The True Story of Stumpy the Bear + Smokey Flyposts. (Dates unknown, city unknown, US.)

The system as we know it did not magically appear one day, nor did it evolve to its current state without having to contend with resistance. Shaping the minds of the people to accept what they otherwise would rebel against is therefore very important to those at the top. After all, if you can stop a fight before it even begins you can get down to the business of despoiling the earth at maximum profit! This is why cartoon figures smile out at us from the billboards of extraction industries, why cute jingles accompany the commercials of companies who sell us back what they never should have been allowed to take to begin with. If they can convince us at a young age that they are our friends it can keep things from getting messy later on…

This is why subverting the iconography of our opponents is so important. They develop their logos and mascots to imbue their brands with specific traits: strength, respectability, or good ol’ ‘Merican chummery depending on their goals. But their branding is not safe, it can be kidnapped and utilized for our own ends!

The US Forest Service is a government agency that many people mistakenly believe exists to protect and “manage” the eco-systems under its care. Nothing could be further from the truth. The US Forest service is essentially a wing of the logging industry that auctions off public land for private profit at a net loss to tax payers. (Yes, the land is sold for less than what taxpayers spend for its upkeep!) How does an organization behave so badly for so long without anyone noticing? The USFS has as part of it’s solution a cartoon bear.

Radical environmentalists subvertised the heck out of Smokey in the 80’s and 90’s to great effect. The free Smokey comic books given out at ranger stations were replaced with Stumpy comics, and timber towns across the northwest saw wheat pasted posters showing the real Smokey going up on vertical surfaces with regularity. Given the current anti-corporate climate in America, these early examples of spokes-bear Ju-Jitsu ought to inspire a few folks to do some subvertising of their own…