnets signify a true support of our armed forces? Is any real support going to our troops through the sale of these things? Are the people displaying the car magnets showing more than a superficial support? Has the meaning behind these convenient displays been trumped by a consumerism and commercialism that preys on disaster, pain, and suffering? I believe it has. But don't take my word for it: let's examine the brief history of these things and make our own decisions one way or the other.
The magnets' story begins in North Carolina in April of 2003, when Christian bookstore owner Dwain Gullion decided to whip up a thousand of them and distribute them from his store. The demand for the magnets grew as more people saw them, which led to more batches and them being distributed on a wider and wider basis. Mr. Gullion is even said to have made contributions to soldier aid charities from the proceeds, which is an admirable and heartwarming story of real support and activism in favor of the troops who represent us, the civilians of the United States, regardless of whether he stood behind the war or not. He has also since reported to have expressed a bit of frustration and amusement at the magnets having become symbols used for political partisanship on both sides of the fence. In its humble beginnings, the "Support Our Troops" craze seems to have genuinely be done with a true spirit of support for our troops serving in Iraq and elsewhere.
Enter Florida entrepreneur Robert Real and his company, Americas & Americas Inc. Having seen the intense growth of the cathartic outlet inherent to the car magnets, Mr. Real quickly applied for a patent on the phenomenon and added it to his company's already-long list of patriotic paraphernalia and began e-marketing on a website, flagsoncars.com. Real took the growing momentum behind these magnets and sold them in bulk to anyone who would buy them.
Mr. Real didn't enter into this out of nowhere, however. He and his company have been attempting to gain attention ever since the September 11th disaster in 2001, having sent the "9/11 commemorative flags" to both Virginia and New Yorkand likely others, but those are the only two his site brags ofin part with the intent on having their altered American flags (with a NY skyline showing the Twin Towers) become the "official flag commemorating September 11, 2001. With copies of the polite response letters from Senator Quayle (unprofessionally misspelled on flagsoncars.com, by the way) and former mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani displayed on their site under "donations," it's fairly obvious flagsoncars.com is making sure to show themselves as significant contributors (by name-dropping two politicians' names). They also have mention that they've given $10,000 to the United Way charity, displaying a picture of handing over the check to assure nay-sayers.
There is a common practice of large companies to give a certain amount of profits to charities, because up to certain amounts such donations are tax deductible. For those who aren't getting the implication I'm getting at, such practices offer the company a chance to avoid paying a larger amount of taxes, thus increasing their margin of profit the following year. Ironically, taxes paid by individuals, of which corporations pay taxes as, help in part to pay for the supplies, food, and living conditions of our troops deployed around the globe. Every company from Johnson & Johnson to Microsoft engages in such practices, since increasing profits is the aim of businesses. After all, it is the "American Way." However, considering that in the last year alone I have seen over 10,000 autos with the car magnets on them myself, it's fair to say that profits from a single city alone have been enough to foot the bill for Mr. Real's donation to the United Way, while the rest lines the coffers of his company, and thus further lining his own pockets. Ten thousand dollars seems like a lot to the average middle-class person sporting the car magnet on the back of the automobile they are still making payments on while working their butts off at 40-plus hours a week, but it is a drop in the proverbial bucket for a company that has managed to make an exorbitant profit on selling hundreds of thousands (or more) of these magnets to the whole country as the fad has silently grown to proportions rivaling the pet rock over the course of just under two years.
I am, of course, coloring the events with my opinion, but I am being very clear on the level of profit Mr. Real's company is pulling from this craze with only marginal contributions to charity, and so far none actually overtly supporting some 300,000 American soldiers serving in our military. I happen to be a very patriotic person, and seeing a company or private organization taking advantage of the great deal of nationalistic pride inherent in the American populace for what is almost straight profit with only token contributions to relief or support funds for the nation their paraphernalia claims to support makes me angry. It is more than slightly disingenuous of the producers of the merchandise itself, and is preying on the gullibility of the public (however accurately perceived) for its own ends.
One of the many gaudy car magnets out there says that "Freedom Isn't Free." This is true, but it also doesn't hold pending patent applications on fads they didn't create that contribute little or nothing to the groups their products demand of the reader to support. While I thought prior to investigating that the auto magnets were simply overly preachy, after finding out more about the American distributors of these thingsbecause in case many of you didn't know, a lot of those ribbon magnets out there were made in China or Taiwan that didn't come from Americas & Americas, Inc.I have come to the conclusion that supporting the increased growth of this phenomenon would not only be dishonest as an American, but it would be completely contrary to American patriotism to begin with.
If you want to keep the magnet on your car because it means something different to you personally, go right ahead and do so. However, I urge you to not convince yourself that the people making these things are doing anything to actually support our troops out there, a couple of whom are family to me. If you want to truly be confident in your support of our troops, send them care packages with comics and magazines, candy bars, thank-you notes, and home-baked cookies in them. Use groups like the Military, Veterans and Patriotic Service Organizations of America to find local or nationwide charities that are genuinely contributing to supporting our troops, especially after they come home. Instead of searching for a badge of honor to wear with pride, make that pride spur you into action that gives these men and women who have volunteered service to this nation the respect they deserve instead of the token nod given by a company who has been making a killing in profits on this for at least a year.