Saturday I spent the afternoon working with the Seattle Tilth Association. This non-profit group works to promote organic gardening in an urban setting. This was an annual event they host along with Seattle Public Utilities to distribute yard waste compost bins and food compost bins. We had literally thousands of yard waste bins set up in a parking lot for literally, thousands of people in Seattle who came to pick up yard waste bins for their homes to use for composting.
When you are helping that many people load up compost containers into their cars, an astute person might notice a few trends. We noticed a fair number of Subaru wagons. We saw a lot of car seats for kids. We saw a lot of Volvo station wagons. We saw a fair number of Honda SUVs. We saw people from every economic class. Mercedes SUVs, Chevrolet Suburbans, full-sized pick-ups, old VW buses, a classic fully restored Buick Riviera, a hippy on a 10 speed with a wagon behind it, everything you could imagine.
We didn't see a single George Bush bumper sticker.
We saw a lot of anti-Bush stickers. We saw a number of Kerry stickers. We saw a number of stickers against the war in Iraq. But we did not notice a single W04, Bush / Cheney or any pro-Bush stickers of any kind.
You might wonder what lead me to come up with this observation in the first place. Am I some anti-Bush nut looking for any way to bash George W? Well, I have to admit I am not too thrilled with many of his policies, but I have better things to do than look for contrived ways to make George look bad.
I just observed what was happening with the people I was helping load bins in their car. At first we noticed a lot of Subaru Legacy wagons. It makes sense. I mean who is going to bring a Mazda Miata to load up a yard waste bin? About 20 people is what I recall. We noticed that they had kids with them. After all, who is going to leave their kids at home with sitter to pick up a recycle bin? We noticed a number of Kerry stickers which then I realized I didn't see any Bush stickers.
It isn't as if there are no Bush stickers in Seattle or King County. I see a number of oval W04 stickers on cars. You could find them at the Northgate Mall next door. So how come none of them picked up a yard waste or food waste bin? I know that people who vote Republican garden. I have friends that went through the Master Gardener program that are Republican. I know that they own houses. I know that they work in their yards. I just find it strange that not a single person with a Republican-oriented bumper sticker showed up on the Saturday.
