Dedications "In Memory of [Name]" that don't dedicate anything

[CZroe]

In the mid-nineties, a popular local "nice kid" was shot and killed in my hometown. Soon afterward, there were cars with this on the rear window:

In Loving Memory of [Dude's Name]
198X-199X

After that, anyone who lost a friend, family member, or other loved one would go to the same print/sign shop and get vehicle lettering in the same fashion. Now I see it all over the country (currently in San Diego).

I've always rolled my eyes at this but never said anything to the perpetrators out of respect for the dead and their feelings for that person, but it's come to a point where I must say something now.

JUST WHAT ARE YOU DEDICATING IN THEIR MEMORY? The window? The car? The freakin' LETTERS? When you see that shit on a brick or a park bench, they are saying that it was donated by some other people in memory of that person, either by paying for the building/structure the brick is used for or by paying the cost of the park bench or other item associated with it. I've known that since I was 5 and saw stained glass windows in a church that each had a plaque showing that each of the windows was paid for in memory of a certain person. Typically, something must be created or repurposed... either paid for or through personal artistry.

At Centennial Olympic Park, the named bricks represent a donation that paid for the park & stadium as well as the brick walkway it is integrated into. When you see it in a book or at the end of a movie, it is dedicating the artistic work to the memory of the people who died. To be "in memory of" the thing being dedicated must be for others... a park, a bench, a book, a movie, a church window... you can't just buy yourself a car and slap that on the car. On the other hand, when you see a US flag printed on a piece of copy paper and stuck on an office door with "In memory of the September, 2001 tragedy," as I have seen, you witness on an even bigger FAIL. It's not even that it's stupidly dedicating the paper, the ink, or the pre-existing door, it's that it's dedicating it to the event and not the victims. The terrorists want you to remember the tragedy too, you know... That's kinda why they did it.

Now... go forth and stop being stupid.

 

[olds]

Where is the word "Dedicated" in that sticker?

Originally posted by: CZroe
In the mid-nineties, a popular local "nice kid" was shot and killed in my hometown. Soon afterward, there were cars with this on the rear window:

In Loving Memory of [Dude's Name]
198X-199X

After that, anyone who lost a friend, family member, or other loved one would go to the same print/sign shop and get vehicle lettering in the same fashion. Now I see it all over the country (currently in San Diego).

I've always rolled my eyes at this but never said anything to the perpetrators out of respect for the dead and their feelings for that person, but it's come to a point where I must say something now.

JUST WHAT ARE YOU DEDICATING IN THEIR MEMORY? The window? The car? The freakin' LETTERS? When you see that shit on a brick or a park bench, they are saying that it was donated by some other people in memory of that person, either by paying for the building/structure the brick is used for or by paying the cost of the park bench or other item associated with it. I've known that since I was 5 and saw stained glass windows in a church that each had a plaque showing that each of the windows was paid for in memory of a certain person. Typically, something must be created, either paid for or through personal artistry.

At Centennial Olympic Park, the named bricks represent a donation that paid for the park & stadium as well as the brick walkway it is integrated into. When you see it in a book or at the end of a movie, it is dedicating the artistic work to the memory of the people who died. On the other hand, when you see a US flag printed on a piece of copy paper and stuck on an office door with "In memory of the September, 2001 tragedy," as I have seen, you witness on an even bigger FAIL. It's not even that it's stupidly dedicating the paper, the ink, or the pre-existing door, it's that it's dedicating it to the event and not the victims. The terrorists want you to remember the tragedy to, you know... That's kinda why they did it.

Now... go forth and stop being stupid.

 

[CZroe]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Where is the word "Dedicated" in that sticker?

Come on. I know it's common now, but are you just as stupid? "In memory of..." is a fragment. It means "[Dedicated] in memory of..."

SOMETHING DONE must be DONE in memory of SOMETHING/SOMEONE ELSE

PRINTED in memory of someone else? FAIL
DONATED in memory of someone else? WIN

The printing itself is a given for ANY dedication, not THE dedication, as it has come to be used.

Written, built, donated, or created, for the memory of someone is referred to as a "dedication." If your car were dedicated in memory of someone, it would have to be used toward that cause... like, used for charity work to further spread the good name of the deceased. Otherwise, on a personal vehicle it's "dedicated" to getting you to work and the kids to soccer practice. :roll:

 

[LTC8K6]

I see no problem with it. Not sure why it deserves a rant. It's just a statement remembering a person who has died.

