some good reasons to not put stickers on your vehicle

The Grey Man approach to personal protection - Detroit martial arts | Examiner.com

Couldn't have said it better myself.

I was driving home from work last week, and the car in front of me stood out. It was a nondescript Subaru Outback, but the plethora of stickers and information on it was remarkable. This person publicized a tremendous amount of her personal details for all to see. Anyone in traffic, whether average Joe or person with malevolent intent, knew a tremendous amount of details about the woman.
The sticker descriptions are written from the point of view of “the bad guy”.
The stick figure family
This is the latest fad for the rear window, and I love it. A slew of stick figures representing the family, kids, and pets. In the case of this woman driving her Outback, I learned that she was a single mom, had two daughters, and a cat. She obviously took the time to represent her family right down to the pet. I now know that there is unlikely to be a “man of the house”, or he’d be represented here. I also know that there is no dog that will bark or guard the house while I break in. I know there are two daughters. I can break in, secure the entire structure, and know who to account for.
Local High School Ashley #44 Cheerleading
Nice. The name of the local high school tells me you live in the area. It tells me your daughter, Ashley, is a cheerleader. That means she’s good looking. I’ll keep that in mind. A quick google or Facebook search and I WILL have your last name, and that means I’ll have your address.
My daughter is an honor roll student at Local Junior High
I now have info on your younger daughter, and what school she goes to. It’s a relatively new Outback, so it’s likely this sticker does represent the young one and not the cheerleader. With data on your two daughters, I’m pretty sure I can physically dominate the sum physical threat your family brings.
Political and cause based stickers
Freedom of speech is great! I see you are an ardent supporter of a certain political party, are anti-war, want to coexist, and are a tree hugger. Based on this, I’m guessing you’re anti-gun as well. I’ll even go out on a limb and guess you haven’t put too much thought into personal protection or home protection of any kind. Yeah, you may be the exception and I may be wrong, but this info sure stacks the deck in my favor!
The scenario conclusion
The woman in the Outback taught me much about her. If my intentions were malevolent, as written from the bad-guy perspective above, I have a lot of info for various crimes against this family.
What of some more popular forms of adhesive-based expression?
Pro-gun stickers
NRA stickers, “Gun control means using both hands” stickers, and other expressions are strong indicators the occupant is a CPL licensee. A criminal trying to obtain a firearm illegally simply has to wait until the vehicle goes into a pistol free zone. Is it worth following someone around and hoping for it? Probably not. But the parking garage at Joe Lewis Arena is a great place to start. Suburbanite is going into “The D”, takes his pistol for safety, but knows he cannot bring it into the arena. It gets stashed in the car. A quick break in, and that pistol is now in the wrong hands.
Political party
Politics tends to be fairly split. That Obama or Romney sticker is going to earn you the ire of 50% of the population. That Nader sticker will earn you the ire of 90%. Why subject yourself to that? 24/7, it’s capable of attracting the one guy with the bad intentions.
This isn’t the same as a Facebook post or other expression where you can control access to your viewpoints; this is public expression on your vehicle, while you are in it and while your vehicle is unattended. My statement is not meant as an anti-speech or anti-expression notion, but a personal safety notion.
Enter the grey man
The grey man is an expression synonymous with anonymity. It is a conscious effort not to stand out, but to blend and be nondescript. It does not necessarily mean blandness and boringness, but is not meant to be flaunting and attracting negative attention.

From now on you'll have no identifying marks of any kind. You'll not stand out in any way. Your entire image is crafted to leave no lasting memory with anyone you encounter. You're a rumor, recognizable only as deja vu and dismissed just as quickly. You don't exist; you were never even born. Anonymity is your name. Silence your native tongue. You're no longer part of the System. You're above the System. Over it. Beyond it. We're "them." We're "they." We are the Men in Black. Zed, Men In Black, 1997.​

From a personal protection standpoint, it means not publicly giving away important details about your business, situations, or affiliations that may attract malevolence from wrong-doers. The grey man wants no attention, and wishes interaction with only those of his choosing. His political affiliations are not the world’s business, and he does not want to be singled out for them.
Likewise, those that are prepared and protection experts will also take the grey man approach. The tacti-cool gear, bling, stickers, and attire will be dismissed in favor of less overt clothing and accessories. He is aware, but not outwardly so. He is an expert in personal protection, but does not show off his skills or become a known ‘karate guy’ or ‘gun guy’ in a public setting. The grey man does not want to be seen as a ‘challenge’, or singled out for his preparedness and potential gear.
This does not mean he is not an expert in his field or known as a competent professional. It simply means that if you saw him on the street you wouldn’t know it.
Imagine our Subaru Outback driver at a red light next to a grey Chevy Malibu with no markings. A violent sex offender pulls up behind. Who will be his next target?
Suggested by the author:

