Why do folks put bumper stickers on their car?

I used to–occasionally–put a bumper sticker on my rear window, in the lead-up to elections.
However, after a “good old boy” in a truck shouted Why do you hate your country? at me, and then attempted to force me into a ditch, I decided that the number of thin-skinned, small-minded people driving around nowadays makes it unwise to advertise one’s political affiliations.

So…no more political bumper stickers for me. And, I have never used other types of bumper stickers, so I guess it would be more accurate to say…no bumper stickers of any kind for me.

As to dealer stickers, when I order a new car, I add the following proviso to the purchase order:
The placement of a dealer sticker on this car will cause buyer to void sale.
Once they sign it, that becomes legally binding, and no dealers have ever tried to press their luck on that issue.

I have to admit; a few years ago I almost put a political bumper sticker on my car. I was still at the college, and parked in a reserved handicap spot right next to the main entrance. Jane Fonda was scheduled to come speak. I bought a bumper sticker to put in the window that said
"Jane, Call home.
1-800-Hanoi".

However her visit was cancelled due to fears of (promised) massive protests, and I never got to use it.

“I must be misunderstanding this. Are you really saying that a store puts a bumper sticker on your car without your permission while you’re shopping there?”

Yes they did. In fact…I learned a couple of things while the stores were removing the bumper stickers. Lighter fluid is great for removing leftover adhesive but “Goo Gone” works even better. One store was a local lumber yard and the other one was a chain supermarket. My truck had a chrome bumper so the stickers were fairly easy to remove.

Several years ago I disputed a medical bill and found myself in a downward spiral of useless conversations and correspondence that led to a certified letter from an attorney advising me that I was being sued. I carefully lettered a sheet of print paper to say
HONK IF ---- IS ROBBING YOU 2 and taped it to the inside of the rear glass of my pickup. Needless to say the sign got a lot or attention from the public and quite a few people photographed the sign and the CEO of the corporation contacted me and while he would not admit any wrong doing on his company’s part my bill, nearly $3,000, suddenly disappeared.

My wife has a custom front license plate (no regular one required) that shows a happy bear (not Smoky) hiking in the mountains and says “I’d rather be hiking!”.

Many tourist traps in NH used to put bumper stickers on cars in their parking lots long ago until the state outlawed it. They then switched to “bumper stickers” that attach with wires rather than stickiness, but modern bumpers won’t readily accommodate the wire-on types. You’ve probably figured out by that comment that I’m describing the '50s and '60s.

That’s a pretty effective use of a bumper sticker @“Rod Knox” … good idea.

I think it was way back in the 50’s in the Black Hills of South Dakota, one of the tourist places would put a bumper sticker on without permission. Of course then they were all chrome and no one had a lawyer so it was no big deal. When you got home you just took it off or left it on so everyone would know you were on vacation. Then again we always put the decals on the windows too of every state we were in. I think it was Crystal Cave and every other car had the bumper sticker on it.

I have three bumper stickers* on my truck: The first one was a Sunoco sticker, from back in the day when they had a promo where they gave you free gas if you had one on while driving. I had an unsightly scratch on my tailgate…so, killed two birds with one stone. I also have two motorcycle-related stickers on the driver’s door.

*(Technically not BUMPER stickers due to placement.)

The only T shirts I wear that are not plain, have the US flag on them, nobody has complained.
I've thought about buying such a shirt, but I realize that I'm cheap, hold on to clothes WAY too long, and do many dirty jobs without thinking about what I'm wearing; hence, my clothes are frequently offensively stained (my wife always reminds me, "Take an extra shirt with you" if she wants to go to dinner.) I wouldn't want to do that to Old Glory.

No stickers for me either. Mt daughter installed two for sports teams but as far as a statement those are harmless.
I think they are unattractive and I don’t want to advertise to others with sticky fingers and a rap sheet about the tings I own.

IMOO stick figure families are about as dangerous. You are advertising the size of your family and the genders. Perverts probably like those.