It seems hard to believe (cough) but my brain has
almost completely replaced a waving gesture and all of its possible meanings
with simply giving everyone the middle finger.
I know, right? That is so unlike me…….(cough)
I spotted this man right when I parked at the gas
station, so contact seemed inevitable - I walked across the parking lot to fill
up the car when a traveling salesman beckoned me towards his vehicle to check
out his merchandise, which I had neither the money nor the interest. I raised
my hand to politely wave him off. As my hand ascended I felt it forming the “fuck
you” gesture. Quickly, I snapped myself out of it and up came a cupped wave,
the kind queens do at a parade.
Perhaps I use it a little to much?
NNNNAAAAAA.
Like most gestures, the origin of flipping the bird
is muddled by time and talk. Some people believe it began in ancient Greece in
their comedies. It was an insulting signal, just like today. It was also
believed to mean that the person you aimed it to enjoyed anal penetration –
katapugon for man and katapugaina for women.
However, there are different meanings for different
areas of the world. Some places designated it to warding off evil. My personal
favorite origin comes from a recently disproven legend. In 1813, when the
British battled the French; whenever a British archer was captured, their
middle finger was severed to abstain them from firing another arrow ever again,
so once word got around of the French soldiers’ deeds whenever a British archer
flung his arrow he would flip off his enemies. Again, this theory has been
discredited, but I like the story behind it.
Now, if you'd be so kind....
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