Red States v. Blue States...

link

In reply to a comment on a British board where the commenter did not understand why the US describes "red states" for conservative majority states.
=============================================

Somerset,  Red was assigned to Republican states in the annual election night maps used by the TV networks.  I'm not sure who selected the colors, but I think it was Roone Arledge at ABC. In those days, we had only three national networks who always ran the same stories in the same order every night, placed their commercials, sports and weather in at exactly the same point in the program.

The Democrats were assigned blue.  All the other two networks accepted those colors.  I maintain that the color experts at Madison Avenue (which runs TV) well knew the emotional effects of color on the audience.  The network execs and news department were and continue to be 94% Democrat voters.

While blue is traditionally the color of police, law and order, blue skies, prosperity, highborn people, blue ribbon champions, blue chip stocks, little boys, melancholia, sensitivity, heavenly ideas, original American jazz and torch songs, the TV manipulators knew it was a soothing, peaceful, optimistic environment.  They put their anchors in front of blue backgrounds behind blue desks in blue suits sponsored by mostly blue product packaging.

Red, on the other hand is the color or drama, rage, charging bulls, penalty flags in football, warning of overhangs on a truck, traffic lights demanding an immediate full stop, blood, tragedy, death, rednecks, redskins, Red Communists, red menace, red-line extreme limits, red tape, bad school marks, business losses, in the red, crooks caught red-handed, red herring, condition red for most threatening danger, and fire, explosions, emergency vehicles, bad news generally.  Red excites you, alarms you, increases your blood pressure, elevates adrenaline in preparation of fight or flight, and reveals much drink and drug abuse.   You can't tolerate it for long or comfortably and will seek to relieve the psychological pressure as as possible.

These media mogul advertising persuader professionals knew that red is the color of British Labour, of communism, of the Post Office, the Sovereign, and the busses but that mattered none.  It was the subliminal influence and hypnotic effect they wanted to favor the Democrats and harm the Republicans.

That's it.  It was and is a propaganda/advertising fraud on the people by the TV media in New York City that goes against all common sense and intuition. The advertising ploy of denial:  "new and improved" means same and unchanged, "Light" or "lite" means we used different colors, "new packaging" with less stuff in it, "family size" for a two-person family, "soft and fluffy" is packed with injected air and less food, "extra-strength" is like taking two, "foolproof" means we fooled you.
===================================

Color Talks! Learn How Colors Influence Behavior

What it says about you may not always be what you had in mind. Colors not only enhance the appearance — they also influence our behavior. It’s to your advantage to consider the responses to color, both physiological and psychological.

In London, when the Blackfriars Bridge, made of black ironwork, was repainted a green color, suicides declined more than 30%.

Notice how many fast food restaurants use red, orange, and yellow. This is to attract the customer to the establishment and to make the food look better. Red also has a positive affect on your appetite!

The colors of some restaurants are also bright  inside, pleasing enough for a time, but designed to encourage you not to linger and move on, to make room for other customers and higher profits. To keep the customers the interior of the restaurant should be bathed in blue or green.

Color can affect the sense of temperature, size of  a room, and how food appears. But restaurants and all places of employment need to understand the affects of color since yellow places of work cause grumpy,  tense employees

The color pink is calming, that’s why you’ll see it  in jails (no personal experience!) and Department of Motor Vehicle offices and hopefully soon in Post Offices. Some teams have even painted the Locker room of  the visiting team pink for a tranquilizing effect

Ever think about what the color of your tie, or car or walls of your bedroom is really saying!! Color is important since it gets an emotional response from people and can really effect how you look.

SHOW YOUR TRUE COLORS!!

Here’s a list of emotional responses.

Because we are men and for the most part don’t care about color and all that,  this list is useful. First, it tells you what your clothes are saying, at least  in some crazy, subtle way.

Second, for the women in your life who think you’re  not in touch with your feelings, this list provides emotions you can wear on your sleeve, literally. Or on your car, the walls of your home, the cover of Your next presentation, etc.

So reach deep down inside and pick a feeling. We’ll  tell you how to express yourself in living color:

RED – Dominance, power, attention, sexual  energy, health, determination, passion, persistence, excitement, strength

“I love red so much; I almost want to paint
everything red.”
– Alexander Calder

PINK — Upbeat, good health, calming,  friendly, compassionate, faithful, femininity, calm

ORANGE –Happy, courageous, successful,  enthusiasm, bold, adventuresome, friendliness, warmth, informality, welcoming,movement, energy

“Orange is the happiest color”
– Frank Sinatra

BROWN – Informal, reliable, approachable, relaxed, stability, earthy

YELLOW – Anxiety, alert, optimistic,  confident, stimulating, enthusiastic, playful, cheerful, communicative,
expressive, intelligent

“Yellow is capable of charming
God.”
–Vincent Van
Gogh

GREEN – Relaxing, compassion, prosperity,  prestige, growth, abundance, money, vitality, harmony, efficiency

AQUA –motivated, active, dynamic

TURQUOISE –Refreshing, cool, imaginative,  innovative, youthful

BLUE — Loved, high regard, knowledge,  authority, trust, serious, responsibility, peace, social status, caring, good
health, tranquil, intuitive, happiness, calm, honest, loyalty, integrity

LIGHT BLUE — Peaceful, sincere, affectionate

INDIGO — Knowledge, power, integrity

PURPLE — Spiritual, passionate, visionary,  regal, powerful, respected, dignified, luxurious

“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color
purple  in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.”
– Alice Walker, The Color Purple
(Simon & Schuster 1982)

LAVENDER — Romantic, imaginative, fantasy

MAGENTA — Outrageous, imaginative,  innovative

GOLD – Illumination, wisdom, prestige,  expensive

SILVER –Prestige, cold, scientific

BLACK – Elegance, authority, dignity,  sophistication, seductive, mystery

“I’ve been 40 years discovering that the queenof all colors is black.”
– Pierre-Auguste Renoir

GRAY – Brainy, class, efficiency,  sophisticated, confidence

WHITE – Virtue, fertility, clean, status,  prosperity

A History of the Color Blue

Blue was a color that has  signified power and beauty since Egyptian times.

Pastel blue was popular with Germanic  tribes who derive a dye from the herb woad during the First Century BC through 5th Century AD .  The Roman consider the color blue barbaric.

New processes made blue dye colorfast  which gave it a prominent place in painting, heraldry and clothing during the 11th and 12th Centuries.  Marco Polo reported seeing the color blue in Baghdad in the 1300’s.

During the 15th and 16th  Centuries, Protestant reformers think that bright colors (especially red) are  carnal!  But growing trade with the rest of the world exposed Europe to the  indigo plant, which produced a deeper blue.  Indigo is one of the oldest dyes and made from fermented leaves of Indigofera plants, which are native to China andIndia.  By the early 19^th century Britain was the main supplier of  the blue dye from its plantations in India.

In 1860  Indigo dye was first used for denim.  The dye is why they’re called “blue jeans”! German chemist Adolph von Baeyer was the first to create a synthetic  indigo dye that Sir William Perkin improved in 1856.