Humor
Do You Stereotype People?
November 2, 2008 
Sometimes we play a little game of STEREOTYPE with some young (and old) relatives during long road trips. In this politically charged atmosphere, THE GUARDIAN thought it might be fun to share…remember this is for FUN!
Here are some samples and they can change with explanations.
–SUBARU is liberal.
–F-350 V-10 Ford is Idaho Conservative
–RECYCLER is liberal
–BUICK is old people
–FU FU COFFEE is trendy liberal
–CO-OP is liberal
–WAL-MART is red neck
You get the idea? Feel free to offer your own stereotypes. We will just add the new ones as part of the text list along with any comments.
RESPONSES:
PATMAN:I’m sorry, but the fufu coffee crosses all ideological boundaries! (It’s a matter of taste)
JIMV: The issue is more one of elites and ‘elite’ requires money. So, the Fu-Fu coffee and Co-op not to mention recyclng all have a wealth standard associated wih it. Normal folk do not shop for high priced items in stores that specialize in them. I have never heard the Subaru stereotype but have heard the same thing with Volvo and Saab, both upper middle class toys not normally bought by conservatives. Conservatives shop at Linen and Things and Liberals at William Sonoma.
SHANE:
Northend – Liberal
West Boise – Mormon
People with Coexist bumper stickers – Liberal
Flying M Coffee House – Gay
Any SUV owner – McCain voter
ANNE:
Have to say, I’ve seen a lot of right-leaning looking people in Williams and Sonoma; they have the money to spend there — they may not be working-class conservatives but they sure as heck vote right. And frankly, from my limited experience there, I’d bet that a lot of Linen and Things folk are more often than not apolitical. And, oddly enough, cowboys love mochas, once they are introduced to them.
–FORD 150s are no-frill folks.
GORDON:
–JEEP (any Jeep)): People who know what Idaho roads are “really” like.
–GUARDIAN RIDE: Trouble-maker.
TOM ANDERSON:
–People who stereotype = shallow
–Consumer choices = buy me a lifestyle
The choices people make are often about what their peers choose.
The fact that most people are born into being liberals or conservatives shows how rediculous their political fervor is.
BIKEBOY:
Interesting comments so far. I respectfully disagree with Tom Anderson that people who stereotype are “shallow.” Maybe so, but I think all of us tend to. And Madison Avenue cashes in on it big-time! Particularly when selling automobiles. “Image” is all about stereotyping, and I’d say image is a huge factor in the automotive industry. They want you to think if you buy their vehicle, you’re anything from Mario Andretti to James Bond to Dinty Moore!
–VOLVO: liberal Birkenstock trekking-pole “environmentalist”
–PICKUP (rural): redneck
–PICKUP (urban): Paul Bunyan wannabe
–TRICKED OUT URBAN PICKUP: Paul Bunyan wannabe with self-esteem issues
–HUMMER: more $ than brains
–PORSCHE or CORVETTE (young guy): Silver Spoon Baby
–PORSCHE or CORVETTE (old guy): Viagra is a LOT cheaper! (hahaha)
–PRIUS: snooty Algore disciple
–CROTCH ROCKET motorcycle, piloted by kid in shorts, muscle shirt and flip-flops: Glad you’re not wasting helmet space on THAT brain!
–HARLEY (or wannabe), piloted by leather-clad but helmetless rider: ditto.
CHAS:
–Saying we’ll “spread the wealth” = socialism
–Actually spreading the wealth (oil money) to every resident of Alaska = Sarah Palin’s hocky-mom conservatism!
ERICN:
–2C license plates = conservatives and really bad drivers.
–A Subaru with 2C plates and a bevy of Green, Progressive and Demo bumper stickers= liberal crackpot, barely tolerated in their own neighborhood and still really bad drivers.
–A Volvo station wagon with 2C plates and one Minnick bumper sticker = the only true conservative in Canyon County, as the rest of the so called conservatives wander from the fascism of social conservatism to the waste land of Libertarianism, and are still really bad drivers.
–Recycling = conservatism, how can you call yourself a conservative when you don’t conserve? And an F-150 with a 2C plate on the way to cash in on the beer cans in the back of the truck to scrape up the cash for another six pack does a conservative make, although it is recycling, and a prelude to really bad driving.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Nov 3, 2008, 5:20 pm
Dear Guardian… we digress (but since you posted CHAS’s comment):
I wanted to find out more about “Hocky [sic] Mom Conservatism.” I’ve heard of that Alaska oil rebate thing, but didn’t know much about it.
According to the Wikipedia (not necessarily reliable, I admit), the Alaska Permanent Fund was established in 1976, and has been doling out dividends to Alaska commoners since 1982. (Wow! Why don’t we have something like that in Idaho?!)
If Sarah Palin authored it, she deserves to be vice president, because she wrote it when she was 12 years old! Child prodigy!
(I s’pose a “Hocky Mom Socialist” would keep it for bigger government, rather than giving it to the Little People. And a “Hocky Mom Pure Capitalist” would let Exxon keep it. There I go… stereotyping.)
Nov 3, 2008, 10:38 pm
There are two things that I cannot stand in this world: People who are intolerant of other cultures, and the Dutch.