3 ms·
So this is where I don't know what to think - I'm overseas and don't exactly have my finger on the pulse of alt-right culture. I only knew it after it was co-op
by smcl 4y ago
So this is where I don't know what to think - I'm overseas and don't exactly have my finger on the pulse of alt-right culture. I only knew it after it was co-opted by Nick Fuentes and his circle so I don't know if it was:
1. 4chan tries to say it means "White Power"
2. the news pick this up and runs with it
3. actual white nationalists started using it
or
1. 4chan tries to say it means "White Power"
2. actual white nationalists started using it
3. the news reports that white nationalists are using it
News orgs can be easily fooled into reporting ridiculous fake shit and backfiring - like the whole "teens eating tide pods" thing causing a few teens and boomers to actually try eating them - so both are possible, I'd suspect that the latter is more likely though.
- Semaphor 4y agoI’d say both are likely ;) But it’s telling that the ADL at first refused to add it to their list of hate-signs, and then (according to wikipedia, after all I only heard of all this today) reversed their stance 2 years later. And almost all usage of the sign getting someone into trouble have also been 2019+ (again, from the wiki list).
- smcl 4y agoYeah I think the important thing is regardless of the origin, or the order of events ... it is now sometimes used by white nationalists. However I don't think that on its use on its own would cause a mob to mass report your account or anything. It's not so self-evidently a sign of hate as a hakenkreuz or the nazi salute would be, it's just worth remembering that in some rare situations it could be poorly received.
- rendall 4y agoAlways use the OK sign (to mean OK), even if someone else uses it to mean something else. Use it aggressively, always, relentlessly, as protest against bigotry and against language policing.
- smcl 4y agoIf you're going to use it "aggressively, always, relentlessly" then you may have to brace yourself for the occasions when you use it to someone from Brazil (where it's said to be a gesture along the lines of the middle finger) or with black-bloc counter-protestors near a nazi rally, or any other context where it's considered hateful or just generally rude. The Brazilian may just think you're an asshole. The black bloc guys will assume you are with the nazis who just hospitalised their friend... This is what's important - it's not banned, it's not going to get you jailed. It's just going to land you in a tricky situation if you use it where it's going to be interpreted as a hate symbol. What you do with this information is up to you.
- rendall 4y agoIt will land me in "tricky situations" only with assholes. The Brazilian will probably, like any reasonable human being, understand.
- smcl 4y agoWell, good luck. You’ll find out where people’s limits are one way or another.
- rendall 4y agoEvery day we all must suffer fools, or those who choose violence to support their views, or both. Our choice as peaceful, civilized, thoughtful people is whether we choose to let them win. Violence and thoughtlessness are the enemy, no matter which side indulges.
- poulpy123 4y agoIt's mainly the media. While there was probably some far right groups/people who decided to go along first, the "association" of the OK sign with white supremacists was popularized by the medias