Yeah, fair enough. Again it wasn't really intended to be used in public or to mean "I am in immediate danger, call 911 now", although obviously it worked out we

Yeah, fair enough. Again it wasn't really intended to be used in public or to mean "I am in immediate danger, call 911 now", although obviously it worked out well for that purpose in this case. The idea was that if you see a friend do it in a video call then you make an effort to reach out privately and ask if they need help or someone to talk to, and only with further confirmation do you call the police or find them a shelter or something. If they didn't mean to do it, no harm done. I think you're right that this hand signal is not ideal for "I am currently being kidnapped by the person right next to me", despite this success story.