Seriously. Are We SHEEP???
Yes, yes, this “TravelnLass” site is… well yeah, arguably about a Lass (me) who Travels. Well maybe not bouncing from exotic land to exotic land every blessed week, but nonetheless, a fairly prolific, life-long traveler and now an expat in 3 different countries just in the past couple of years.
And though I have plenty of travel fodder waiting in the wings (Borneo, Myanmar – I’m lookin’ at YOU!), every once in awhile I can’t resist hopping on a wee soapbox about some stray irk that I momentarily feel COMPELLED to share here.
Btw, my off-(travel)topic detours here can likewise go in the opposite direction: i.e. some stray super kewl, happy-place item that strikes my fancy. But those I can neatly tuck under my “Wow Worthy Stuff” category.
I could/should probably create an “Acky Stuff” category here to vent just such stray crankiness, but that seems far too negative, and having a handy ack container might send me over to the dark side more often than is healthy.
The truth is (and I dare say most folks who know me well will agree – you DO agree, do you not???) that I’m not normally a whiny irky person at heart, and rarely (if at all) do I wax political in any flavor of that tediously tiresome vein. And furthermore, I am nothing if not supreeeemly smitten with my native land, the people who populate it, and effusively grateful for the privilege that my sweet navy blue passport affords me.
Nonetheless…
There are times that woefully try my patience. Moments when I’m reminded that cultural stereotypes become stereotypes for good reason. When the behavior of my fellow U.S. compatriots would seem mighty accurate, and DRIVE.ME.NUTS.
This cartoon is one of those times:
Now it’s not as if nobody else (from say… India, et al) ever donned a “NorthFace” jacket. Indeed, in many Asian countries it’s pretty much impossible to avoid the plethora of such counterfeit rip-offs in every local market. But I must say, it’s ever been a silent, unvoiced pet-peeve of mine, when I see my compatriots blithely impersonating walking billboards, for Nike, Coach, American Eagle, Tommy Hifliger, GAP, L.L.Bean, Eddie Bower, Abercombie & Fitch, Guess, DKNY, Bill Blass, Dockers, Converse, OshKosh (plastered on our toddlers for heaven’s sake!), and lest we forget – the grand-daddy of all apparel logo advertising: Msr. Lauren’s bitty polo pony on the left breast of every blessed golf-esque shirt on the Planet.
I just can’t help but wonder when it all started. Just when exactly, clothing manufacturers came up with the (majorly *brilliant* from a marketing standpoint) idea of plastering their brands prominently on the duds they S.E.L.L. (yup, amazingly we actually PAY to be a walking billboard – indeed, will apparently pay MORE to have Tommy or Eddie or some guy named “Fitch” trumpeted on our every stitch we wear.)
And even more of a wonder… that we all bought into it so very meekly – hook, line, and sinker.
So what do YOU think? Am I just being cranky here this morning? Or does it seem we’ve all kinda turned into some new breed of sheep?
About the Author
Dyanne Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion,and I’ve always lived life “like-a-kid-in-a-candy-store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been: This ain’t a dress rehearsal, folks!
You might also like...
What’s the TravelnLass Up To NOW??? →
Gee, the TravelnLass Has Gone Awfully Quiet… →
A Birthday TATTOO! →
Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion, and I’ve always lived life “like a kid in a candy store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been:
I very actively avoid wearing advertising. If “they” want me to were advertising I should get paid to do it. On a rare occasion I have to wear shirts at work with logos. I am being paid for it. I have been given gift certificates at work to order company branded stuff for the companies we sell stuff for. I just pass those on to someone else.
Well hey there Mike – glad to see you’re still following along here. Yes, if anything – the price of a pair of Nikes, etc. should be LESS given the ad on each heel.
Crank? No! I hate labels. I cut them off, paint over ’em, sew blank stuff over the things etc-etc. Though sometimes you’re just stuck with the silly things.
Too many people think their identity is being like someone else. Lemmings whose lives are iPhones and the latest clothing rip off (sorry fashion). The cliff awaits and on the way down realize, too late, that they missed out on life
lol Ted – uh, dontgetmestarted on the whole “my iPhone, iPad is better than your Android” (because it’s more expensive) mantra. Please. I actually own both, and have concluded that it’s all just “marketing”.
Indeed, it truly KILLS me when I receive an email from folks with either – sporting a wee “sent via my iPhone 5s”, etc. Little do they know that they can easily resist being a perpetual unpaid Apple or Galaxy advertising drone, by simply changing the default ad to something more like (on mine): “Transmitted wirelessly via my Casio iFridge”. 😉
“Lemmings” indeed.
P.S. Sorry about your “Pain in bed thoughts…” g-knows nothing is worse. Hope you’re feeling better soon!
Thanks Dyanne. I’ve managed to be up and round today a lot more, but will not push it. Usually takes 3 days or so for the back to settle down. Ho Hum, age.
Cranky? I don’t think so, besides it doesn’t matter as the post was interesting.
First logo wearing I remember was the Lacoste polo shirts as my friend’s father’s favorite casual wear. Sometime in the 60’s blue jeans became a thing, but they HAD to be Levi’s. Then there was Hang 10 shirts and it went downhill from there. By the time I left grad school for an income, I’d had it with labels. Land’s End and LL Bean had logo free basic clothes. Bought a seam ripper to remove sewn on labels from my outdoor activities clothing. Eventually I lost interest in logo dodging and bought what fit my needs.
Big salute to Bill Watterson, creator of Calvin and Hobbes (the comic strip above) for never licensing his characters.
Glad you found it interesting, Bill. And thanks for the vote of “cranky-not”. 😉
Nah, you’re never cranky. I believe the first one was Jordache jeans, maybe in the 70’s. Other than of course running shoes which have always been labeled or showing logos.
“Nah, you’re never cranky.”
Yes well, catch me on any given morning before I’ve had my first cup of coffee.
So Jordache, eh? I rather figured it was Ralph Lauren and that bitty pony. 😉
btw – won’t be long now, yes? Hope the final throes of blowing that U.S. of A. popsicle-stand in favor of gasping for breath at 8,000+ feet here in Cuenca – is proceeding smoothly.