My partner, Chad, works at Village Books, a local independently-owned bookstore in town. He came home from work the other day and told me that on the main counter of the store next to one of the cash registers are Bush Condoms for sale.
Bush Condoms?
Yes, indeed.
"For Schmucks That Won’t Pull Out."
This was very interesting for me to hear. And a little surprising, since I wouldn’t exactly call Village Books a Left-leaning (not that the terms "left" and "right" have any real political meaning, anyway) bookstore.
Sure, they have certain paraphernalia that isn’t particularly flattering to the head of the current US administration, but this particular item makes no bones about the specific political stance of the bookstore owners. They are definitely against this war.
One of Chad’s coworkers was disturbed by the Bush Condoms, stating that she felt they were "in poor taste."
Since there are at least two very explicit messages that can be read here, I’m left to wonder whether she was offended by the sex reference or the war one because she failed to elaborate.
The obvious message is clear (i.e., Bush needs to remove all troops from Iraq) and reminds me of the debate that continues to this day of whether George Bush was justified in going to war with Iraq in the first place.
The way of inspiration is the way of peace. It is impossible to "keep the peace" via military action. A.J. Muste said (also attributed to Mahatma Ghandi), "There is no way (e.g. via war) to peace; peace is the way."
In other words — in my book, at least — there can be no justification for war. If there was not a war in Iraq, or in any other place, it would be meaningless to call anyone a schuck that won’t pull out.
However, there is another message that is equally explicit here, one that I am not sure that the owners of the bookstore carefully took into account. Of course, I don’t know this; I am making an assumption.
The implication is that contraception — at least condoms — is only necessary for "schmucks that won’t pull out." What is more, it implies that ‘pulling out’ is an acceptable form of birth control (nevermind the other health risks associated with unprotected sexual activity).
If these implications were not true, the analogy — and thus the punch line — would fall flat, essentially meaningless.
These messages — that there could be any justified war that would potentially need to be pulled out of, and that "pulling out" during sex is an acceptable way to prevent pregnancy — are neither inspirational nor responsible.
I’m not even sure they — like much of the bumper sticker activism — even serve their intended purpose….except perhaps to complain or blame.
In this case, if the point was to create the opportunity to dialogue about the war and what can be done to bring it to an end, judging from the reaction of Chad’s coworker, it really only served to shut down conversation because it was "in poor taste" — except for those who happen to agree with the owners’ assessment of the situation.
What do you think?
Are the Bush Condoms in poor taste?
If you were the store owner, would you have made the Bush Condoms available for purchase in your store?
) offers this refreshing thought on the matter:
(Just kidding!) 
