Green Impostors
Live Earth concerts make fake hybrid badges as popular as Jesus fish
Nashville’s J.C. Piscine Company is one of the leading manufacturers of Jesus fish—those glued-on piscine symbols of faith that some religious folks attach to the trunks of their cars, usually near the name of the dealership.
In fact, the company markets a full line of the symbols, including plain fish, the fish with Greek characters and the version for the more literal-minded that actually says “Jesus.” The company happily works both sides of the evolution debate, also marketing the cheeky rebuttal “Darwin amphibians,” which could be described as evolved Jesus fish that have sprouted legs, as well as the rebuttal-to-the-rebuttal “attacking Jesus fish,” which appear to be devouring Darwin amphibians.
But in the two weeks or so since Live Earth, the worldwide series of concerts promoted by Al Gore and designed to raise awareness of global warming, officials at J.C. Piscine have noticed a surge in sales for a heretofore slow-moving addition to their product line—the fake hybrid badge for the backs of cars.
“Everybody wants to look like they’re concerned about climate change, but not everybody actually wants to go buy a hybrid,” says Steve Kustka, president of J. C. Piscine. “A customer can buy one of these and glue it on the back of their car, and it instantly makes them look environmentally sensitive.”
The key word being “look,” if recent reports of hybrid badges appearing on Hummers and Escalades are any indication.
Kustka acknowledges that his products may be put to numerous rhetorical uses.
“Some people may use them ironically, some may use them in an attempt at deception and, frankly, some may be used as a type of vandalism,” he says. “Putting a hybrid badge on your obnoxious neighbor’s Escalade can be a type of protest.
“And as long as you’re buying my Jesus fish or hybrid badges, I don’t care what you do with them. In fact, we’re looking at putting out a new product that’s a Jesus fish eating a hybrid badge. I don’t know what it means, but it might sell.”
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