Although it's written like a dedication, it's clear from the context that it's not one, so I see nothing wrong.

 

[Safeway]

Bad thing to rant over. The families take the time to create a small memorial to the loved one. They broadcast his existence to everyone that reads the remembrance. Maybe when you die, no one will remember you.

 

[allisolm]

It means "[Dedicated] in memory of..."

That's your interpretation.

Mine is that it means "These words are put here in loving memory of..."

"Now... go forth and stop being stupid."

 

[olds]

LOL
The original post for this thread that I typed and then deleted said:
I think we need a new law. Something along the lines of:
"If you post a rant, you'll end up looking like a douche"

But I held back...... :laughing;

 

[Raduque]

I got something stupider for you to bitch at: Mexicans who put their last name in giant, Olde Englishe letters across the back window of their car, OR alternatively, the stupid yuppies who have the little stick-figures that represent their family (with names, and even pets!) on the back window of their Excursion.

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: Raduque
I got something stupider for you to bitch at: Mexicans who put their last name in giant, Olde Englishe letters across the back window of their car, OR alternatively, the stupid yuppies who have the little stick-figures that represent their family (with names, and even pets!) on the back window of their Excursion.

They most likely are not "stupid," or "yuppies." Yuppies don't drive Excursions, soccer moms living upper middle class lives do.

As for the vehicles with spray-paint fade paint jobs and last names in an off-centered arch, they are classless.

 

[allisolm]

Originally posted by: Raduque
I got something stupider for you to bitch at: Mexicans who put their last name in giant, Olde Englishe letters across the back window of their car, OR alternatively, the stupid yuppies who have the little stick-figures that represent their family (with names, and even pets!) on the back window of their Excursion.

I've never seen either of those. Most cars here seem to have Greek fraternity/sorority letters on the back window.

 

[TruePaige]

Originally posted by: allisolm

Originally posted by: Raduque
I got something stupider for you to bitch at: Mexicans who put their last name in giant, Olde Englishe letters across the back window of their car, OR alternatively, the stupid yuppies who have the little stick-figures that represent their family (with names, and even pets!) on the back window of their Excursion.

I've never seen either of those. Most cars here seem to have Greek fraternity/sorority letters on the back window.

I've never seen anything in either of these quotes. But I have seen a variation of the 2nd part in a circle.

 

[darkxshade]

In loving memory of this thread

 

[nanette1985]

Originally posted by: Safeway

Originally posted by: Raduque
I got something stupider for you to bitch at: Mexicans who put their last name in giant, Olde Englishe letters across the back window of their car, OR alternatively, the stupid yuppies who have the little stick-figures that represent their family (with names, and even pets!) on the back window of their Excursion.

They most likely are not "stupid," or "yuppies." Yuppies don't drive Excursions, soccer moms living upper middle class lives do.

As for the vehicles with spray-paint fade paint jobs and last names in an off-centered arch, they are classless.

What's the difference between yuppies and soccer moms? Here in expensive suburbia I think they're the same thing.

And I think the stick figures are silly too. Dad, mom, kids, animals, and my neighbor has a stick figure for where their summer house is. I felt like an idiot but I had to ask. Somebody else in town has a stick-figure with a noose labeled "mother-in-law".

For the OP's situation, why does money make things different? If somebody has a dead kid, the memory is the important part. Nothing wrong with the money part, of course.

 

[SoulAssassin]

I think the 'In Memory of' stuff on the back of cars is dumb but not for the reasons OP says. They aren't supposed to be a dedication like a park bench or whatever.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: CZroe

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Where is the word "Dedicated" in that sticker?

Come on. I know it's common now, but are you just as stupid? "In memory of..." is a fragment. It means "[Dedicated] in memory of..."

SOMETHING DONE must be DONE in memory of SOMETHING/SOMEONE ELSE

PRINTED in memory of someone else? FAIL
DONATED in memory of someone else? WIN

The printing itself is a given for ANY dedication, not THE dedication, as it has come to be used.

Written, built, donated, or created, for the memory of someone is referred to as a "dedication." If your car were dedicated in memory of someone, it would have to be used toward that cause... like, used for charity work to further spread the good name of the deceased. Otherwise, on a personal vehicle it's "dedicated" to getting you to work and the kids to soccer practice. :roll:

Are you retarded?

