New Madison Metro military recruiting ads . . .
Here’s an email I got from someone who noticed these new ads. I, of course, am in total agreement with her, but I thought I would pass it along.
Today on my evening ride on Madison Metro, I saw a new ad inside the bus for the WI National Guard.
It featured a picture of a soldier apparently aiming a gun at the viewer. The soldier was dressed in a camo uniform with helmet, etc. The words over the top of the picture were:
“STEP UP…or STEP ASIDE”
I’m not sure what the meaning of this is. Are the bus riders the target of the soldier’s gun? The message appears to pressure the reader to do something (“step up”), or else be forced to move aside for safety. I don’t like the mental image of an armed militant aiming at me as I peacefully ride to work.
By the way, if you do an internet search on the phrase “step up or step aside” you get some interesting links. Seems to be widely used phrase for different purposes, but I found several right wing blogs using it particularly. Linguists out there may have some better readings on all this.
Might be a good idea to tell Madison Metro if you have thoughts about this advertisement:
mymetrobus@cityofmadison.com
I suspect that when we are done with Adams Outdoor Advertising and have our own city staff doing these ads, that nothing will change and these ads would still show up. But, at least we know who made the decision and who to give our input to. If you agree, I’d email the above, plus Chuck Kamp (the Metro Manager) ckamp@cityofmadison.com and ask that the email be sent to the Transit and Parking Commission (TPC) members and cc: the mayor (psoglin@cityofmadison.com) and allalders@cityofmadison.com.
