I don't think that interpretation holds up at all. None of the people doing this are really aware of why they're doing it, it's just something that people they

I don't think that interpretation holds up at all. None of the people doing this are really aware of why they're doing it, it's just something that people they knew, or cultures they were in, did. In the communities it came from it was a less intrusive way to show assent or support or clapping, like for instance how people snap at poetry readings because clapping is a bit too loud. It is really not an ideological thing, just a natural solution to a natural social problem of how to behave in a particular situation. Your bizarre reaction, pattern-matching it to a bunch of ideological stuff, reveals a lot about your but nothing about them.