There is a whole world of hand gestures out there that the general public is probably not familiar with, Aside from some obvious ones used by folks with road rage we are all aware that hand symbols, or sign language, is used by the deaf community for communication and, unless you are trained in that skill, it is incomprehensible. But there are many more gestures for many different reasons.

  Hand symbols are fast and to the point. They are used when there is too much noise for verbal communication or when silence is necessary. In sports, there are all kinds of signals to explain to the coaches and fans a ruling during a game. Hand gestures are used by traffic cops, military, orchestra conductors, air marshals and in many other occupational situations. Across a crowded room or at a board meeting, a ‘nod is as good as a wink.’ 

   These days people are more in a hurry than ever. Many times during a conversation we may be interrupted in order to get us to the point. In a culture that is less conversational than it once was, texting is a communication shortcut, but typing a response may even be too time consuming … hence the emoji. On my outdated iPhone there are 30 emoji hand signals and quite honestly  I do not understand most of them.

   But outside the general public there is a subculture of hand gestures used by some as a code or secret language. From teenagers to gangs, prisoners to hate groups, various signs are used to communicate a message for their eyes only.

   For the rest of us, there are the old standbys used in everyday life. The ‘V’ for victory became

the sign for ‘Peace’ in the 1960s. Rotating your index finger around you ear indicates you think someone is crazy.  Thumbs down is a rejection.

   Our hand sign for ‘OK’ can be traced back to First Century Rome as a sign for approval. But now this universal understanding has been hijacked by a group as a code for White Supremacy. So does this mean the rest of the world can no longer use it without the new stigma attached to it? Why can’t they invent something new instead of stealing ours? For myself, I refuse to hand it over to them. I will continue ‘OK’ even if I have to add verbal assurances.

  To the ‘OK’ gesture I say … ‘Live Long and Prosper.’