• Personal protection from behind the wheel
• Situational awareness
• Have a Plan B (and C, and D, etc.)
• Roadway randori: Recognizing really bad drivers

 

My truck does not stand out. It looks like a common one of millions Ford truck thats about 20 years old. The paint is sumwhat dull dark blue, with various light scratches. To police it is a sleeper as it does not look like it can go as fast as it can. To a criminal there looks to be nothing interesting of value. Only sticker on it is AA sticker.

 

Okay, busted! One of our vehicles is a driving billboard. We have stickers all over the back and this article is spot on. We have found irrational notes stuck to the car. While driving we get thumps up or some of those one fingered salutes. People do read and react to our postings of beliefs. I have thought of scraping them off but just haven't made the move. This may be the motivator.

 

Good post, clear and understandable reasoning. Thanks for posting. I am remiss, but can correct the situation.

 

The gray man rules!

 

Does grey hair count??

 

Why yes, yes it does.

 

Want to blend in with the sheeple.....? Maybe put a Tinkerbell sticker and a bumper snicker saying "Born to shop" on the ol' minivan........

 

I have just one sticker -
"My son is a US Marine"

I wonder what the author would make of that?

 

IMO, it speaks mountains:

Statistically, you are probably conservative, not a pacifist, believe there are bad people in the world (i.e., COEXIST bumper stickers are for fat, athiest, lesbians), and favor the 2nd Amendment.

There is a statistical measure called "lambda" that is a "proportional reduction in error" term. That is, the more characteristics I know about you, the greater likelihood I can guess other characteristics about you and be correct.

For example, if I knew a person was a Republican and a Christian, the lambda for me stating you are also Caucasian might be 87%. This means, given that I can reduce the error of guessing your race by 87 pct if I know your political affiliation and religiosity.

 

Am a believer in moderation and that car was "slightly" over the edge--lol. If we do not place a bumber sticker/window decal then we are only advertising for Ford/Chevy/etc etc. My way past preacher said he did not believe in bumper stickers so I asked him to remove his VW emblem from the rear/front.

 

It sounds like a dance favoured by nerdy statisticians......oh......that's the Lambada!

 

I know over the years I have used stickers as a way to see what kind of person I am getting ready to come in contact with on traffic stops and 90% of the time it turns from a guess to a fact. The Marijuana stickers always produce the only decal I have found to be a lie 99.9% of the time are always on a humped up Geo and read HOT CHICK. I have yet to find that one to be true at any time. ( LOL)

 

Back in my 20s I would put a Darwin fish on my car, only to have it ripped off within a month. The fourth time not only was it torn off but my back window was smashed in. I haven't put any kind of sticker or decal on my vehicles since. Too many hateful jits out there with poor impulse control.

 

Always the odd man out...Whereas I am not overtly radical in my show of political preference, I do have some very obvious stickers on my nondescript Ford Truck. One is Rule 7.62; another is Wake up America or you will lose your rights, and the last is the Don't Tread on Me sticker. I have tried doing the Gray Man stick, just not my style. Yes, I am painfully aware of the old adage of "The nail that sticks out gets hammered down". I am too incensed to be gray, I am more of a dull red.

Gafarmboy
If you can not protect what you own, you won't own it long.

 

People tend to steer clear of my car......

maybe it's the bio-hazard / medical waste sticker on it?

 

Over here Chell that would get you face down on the pavement with every Barney Fife in three counties surrounding you with every weapon in the armory.Your car would be in small pieces in sixteen different labs and you would be lucky if you weren't in sixteen pieces in said labs.And of course your dog would be dead.

 

An understandable response in the United States........my dog IS a bio-hazard!

 

So if your bumper stickers give you away, to be disguised would you run with totally different stickers? Get a big peace symbol and a peta sticker?

 

Bingo !!! and +1 ^^^
Every prepper should have a couple of these in reserve...