A thread at another forum I frequent spun off on a tangent that got me thinking: What do you folks think about bumper stickers, shirts etc with political or social messages on them? At the other site I'm talking about a person claimed that a fellow commuter harangued him over a political bumper sticker on his car and that the ensuing argument almost came to blows.

Now I'm all for freedom of speech and expression, but at some point doesn't this create some situations where you're cutting off your nose to spite your face? It may be fun to have a "Bad cop, no donut!" bumper sticker, for instance, but will that be an advantage to you if you're pulled over? The probably goes for stickers proclaiming your membership in AA (ie "Easy does it."). You'd like to think a professional not be swayed by this but LEO's are human, too. If you roll a red light or make abrupt lane changes and the cop knows you're a recovering alcoholic, with that be the tipping event to get you stopped?

And how about just social stuff. LEO's by and large tend to be conservative- your pro-PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER. and pro-choice stickers aren't going to necessarily get you brownie points. By the same token, if you're driving thru an inner city in a predominently black area you won't help yourself by having racist slogans on your bumper. The list goes on and on.

Lastly it's fun to hang our opinions out there but really, what good does it do? Will me seeing your anti-PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER. sticker be the event that finally galvanizes me to vote for Perry? Will my "Country Sucks!" T-shirt convince you to burn your Merle Haggard LPs?

Just curious where you folks weigh in on the issue.

Whoa! I can tell what party your forum software is campaigning for!

Why junk up your car with stickers? I don't like the parking passes, registration, and inspection stickers.

I do not advertise for anyone if I can help it. I have two t-shirts with something that is identifiable to a particular endeavor. One has a college name - I do not wear it anymore. The other is a physical therapy place that I spent a lot of time at. They gave it to me.

I do not leave stickers or license brackets with the dealer's name. Again, most any sticker is an advertisement of some sort. Since they do not pay me to be a moving billboard, I do not advertise.

I don't care to pay for the honor of advertising for any company but that's not really my point; you're unlikely to get shot by a Coke drinker for wearing a Pepsi T-shirt. I'm more interested in public emblems that carry a lot of emotion baggage, either political or social.

For those of you that do have, say, window stickers- where do you draw the line? I see a lot of NRA emblems...might that lead a thief to break into your car hoping to score a gun? Or will your Grateful Dead sticker lead him to break into your car hoping to score some weed?

Good point though. I wouldn't really want my car to be a billboard for the dealer I bought if from, for instance.

I keep mine pretty simple... the state of Florida has vanity plates, and I've had a Univ of Florida tag since inception, and have an Alumnus tag holder...I drive an SUV so have a large rear flat window...American flag decal since prior to 9/11...LaRue Tactical sticker.."God bless our troops, especially our snipers" and Trijicon sticker since they support a sport I participate in, and agree with the content... I get a lot of "thumbs up" for the LaRue sticker

One of the several abridgements of my wife's constitutional rights as a teacher is that the school bans political bumper stickers on teachers cars. Wouldn't want someone to be 'offended' if an opposing view is represented in the parking lot. I suppose that a lawsuit would quickly end the ban, but no one seems to care.

Maybe for the reasons you indicate, the teachers realize it's not a bad idea to restrain ones self-expression in this case.

Because your home town can often be guessed by the name or address of many car dealers, even that sticker can identify you as a traveler and put you at higher risk of a break-in. Thats why rental car companies either down-sized or altogether removed the stickers from their cars.

Civility is a rare commodity these days, so our vehicles are sticker-free.

Why become a target? If you are that masochistic or looking for a fight, wear the "wrong" shirt/hat/#1 finger to a sporting event.

Don't advertise that you support guns, you will be the first one frisked.

Low key. Become the gray man. Don't stand out. Move along quietly and do whatever you need to get done.

I just don't like stickers on my car, other than the required ones of course.

Top Gear Alabama challenge

+1. This is an excellent strategy in any area where you might be thought of as an "outsider." I especially recommend it when traveling in foreign countries and walking around in foreign cities. Not standing out is the key.