This Story Is A Pipe Bomb

This Story Is A Pipe Bomb
yeah...everyone knows that not only do terrorists label their bombs, but they also disguise themselves as social workers who work with abused and neglected children.
—sgt. tarzan

This Story Is A Pipe Bomb
The only thing blowing about Ben is his good looks -- MIND BLOWING... ohhhhh
—k.c

This Story Is A Pipe Bomb
I love the fact that those charged with protecting the United States have no clue what they're looking at, or about the sub-cultures that exist within this country. The woman at Ohio University knew a friend of mine, and she was thoroughly questioned by the FBI, whom also knew nothing of the band. So, what happens when Boy Scouts and altar boys are asked to understand their opposition? They come up short and end up chasing windmills.
—Dane

Uh, one can't really expect Joe Bus Driver or Jane Emergency Response Person to know the name of every subculture band in the US. That's a pretty absurd expectation, and is about as reasonable as the bus driver expecting Joe Pedestrian to know every legal code regulating the proper use of a bus.

The person who put that sticker on the bike did so almost certainly with the intent of being inciteful and provocative (baring the possibility that the person was just remarkably stupid anyway). Not surprisingly, someone was eventually provoked.

If I wore a shirt saying "I am going to stab you in the face with this knife", and was carrying a knife, I imagine the average person would be concerned and would probably avoid me, even if they figured it likely the whole thing was a joke or some obscure reference. From the standpoint of a bus driver, who is responsible for the lives of those in the bus, it is a sensible standpoint to take the shirt wearer, or in this case the bike rider at their advertised word. It would be a senseless risk to do otherwise.

It's this kind of insane left wing overeaction that makes me long for a more classical liberalism. I mean come one, this is not a case of the man keeping us down for christ sake, it was a case of an individual, the bus driver, taking the course of action that seemed best given their limited information of the circumstances. The person with the sticker put it on their bike for very obvious reasons, exactly to provoke a reaction like this, and probably to gain some localized political notoriety. It was nothing less than an attention grabbing stunt done by someone who equates childish toughtlessness and disregard for others with meaningful political discourse, resistance or clever humor. The only thing this person is really resisting in basic reasoning skills.

It's this kind of low brow brainlessness that has taken over the political debate of our country on both sides. This kind of thing is not substantially different from the right wing version of shoving pictures of aborted babies in our respective faces. It's shock tactic politics that attempts to appeal to very base emotions to get a response and to offend political opponents. God forbid we actually construct articulate and nuanced arguments to defend our political stances. That people see this as some meaningful symbolic political event is just pathetic. The bus driver is not omnitient, and made a reasonable judgment call. The person with the bike, had they employed the barest minimum of reasoning, should have realized the sticker could produce such reactions, and might even induce a panic. If they cared one bit about others around them, they would have been toughful enough to not place the sticker on their bike. This event shouldnt be confused with a freedom of speech issue, much like yelling fire in a theater is a restricted act, even if The Arcade Fire is your favorite band.

Archdukechocula, you're overreacting/overanlayzing. He didn't put the sticker on his bike to get attention, he put it on because he liked the band. Whether the name would cause panic or not was probably the last thing on his mind.