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Finger counting gives away your nationality

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Re: Finger counting gives away your nationality

#111

Post by anigbrowl »

rpmisms wrote: post #108
anigbrowl wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps you'd care to explain why this guy has it emblazoned on his helmet. As I have pointed out many times, simply ignoring people whose ideas you find disagreeable doesn't necessarily make them go away. https://theintercept.imgix.net/wp-uploads/sites/1/2021/08/08...

For the same reason people like him fly the Army of Northern Virginia Battle Flag (which was carried into battle against the Nazis). It makes people like you upset, which is hilarious to them.

Are you saying I should ignore that this guy and his ilk have a habit of beating on people, because they're just trolling?

Re: Finger counting gives away your nationality

#112

Post by anigbrowl »

refenestrator wrote: post #85
anigbrowl wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps you'd care to explain why this guy has it emblazoned on his helmet. As I have pointed out many times, simply ignoring people whose ideas you find disagreeable doesn't necessarily make them go away. https://theintercept.imgix.net/wp-uploads/sites/1/2021/08/08...

Because we're all idiots who got taken in on this by 4chan. The symbol became irresistible to that guy after watching liberals lose their minds at it. If it hadn't bothered the libs, it would have no use to him.

I think you're missing the point that they would have just rolled with some different symbol instead. People like this don't become violent as a result of liberals losing their minds, obviously.

Semantic quibbling over the provenance of the symbol is a distraction from the violent ethos and activities of those who adopted it.

Re: Finger counting gives away your nationality

#113

Post by nautilius »

jjgreen wrote: post #3

Drinking outside a bar in Paris (so table service) with my girlfriend, the glasses approach empty so I turn to catch the barman's eye. He flicks the Vs (I am culturally sensitive so not offended, he means "two more pints?"), I return the thumbs-up. He brings one pint.

I find it curious that you mention your not being offended at some gesture that happens to mean something a couple 100 or 1000 miles away from where you saw the gesture. Why would it require extra cultural sensitivity to realize that, if you visit some other place, that they have a different language (verbal and non-verbal)?

Re: Finger counting gives away your nationality

#114

Post by dylan604 »

jychang wrote: post #107
dylan604 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you saying that my not expecting a kindergarten teacher to be educated in binary math is condescending? I got your point that 10 in binary is not actually base 10 10, but 2 in base 10. It was just not worth commenting as it was a discussion about a 5 year old conversation not the semantics of math.

I mean, I'd want my kindergarten teacher to be focused teaching kindergarteners. I don't want them to be an expert on calculus, just be the best teacher for a kindergartener. Same thing as "i want my IDE to focus on being an IDE, and not add facebook integration". I feel like making sure the absolute fundamentals are well ingrained in your kid is way more important than trying to teach them binary. Important stuff li…

That was my point. Expecting a kindergaten teacher to do anything beyond those things you listed is not reasonable. It's great if after teaching a day of kindergartners they can then do an evening teaching college classes, but that's so not the norm. Stating that a teacher at this level is not fully versed in binary is not an insult. It's more insulting to think that someone was able to construe that from my comment.

Re: Finger counting gives away your nationality

#115

Post by 6gvONxR4sf7o »

Archelaos wrote: post #106
dylan604 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I taught a 5 year old that 1 + 1 = 10, and they got in trouble at school for arguing with the teacher. Even after explaining that 1 + 1 = 10 in binary specifically, as the teacher was complaining to the parents "whatever that means". The parents asked me to be more careful with my "teaching".

I was taught binary math in elementary school in the mid 70s. The problem was that they had to teach it to the parents too, unless the parents were not able to help their children with homework.

It’s a shame we limit things that way, keeping kids from learning more than their parents.

Re: Finger counting gives away your nationality

#116

Post by lsllc »

kergonath wrote: post #84
dylan604 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Index + middle in an upward movement would probably be taken as something other than peace

No. Outside the U.K. and Ireland, nobody would take that for an insult unless you also use rude language or body language. I actually use it every now and then, for example ordering 2 beers at a bar.

Depends on which way round your hand is -- V with folded fingers/palm facing out, it's the peace/victory sign.

V with back of the hand/knuckles facing out would the insult -- supposedly originating from English archers insulting the French at the battle of Agincourt. According to legend, the French would cut off the index & ring fingers from captured English soldiers so they couldn't draw their bow string. So the English would wave the two fingers in the V formation in the general direction of the French in order to insult them! At least that's the legend anyway ...

https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20...

Re: Finger counting gives away your nationality

#117

Post by dylan604 »

underwater wrote: post #102
at_a_remove wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is an amazing way to show how paranoid people are over "dogwhistles." Witches are everywhere!

But witches are obviously fictional, whereas white supremists are very real.

Do white supremists float?

Not sure why you claim witches aren't real. I know plenty of witches. While they may not be green skinned and fly on broomsticks that melt in water, there are plenty of people that call themselves witches nevermind whatever characture you have in mind.

Re: Finger counting gives away your nationality

#118

Post by Lammy »

nautilius wrote: post #113
jjgreen wrote: post #3

Drinking outside a bar in Paris (so table service) with my girlfriend, the glasses approach empty so I turn to catch the barman's eye. He flicks the Vs (I am culturally sensitive so not offended, he means "two more pints?"), I return the thumbs-up. He brings one pint.

I find it curious that you mention your not being offended at some gesture that happens to mean something a couple 100 or 1000 miles away from where you saw the gesture. Why would it require extra cultural sensitivity to realize that, if you visit some other place, that they have a different language (verbal and non-verbal)?

It's hard to turn off a reflex to something you normally consider an offensive gesture. That kind of unconscious thought works faster than the "…oh, yeah, nevermind" thought.

See also: how many times I've unconsciously started pumping my own gas when I drive through Oregon even though I "know" not to.

Re: Finger counting gives away your nationality

#119

Post by paisawalla »

MengerSponge wrote: post #60
rpmisms wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you had flashed OK hand gesture... thought you were a member of a fringe group? For what it's worth, this hand sign being a hate dogwhistle is pretty much entirely an invention of 4chan.

> invention of 4chan They set out to transform a symbol, and they succeeded. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OK_gesture#White_power_symbol If you think it isn't real because it was made up, Vonnegut's Mother Night has you covered: "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”

No. This gentleman is not, and was not, a white supremacist: https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/sdge-worker-fired-ove...

He didn't lose his job because of 4chan, but because of ostensibly well-intentioned midwits who believe "4chan succeeded in transforming a symbol" and "fake things can be real". Truly, this type of rationalization is the Bell Curve meme in action.

He was fired because of the reaction -- engineered by 4chan -- of over-intellectualizing social justice nabobs who attend rallies and protests. You guys were literally told the punchline of the joke and still walked right into it.

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