GreenBeard

I mean it’s not a wrong take, it doesn’t make financial sense.

Sort of, but this is slightly different. It’s an active obfuscation of an externally imposed identity element. A justifiable one in this case, but an external imposition in the first place, and external identity elements should always be held at arm’s length because they tend to get abused.

Incorporating it into your material identity dulls your awareness of the fact this representation of you, isn’t “you”, and how it’s used isn’t up to you. Creating an attachment to it has risks, risks you are inclined to ignore if mentally it’s just another personalized bumper sticker in your perception.

So would you rather I assume they just don’t know any better, that they lack agency and enough insight to recognize that calling it “self-expression” is internalizing an imposed identity? Or are you going to care-troll that I’m calling them stupid and helpless then?

Yes, I think most people get that’s all it is, and they do it anyway. I think the impulse to ignore external imposition is pretty deeply conditioned in people and I think that’s unfortunate. Do I think it’s their fault, not entirely, but do I also think they have a choice in it, I certainly do. Even when it’s a matter of practical necessity, we should always be aware of identity imposed externally, because it can and often is used against you. I do think that offering customized plates is kind of gross because it’s a way of dulling that awareness, and I think it’s morbid that people have been conditioned to accept it, even fully cognizant of what it represents.

And you can keep your red herring, I’m not interested.

Got it. You resent other people having values you don’t share.

I’m not really concerned what your opinion of me is. You think it’s snobby to not waste money on a stylized government ID? Because that makes sense. If you want to plaster your car in your favourite things, go for it. Live your best life. If you want to paint your car like Lisa Frank exploded in a mist of glitter on it, I’m totally down. But the plate, that’s not ever an extension of you. It isn’t yours and it never was, and the illusion that it is, is kind of sad. But clearly, my opinion isn’t a popular one, so I’ll leave off. We’re clearly not going to agree on this.

Look, I’m not saying we shouldn’t be registering cars I’m just saying a licence plate is intended as a vehicle tracking ID. That’s the whole point. I always considered licence plate customization at best tacky. If I want to add some decals and bumper stickers and such, I’m not going to put it on a state issued ID tag.

For the record, I think customized graphics on your credit/debit cards, check designs, etc. is just as morbid. You don’t “own” these things, they’re not part of your identity, and letting them trick your brain into pretending that they belong to you and are an extension of your “self” by adding fancy designs is kind of gross. They are symbols that reference you, they are not a part of you.

That’s like embellishing a prison camp number with a fun design. That’s not self-expression that’s morbid.

Holy hell yes. It’s actually alarming how many security holes are out there simply because management had no clue what people did and canned the last guy responsible for maintaining something. Zombie functions that are holding up the whole stack, but no one has had a clue what they did in 15 years, and we all just look away and hope they keep holding until they’re someone else’s problem.