A Subtle Command from our Handlers

A Subtle Command from our Handlers

By JBH Wonders

05/2013

“Click it or Ticket”. There, in one short sentence, is a command from the powers that be (TPTB) and the proscribed punishment for disobedience. I never did like that slogan and the more they flaunt it the more it irritates me. This article is inspired by a recent event that was covered in a small town newspaper celebrating a campaign purportedly to get folks to use their seat belts. The campaign is all about automobile safety of course.

The newspaperarticle was complete with a large photo of armed tax feeders holding a banner displaying the obnoxious message “Click it or Ticket” and some verbage honoring everyone in the photo and blah, blah, blah. (Sorry, I do not usually revert to slang in my writings but it seemed to fit).

Don’t get me wrong. I do believe that wearing seat belts saves lives and I personally wear one 90% of the time while in a motor vehicle. And TPTB also know that it is a good practice and at one time advertised this fact with clever (and I dare say “compassionate”) advertising jingles and other promotions. The whole seatbelt thing for automobiles may have had political/commercial connotations to it in the beginning but that is not the point of this article.

Assume for now that in the beginning, TPTB wanted us to use seat belts for our safety. So at one time we were hearing things like:

"Buckle up for safety, buckle up! Buckle up for safety, always buckle up! Show the world you care by the belt you wear. Buckle up for safety, everybody, buckle up!"

“If you’re not wearing your seat belt, what’s holding you back?"

“Put your mind as ease, tell your driver please…”

And if you are old enough perhaps you will remember the attempt of humorous TV ads with the “crash test dummies”. “…you can learn a lot from a dummy”.

These were all corny ads and jingles perhaps. And they most probably cost the taxpayers some serious coin to write, produce, and advertise. But they were benign words that could be blocked out and/or ignored at some point. Regardless, I am sure that many folks started using seatbelts as a result of these previous ad campaigns and many lives are being saved with their use.

But now they have been touting “Click it or Ticket” since the late nineties. This seems to fall in line with all of the other police state actions going on at this time though it is presented in a seemingly harmless manner.

If TPTB really wanted to refresh the seatbelt campaign on a positive safety note, they could have come up with something better than “Clicket or Ticket”. Heck, even I came  up with a few non adversarial alternates for “Click it or Ticket”. How about these;

“Click it or hit it (the windshield)”

“Strap it on or you may be long gone”

“Buckle the hasp and you are bound to last”

So anyway, the “Clicket or Ticket” message campaign declares something we should do because it is a good thing for us. But the real message is clear. “Obey or you will be punished.”