 

[cKGunslinger]

FAILRANT!

 

[SlitheryDee]

The thing I see the most is Calvin from Calvin & Hobbs praying to Jesus or pissing on ford, chevy, and dodge. Oh, and I also see "I Ain't Skeered" in the "No Fear" lettering a lot. I really hate that last one. Why do people think that reveling in their own illiteracy is a good thing?

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: princess ida

Originally posted by: Safeway

Originally posted by: Raduque
I got something stupider for you to bitch at: Mexicans who put their last name in giant, Olde Englishe letters across the back window of their car, OR alternatively, the stupid yuppies who have the little stick-figures that represent their family (with names, and even pets!) on the back window of their Excursion.

They most likely are not "stupid," or "yuppies." Yuppies don't drive Excursions, soccer moms living upper middle class lives do.

As for the vehicles with spray-paint fade paint jobs and last names in an off-centered arch, they are classless.

What's the difference between yuppies and soccer moms? Here in expensive suburbia I think they're the same thing.

And I think the stick figures are silly too. Dad, mom, kids, animals, and my neighbor has a stick figure for where their summer house is. I felt like an idiot but I had to ask. Somebody else in town has a stick-figure with a noose labeled "mother-in-law".

For the OP's situation, why does money make things different? If somebody has a dead kid, the memory is the important part. Nothing wrong with the money part, of course.

LOL. Suburbia dwellers != yuppies. That is, unless you live at the poverty line.

 

[Safeway]

Yuppie definitions:

a very arrogant well put together young urban professional who you more than likely will find wearing gucci and prada with a large bank account which they love to brag about. You can find them drinking Starbucks, living in a one bedroom apartment in a city where they will pay 1000-2000 a month for and spending another 3000 a month on their credit cards. They brag about their designer clothes and love to flaunt them , as well as their wealth. They look down upon anyone who isnt as wealthy or high status as they are. Men are likely to be found wearing designer suits, gucci preferably with slicked back or well cut hair. The women will be wearing prada/gucci and fendi. The most arrogant concieted fucks on the planet.

derived from Young Upcoming Professional, or YUP --> "yuppie" became the natural colloquialisation. Derogatory 80s term to describe a 'new breed' of young, wealthy people, typically successful in business and not afraid to flaunt it in a fashion which particularly irritates non-yuppies.

A suburbia dweller is quite possibly the antithesis of a yuppie.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: CZroe

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Where is the word "Dedicated" in that sticker?

Come on. I know it's common now, but are you just as stupid? "In memory of..." is a fragment. It means "[Dedicated] in memory of..."

SOMETHING DONE must be DONE in memory of SOMETHING/SOMEONE ELSE

PRINTED in memory of someone else? FAIL
DONATED in memory of someone else? WIN

The printing itself is a given for ANY dedication, not THE dedication, as it has come to be used.

Written, built, donated, or created, for the memory of someone is referred to as a "dedication." If your car were dedicated in memory of someone, it would have to be used toward that cause... like, used for charity work to further spread the good name of the deceased. Otherwise, on a personal vehicle it's "dedicated" to getting you to work and the kids to soccer practice. :roll:

Are you retarded?

Me? Ya.

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: Eli

Are you retarded?

Me? Ya.

This is known.

 

[MrPickins]

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
I think the 'In Memory of' stuff on the back of cars is dumb but not for the reasons OP says. They aren't supposed to be a dedication like a park bench or whatever.

Ya, I just think it's tacky...

 

[marvdmartian]

Originally posted by: CZroe

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Where is the word "Dedicated" in that sticker?

Come on. I know it's common now, but are you just as stupid? "In memory of..." is a fragment. It means "[Dedicated] in memory of..."

SOMETHING DONE must be DONE in memory of SOMETHING/SOMEONE ELSE

Dang, it's no wonder I've been so forgetful in recent years! I keep forgetting to DEDICATE my memories!!! :roll:

 

[CZroe]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
I see no problem with it. Not sure why it deserves a rant. It's just a statement remembering a person who has died.

Then it should say something like:

[Person's Name]
Date Born-Date Died
"We will always remember."

or just

[Person's Name]
Date Born-Date Died

See what I did there?

