Property Based Expression

Bumper stickers, flags and signs provide a surface reason as the communication of information. They are used to convey simple messages to those around the vehicle or property's area. However, as we have seen their cultural use grow, we have also seen a very real effect they can have outside their mundane purpose.

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The personalization of an object, such as a car, takes the object from ubiquitous to distinct. It is no longer just a method of travel, interchangeable with any other vehicle, but a performance of the self. In essence, it becomes the external expression of the owner's will on the world. The messages it conveys move from that same generic space, into a more direct conduit to the person. We see this in examples of road rage, where individuals are more likely to express frustration and anger when they are in vehicles they themselves have personalized. (Kaplan, Nature 2008)

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The types of messages and their method of expression also contribute to this statement. The larger and bolder they are, the more they could actively impede the original use of the property, the more they stand as a challenge to those who would disagree. In this way, they act as those self same rituals and talismans of old, driving off the "evil" perceived by the owner.