Support Our Troops = Crazy Drivers

I’ve kept a mental note of all the crazy drivers I’ve encountered over the years, but these people are a breed all of their own. I don’t know what it is about them but it seems that there are an inordinate amount of people with a ‘Support Our Troops’ sticker (you know, the yellow ribbon) on their vehicles that drive like assholes.

Let me immediately say that not all people with a ‘Support Our Troops’ sticker on their vehicle drive like maniacs. It just seems that whenever I witness bad driving, poor courtesy, dangerous lane changes, tail-gating, speeding, dogs roaming around free in the cab or hanging out the windows and barking at people, the offender more often than not has a yellow ‘Support Our Troops’ sticker on the back of their vehicle.

Why? I have no idea. I was hoping that someone would explain it to me so that it makes sense because it makes no sense. I would think that people who display such stickers on their vehicles would have a little bit more respect for law and order, respect for others, courtesy, even-keeled and generally have an attitude that would reflect pride in self, their country and the human race. I don’t know, I think the sticker gives them unlimited license to drive like an asshole.

Case in point: Driving on a section of highway that was under construction with workers present, the speed limit was 50KM. This old man (I saw him in my rear view mirror) in a car the size of a steamship weaves in and out of several different lanes trying to get around people who are going the speed limit. He tailgates them. He revs his engine. Once past the construction, he blows by me as I turn off to an exit, gunning it as if it’s everyone else’s fault he was forced to go 50KM, squeezes by me on the left to make it past me. What does he have on the back of his car? A ‘Support Our Troops’ sticker.

Another one: I’m stopped at a red light, this ‘person’ (in white framed sunglasses – that’s another common accessory) in (yet again, an oversized, loud enough to wake the dead monster truck) comes right up to the bumper of the car beside me. Two dogs the size of the Trojan Horse fight each other to see who can lean out of the truck windows the most and bark at people. When the light changes, apparently the driver in front of him is obeying the speed limit too much so he jerks the monster truck around the car, almost clipping another car in another lane and bellows off down the street. I see other drivers just shake their heads. What does he have on the back of his monster truck? A ‘Support Our Troops’ sticker.

Those are just two examples. There are many, many more. I don’t get it. I give up. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to explain this phenomenon. Do these people think that because they ‘support’ the military that they are somehow entitled to not be held accountable for their actions? Do they have some kind of mental disorder that I don’t know about? – because if they do, then I’ll be sympathetic towards them. Are these people exempt from all laws? Do they think that they will gain some form of respect and explanation when people see the ‘Support Our Troops’ sticker on their vehicles? Were they dropped on their heads at birth? Are they seeking attention because they were never hugged when they were children?

People who drive like assholes and who have a ‘Support Our Troops’ sticker on their vehicles are cut from the very same cloth as those who have a ‘I Love My Border Collies’ sticker on their vehicles, then lock them in a hot car. There’s something wrong with these people. They need help. They need to be removed from the streets and highways before they hurt not only others, but themselves. It’s still my hope that one day all of these people will be forced to be penned in an arena large enough to hold them and have a ‘fight to the death’ involving their crazy driving.

Why can’t the drivers who have a ‘Support Our Troops’ sticker on their vehicles and drive like assholes be as courteous as the veterans? All the veteran drivers I’ve seen or encountered (they have a special license plate with a red poppy on it) are stand-up drivers (some even have the ‘Support Our Troops’ sticker). They are an inspiration to us all. People with a ‘Support Our Troops’ sticker on their vehicles who drive like assholes soil the name of these proud veterans. Their slash and burn type of driving is disgusting and offensive and they should be embarrassed to display such a sticker because now I associate it with asshole driving – not what it was meant to represent.