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This is a wonderfully presented article of an important aspect of the impact of symbolism in culture. This reminds me of the modified okay symbol which makes a
by th0ma5 6y ago
This is a wonderfully presented article of an important aspect of the impact of symbolism in culture. This reminds me of the modified okay symbol which makes a W shape co-opted by white supremacists. Because of its generally innocuous nature, even people who aren't white supremacists will defend politician's use of it as their opponents imagination. These sorts of symbols, and our understanding them, are a front in the ongoing epistemological war.
- corndoge 6y agoIt's all about context. The symbol has legitimate uses. I do not care that white supremacists use it, as I have no intention of letting white supremacists dictate what symbols I use.
- whythre 6y agoKind of like the Swatstika. People (often American) freak out about historical uses of the symbol by Asian cultures, due to ignorance of the Swatstika predating the 3rd Reich. The Nazis appropriation and modification of the symbol doesn’t mean that the swatstika is inherently bad, or that it’s only use is in the service of nazisim.
- strken 6y agoThe okay symbol is unique in that it was chosen to be as innocuous as possible by 4chan trolls in order to make their ideological opponents crack down on normal behaviour. Ignoring trolls is a time-honoured and effective response to them, and would have been pretty effective in this case.
- centimeter 6y agoThere was a whole series of campaigns after the pepe the frog thing where 4chan/8chan picked random innocuous shit and decided that they would try to convince journalists that it had something to do with white supremacy. The OK sign is probably the most successful example. Of course, this ended up forming a hyperstition, where this false belief ended up leading to its own truth-hood, in a limited capacity.
- Smithalicious 6y agoAnother notable one was drinking milk, the "logic" being that lactose tolerance is representative of white supremacy
- coolgeek 6y agoExcept that the meme escaped the lulz laboratory and got picked up earnestly by actual white supremacists. You can argue the intent of any particular politician, in any particular situation. You can't argue that it's just trolling in the wider world.
- ultimoo 6y agoLiving in SF and interacting with my coworkers and neighbors on a regular basis, I had no idea until just now that using the okay hand gesture is now offensive. How does everyone else stay informed of these societal changes? I don't really browse 4chan and twitter, but I do keenly follow wsj, hn, tc, etc. EDIT: I'm only commenting on how everyone stays up to date on these shifts in language, so that they can use the right language when communicating.
- at_a_remove 6y agoThe OK symbol was just one of the many items designed to twig the left-wing paranoia over "dog whistles." See also "milk and racism." Essentially, people who see racism (or the Red Menace, or whatever) around every corner end up suffering from a kind of pareidolia of symbolism. The worst thing you can do is to take this kind of thing seriously.
- th0ma5 6y agoThere is a point where many don't get the memo you did however, and it becomes a thing anyway, no matter how ironic it was supposed to be. Ironic racism is still racism.
- at_a_remove 6y agoI dunno, how ominously can one drink a glass of milk? How does it inconvenience people selectively based on race? The answer is it cannot, not without people doing absolute backflips of contorted reasoning, and that's what it highlights. Drinking milk isn't racism, the worst it can do is emphasize the absolute paranoia of people who cannot stop looking for the devil under every bed.
- th0ma5 6y agoI know that, and you know that, but other people don't know that. Look at cow tipping, snipe hunting, tide pods... "Everyone" knows it is all BS, and yet...
- rosmax_1337 6y agoI think it is funny that these oh so fringe white nationalists are able to influence society at large on a global scale. I'm starting to think that the way they keep being framed as "fringe" is just a way to try and dismiss their impact on society. If they really were fringe, they wouldn't be able to set the tone on subjects so immensely as they do.
- th0ma5 6y agoNo, I think the internet as the great equalizer, and need organizations both-sides-ism makes it seem like this, and they love that, but the self proclaimed racists are still a very small group of cowards.