pow mia ribbon faded
Artist's Statement:
I stole these yellow ribbon magnets from the backs of vehicles in parking lots across Phoenix, AZ, where they are plentiful. I found an unsurprising correlation between the size of the vehicle and the number of ribbons on the bumper. While I believe theft is wrong, I believe the advocation of state-sanctioned violence is much worse. After scanning these magnets, many of them very decayed, I destroy them.
Some may say that supporting the troops is not the same as supporting war. This is very wrongful thinking to me. I have met many soldiers in my lifetime and they are generally decent people, but there is not a draft in America. The War on Terror is not a war of self-defense, but of aggression, nationalism and fear. Therefore, it is a choice to go overseas and demolish men, women, children, houses, farms, entire cities even. I believe supporting the troops is a very evil idea, even if their job is not enviable, even if their murderous rampages does not always make them terrible people at home. It is so strange and dark how ripping children apart with machine guns does not entirely disable one to love their own children.
That leads me to my next point: Why these ribbons are magnetic. They are purposefully easy to remove so that if public opinion were to suddenly and overwhelmingly change, the drivers of gas-guzzling SUVs could avoid scrutiny. Otherwise, why don't the majority of magnet consumers opt for adhesive?
All I am doing is taking the initiative. For every ribbon I remove, that is one less bigoted, hateful, war-mongering driver you will see in traffic. Perhaps, if you see one of these magnets yourself, you would do the rest of the world a favor and remove it.
Note: the one's that are non-war related accidentally got mixed up in this. I kept them because they're interesting.
pow mia ribbon faded
Artist's Statement:
I stole these yellow ribbon magnets from the backs of vehicles in parking lots across Phoenix, AZ, where they are plentiful. I found an unsurprising correlation between the size of the vehicle and the number of ribbons on the bumper. While I believe theft is wrong, I believe the advocation of state-sanctioned violence is much worse. After scanning these magnets, many of them very decayed, I destroy them.
Some may say that supporting the troops is not the same as supporting war. This is very wrongful thinking to me. I have met many soldiers in my lifetime and they are generally decent people, but there is not a draft in America. The War on Terror is not a war of self-defense, but of aggression, nationalism and fear. Therefore, it is a choice to go overseas and demolish men, women, children, houses, farms, entire cities even. I believe supporting the troops is a very evil idea, even if their job is not enviable, even if their murderous rampages does not always make them terrible people at home. It is so strange and dark how ripping children apart with machine guns does not entirely disable one to love their own children.
That leads me to my next point: Why these ribbons are magnetic. They are purposefully easy to remove so that if public opinion were to suddenly and overwhelmingly change, the drivers of gas-guzzling SUVs could avoid scrutiny. Otherwise, why don't the majority of magnet consumers opt for adhesive?
All I am doing is taking the initiative. For every ribbon I remove, that is one less bigoted, hateful, war-mongering driver you will see in traffic. Perhaps, if you see one of these magnets yourself, you would do the rest of the world a favor and remove it.
Note: the one's that are non-war related accidentally got mixed up in this. I kept them because they're interesting.