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Although it's written like a dedication, it's clear from the context that it's not one, so I see nothing wrong.

No, it's clear from the context that it IS one. Like I said, something is DONE "in memory of." The result of that thing is marked with "in memory of" to show that "this thing was done...in memory of." That's what it means. Period. No two ways about it.

Originally posted by: Safeway
Bad thing to rant over. The families take the time to create a small memorial to the loved one. They broadcast his existence to everyone that reads the remembrance. Maybe when you die, no one will remember you.

It isn't a rant. It's a PSA telling people to stop redefining "in memory of" and how to properly use it. Using it improperly without knowing why or having an explanation is as bad as writing "could of" and "would of" and actually thinking the "of" in there means something. :roll:

They can do it just as easily without the "in memory of" part and I have seen a few that have. Those don't bother me even if they are a bit tacky (nothing wrong with remembering and broadcasting that person's prior existence).

I DAMN sure wouldn't want someone to make the same gaffe over my death. I'm not "demanding" a proper dedication... I'd rather have nothing than contribute to people screwing up real dedications. A whole new generation has now grown up with this misinformed practice and no one is saying anything about it.

Originally posted by: allisolm
It means "[Dedicated] in memory of..."

That's your interpretation.

Mine is that it means "These words are put here in loving memory of..."

"Now... go forth and stop being stupid."

Which is EXACTLY what I was saying was so stupid. The words are COPIED from proper dedications by people who THOUGHT that that was why the words were put there. The lettering itself is not the what is dedicated... the item/work attached to or associated with it is. Period. Whether it's engraved on a plaque, laser cut and stuck to a car, printed on copy paper, or written by hand with a crayon, the lettering itself is NOT an appropriate dedication to be done "in memory of." If you must write something in rememberance of the person for its own sake, leave the "in memory of" part out or just put "Remember," "Remembering you...," or something of that nature (or nothing at all; the name and dates is enough).

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
LOL
The original post for this thread that I typed and then deleted said:
I think we need a new law. Something along the lines of:
"If you post a rant, you'll end up looking like a douche"

But I held back...... :laughing;

PSA

Originally posted by: allisolm

Originally posted by: Raduque
I got something stupider for you to bitch at: Mexicans who put their last name in giant, Olde Englishe letters across the back window of their car, OR alternatively, the stupid yuppies who have the little stick-figures that represent their family (with names, and even pets!) on the back window of their Excursion.

I've never seen either of those. Most cars here seem to have Greek fraternity/sorority letters on the back window.

The stick figure families on car windows seem to be all the rage on both sides of the country. I'm not sure where they are coming from, but you can't hit the road without seeing them in GA or CA. You probably just don't remember them ATM or wherever they are coming from just isn't around in your area.

Originally posted by: darkxshade
In loving memory of this thread

There! Now, you see? A rose CAN be "in loving memory of" someone... or something.

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
I think the 'In Memory of' stuff on the back of cars is dumb but not for the reasons OP says. They aren't supposed to be a dedication like a park bench or whatever.

They aren't supposed to be is right, but whoever started it clearly didn't know what "in loving memory" meant. Anytime you read it, you must be able to answer WHAT is "in loving memory of" that person. If the only answer you can muster is "the lettering is in memory of the person," it fails. That goes back to the very first person not knowing what the lettering truly meant on a real dedication when they first decided to put it on their car.

If it's not supposed to be "like a park bench or whatever," why does it steal it's wording from that kind of dedication? Even by your own definition, it's wrong. If it's not supposed to be like those things, then why is it worded that way? It does not need the "in memory of" part and you can still express the "remember" part if you want to. The PSA is just so you don't look like an ignoramus doing it with the wrong words like all the others out there.

 

[guyver01]

Originally posted by: CZroe
I've always rolled my eyes at this but never said anything to the perpetrators out of respect for the dead and their feelings for that person, but it's come to a point where I must say something now.

i bet if you did, they would have beat you into a pulp

People do it so they have something that will LAST to remind them, and people they know, about the life that was lost.

That's why we have memorials.

The Lincoln Memorial
The Washington memorial
etc..
somewhere inside those monuments is a sign that says Dedicated to the memory of...

But when you die... we'll just burn your corpse, and discard the ashes... since you don't want your loved ones to remember you.. no sense putting you in a cemetary, with a gravestone that reads "In Loving Memory of..."