Bumper Sticker Culture

     As I walked through the parking lot of King Soopers (off of S College st), I noticed that the bumper stickers expressed views of loving Colorado for its recreational activities. There were stickers about skiing, snowboarding, weed, and a love of the mountains. Among these, there were also quite a few Colorado flags and college stickers. Most of the bumper stickers expressed a great pride for living in Colorado, and showed that the surrounding culture seems to really enjoy the out doors and natural lifestyle. The stickers supporting marijuana/associating Colorado with marijuana, could be taken as comical (The abundance of weed jokes in Colorado), or as political (If the sticker was placed before the legalization of marijuana or to demonstrate the perceived positives of legalization). Given Fort Collins is a college town, it isn't unusual to see school support on the vehicles. From this little investigation I can conclude that people near the school community, support and value outdoor activities, a more naturalistic view on drugs, and a love of higher education.
     Exploring the parking lot of whole foods led me to believe the community believed in similar values as King Soopers bumper stickers led me to believe, only with an added affiliation with  pop-culture, veganism and dare I say money. There were stickers referencing to Star wars, and  Jurassic Park which are two large contributors to pop culture. Bumper stickers that made allusions to pop culture could be considered comical and/or expressing their love of the cinema industry. "Save the animals, go vegan" and bumper stickers expressing strong affiliations with veganism are both political ( In the way in which veganism was proposed) and sometimes sarcastic. Along with the vegan bumper stickers, there was some cycling ones; which leads me to believe that the community around whole foods is very health conscious. The reason why I say they may also value being rich (economically) is because I saw quite a few stickers of higher-end ski resorts, and whole foods itself is a very expensive place to shop ( compared to produce prices at King Soopers). Things, a person would have to have money  (and be open to spending a lot of it) to do. There seems to be a sort of prestige around shopping at whole foods and I think that can speak of the community as well ( I love whole foods but its becoming a sort of high culture thing). Overall, the community that surrounds whole foods appears to be very health conscious, well-off financially, particularly concerned about animals and the environment, and proud to be a natural Coloradoan.
In "An Open Letter to Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi", Nathan Brown writes to inform the public and declare his disapproval with the U.C. Chancellors. His primary purpose is to express his outrage at all the police brutality that occurred against student protesters.  While explaining his views, he also places blame on Linda P.B. Katehi and asks that she immediately resign. Phrases such as " Your words express concern for the safety of our students. Your actions express no concern whatsoever for the safety of our students" ( Brown, EHE,127), show his stance on the situation, while his claim about Linda being the primary threat to students expresses his obvious distaste for the chancellor.
                                                          Works Cited:
Brown, Nathan. "An Open Letter to Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi." Ethics in Higher Education: A    Reader for Writers. By Nancy Henke, Lisa Langstraat, Adam Mackie, and Emily Morgan. Southlake:  Fountain Head, 2013. 123-27. Print.