Trend This...
according to the dictionary, the definition of a trend is: a direction of movement; a flow. seems pretty simple and straight-forward. trends have been around for as long as i can remember. fashion trends (i owned a pair of black cavareechies with all the belt buckles), the jennifer aniston haircut trend (i had the leonardo dicaprio 'titanic' haircut), merchandise trends, every child growing up in the 80s having a cabbage patch kid trend, etc, etc.
just because trends have been around since the dawn of time and i have participated in a few, does not mean that i understand them by any means. how does a trend go about getting started? who is the person(s) who say what is cool enough and not cool enough to even become a trend? are there specific criteria to even be considered a trend? so many questions, so many trends.
it would seem to me that we currently have two trends that are running parallel to one another. the first would be those rubber braclettes everyone and their mother, father, children and dogs are wearing. and the other would be those ribbon bumper stickers i have noticed on every bmw, mercedes, vw and motorcycle cruising this country's highways.
the first are those rubber things. not THOSE rubber things (although i do think it would be more amusing to see people wearing those around their wrists), but the braclettes that support a cause. now, don't get me wrong, i am all for raising money and supporting causes. i myself have done many a dance-a-thons and walk-a-thons. hell, i even rode a bike from boston to ny over the course of three days to raise $$$ for those living with hiv/aids. but give me a break. just like the cloth ribbons when they first came out. first, it was the red ribbon for aids awareness. again, i have many of them and continue to support. but, after a while a person's coat or jacket was covered with 50 different colored ribbons. people became a walking paint splatter supporting everything from the environment to chicks with d*cks trying to conceive children. same thing with those rubber things. first, they supported lance armstrong. which again, props to you for overcoming testicular cancer and reminding everyone who the best cyclist is. encouraging people that life goes on and you can bounce back when getting sick. props lance. but ever since then, someone thought 'let me get one of those rubber things and start a cause.' then the multitude of colors came onto the scene. instead of wearing the yellow one, people wore red ones, blue ones, green ones, fushia ones and even magenta ones. and then one person, one person i tell ya, thought 'why not wear more than one?' i have seen people with so many rubber braclette thingies that in a pinch, would have no problem constructing a home-made condom. these rubber thingies have become fashionable.
and what's up with the bumper stickers? i have never understood why a person would shell out thousands of dollars for a brand new set of wheels to only put a permanent sticker on it. and what happens if you get rid of the car or your favorite candidate lost miserably in the last election? now what? it is a continuous display to other people that you don't know how to pick a winner. the bumper stickers i am referring to are those ribbon bumper stickers. again, they started off supporting our troops overseas. which when it comes to this topic, i will say that i support our troops, but not the reasons why and a**holes who decide to send them to wherever they end up. my best friend is in the navy. to her, it is a job and her duty. i respect that. but once again, like every other trend, we've gone overboard. there are ribbon bumper stickers for everything. the troops, petaphiles supporting michael jackson, even drunk drivers who support those who have seen the light and join aa.
i think as a society, we push everything overboard. we overkill everything. and all for greed. who can make the most bucks and the fastest. so much so that it no longer seems like the support of a good cause, but the overkill of the $$$ making machine. we tend to lose sight of the true nature and meaning behind the object and just view it as trendy.
the only thing on my wrist is my watch and a burn mark i got when i accidently touched the pot on the stove. and i guarantee you won't see a blur of color on the bumper of my car as i whiz past you doing 84 mph. i will continue to support causes i believe in and respect the ones i don't believe. but, i will not support trends.
just because trends have been around since the dawn of time and i have participated in a few, does not mean that i understand them by any means. how does a trend go about getting started? who is the person(s) who say what is cool enough and not cool enough to even become a trend? are there specific criteria to even be considered a trend? so many questions, so many trends.
it would seem to me that we currently have two trends that are running parallel to one another. the first would be those rubber braclettes everyone and their mother, father, children and dogs are wearing. and the other would be those ribbon bumper stickers i have noticed on every bmw, mercedes, vw and motorcycle cruising this country's highways.
the first are those rubber things. not THOSE rubber things (although i do think it would be more amusing to see people wearing those around their wrists), but the braclettes that support a cause. now, don't get me wrong, i am all for raising money and supporting causes. i myself have done many a dance-a-thons and walk-a-thons. hell, i even rode a bike from boston to ny over the course of three days to raise $$$ for those living with hiv/aids. but give me a break. just like the cloth ribbons when they first came out. first, it was the red ribbon for aids awareness. again, i have many of them and continue to support. but, after a while a person's coat or jacket was covered with 50 different colored ribbons. people became a walking paint splatter supporting everything from the environment to chicks with d*cks trying to conceive children. same thing with those rubber things. first, they supported lance armstrong. which again, props to you for overcoming testicular cancer and reminding everyone who the best cyclist is. encouraging people that life goes on and you can bounce back when getting sick. props lance. but ever since then, someone thought 'let me get one of those rubber things and start a cause.' then the multitude of colors came onto the scene. instead of wearing the yellow one, people wore red ones, blue ones, green ones, fushia ones and even magenta ones. and then one person, one person i tell ya, thought 'why not wear more than one?' i have seen people with so many rubber braclette thingies that in a pinch, would have no problem constructing a home-made condom. these rubber thingies have become fashionable.
and what's up with the bumper stickers? i have never understood why a person would shell out thousands of dollars for a brand new set of wheels to only put a permanent sticker on it. and what happens if you get rid of the car or your favorite candidate lost miserably in the last election? now what? it is a continuous display to other people that you don't know how to pick a winner. the bumper stickers i am referring to are those ribbon bumper stickers. again, they started off supporting our troops overseas. which when it comes to this topic, i will say that i support our troops, but not the reasons why and a**holes who decide to send them to wherever they end up. my best friend is in the navy. to her, it is a job and her duty. i respect that. but once again, like every other trend, we've gone overboard. there are ribbon bumper stickers for everything. the troops, petaphiles supporting michael jackson, even drunk drivers who support those who have seen the light and join aa.
i think as a society, we push everything overboard. we overkill everything. and all for greed. who can make the most bucks and the fastest. so much so that it no longer seems like the support of a good cause, but the overkill of the $$$ making machine. we tend to lose sight of the true nature and meaning behind the object and just view it as trendy.
the only thing on my wrist is my watch and a burn mark i got when i accidently touched the pot on the stove. and i guarantee you won't see a blur of color on the bumper of my car as i whiz past you doing 84 mph. i will continue to support causes i believe in and respect the ones i don't believe. but, i will not support trends.
posted by notfornothin at Monday, May 02, 2005
1 Comments:
Btw, the ribbons on cars are magnetic. I have always hated them until I was home over the holidays. Much to my dismay both of my parents have them on their vehicles. But it was when they showed me that they had used a sharpie to list all the names of family members that are in the armed services. (And that is a lot.) That pulled a little on my heart strings. So I don’t shudder as much when I see them on cars. It is just a way for people to say they care. Even if they are driving gas gugglers.... Another complaint. Another day.
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