Crossed Signals

A friend of mine who works in Warren tells this story: He was driving through town when he saw a policeman on the side of the road. The cop waved. Dave waved back. Within a couple of minutes he saw a cruiser flashing its lights behind him. The policeman he had just passed got out and read him the riot act. “This means stop,” he said, raising his palm in the air. “No, it doesn’t,” Dave said, raising his own hand. “This (pushing his hand forcefully forward in front of him) means stop. This (lifting his hand in the air next to his shoulder) means hello.”

Gesture, like words, can be a tricky way to communicate. Even within the same culture, motioning can be misunderstood. It’s even worse when you leave the country. In Britain and elsewhere, what we think of as a peace sign means victory when the palm faces outward and is equivalent to giving the middle finger when the palm faces inward. Giving the OK sign in Greece, Turkey and several other countries is not OK; it is taken as a rude insult. Thumb’s up in Iran is equivalent to the ubiquitous middle finger here. (Reason No. 1,843 why it’s probably not a great idea to hitchhike in Iran.) Beckoning someone to “come here” with a single finger is frowned upon in the Philippines, where the gesture can be used only to call dogs. Any offender caught summoning a human that way could be arrested and possibly have the finger broken as punishment. Even the “hook ’em horns” sign showing the forefinger and little finger raised with the other fingers down - the signature gesture of the University of Texas Longhorns occasionally used by the general public as a silent “party on” statement - has alternate meanings. It’s been used for years as a form of greeting among Satanists and in many Mediterranean countries the “hook ’em” is an insult essentially calling men a “cuckold,” meaning “your wife is cheating on you.” (Now more commonly flashed at referees during soccer matches.)

Just a brief aside: As I was practicing the Longhorn greeting while researching this blog, I realized it could be adapted to provide a signature gesture for the University of Rhode Island Rams. Curl all of the fingers into a clench (with an open palm, not a fist), then raise the forefinger and little finger at the knuckles to make curled rams horns. “Rack ’em Rams!” Watch for it. Soon it will be sweeping the country.

Leading to this week’s question: What is the definitive Rhode Island gesture?

Please think beyond the middle finger. Some possibilities:

The shrug.
The hand slap to forehead followed by a shake of the head.
One hand on the steering wheel, the other raising a cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee to blot out the sun and make the blind side even more dangerous.
The “I’m watching you” point to your eyes, to their eyes and back to your eyes again.
Air kisses. Air quotes. Air guitar. Air “check please.” Air “scratch” indicating an immediate need to purchase a lottery ticket.
The “my bad” hand pat over the heart after you’ve done something stupid on the road while not making eye contact with the angry driver passing you.
The raising a pint in greeting to someone across the bar whose name you either can’t remember or who you just don’t want to talk to.