Whats The Big Deal About Flippin The Birdie?

[GungaDin]

Research has revealed that the 'middle finger' was associated with archers.

The middle finger was raised as a threat, symbolizing a 'trigger finger' and you were

targeted to be shot.

In retribution, the middle finger was also cut from archers' hands so that the bow

could no longer be fired by them. Thus starting 'the finger' as we know it.

So its actually a good gesture - someone was warning you that an archer somewhere

had targeted you.

Nasa, how old are you?

It's important, as us older buggers have a very, very, different slant on what you've been posting.

[nasajsc]

Nasa, how old are you?

It's important, as us older buggers have a very, very, different slant on what you've been posting.

37

[GungaDin]

Nasa, how old are you?

It's important, as us older buggers have a very, very, different slant on what you've been posting.

37

Ok, thanks, no rudeness intended.

[gmac]

Research has revealed that the 'middle finger' was associated with archers.

The middle finger was raised as a threat, symbolizing a 'trigger finger' and you were

targeted to be shot.

In retribution, the middle finger was also cut from archers' hands so that the bow

could no longer be fired by them. Thus starting 'the finger' as we know it.

So its actually a good gesture - someone was warning you that an archer somewhere

had targeted you.

Interesting....that was also the alleged association for the raising of two fingers in a somewhat impolite manner as archers in fact use 2 fingers to draw back their bowstrings rather than one and this gesture was allegedly made by the English to the French to show that they still had their bow fingers. Same rationale though.

[bkkjames]

Research has revealed that the 'middle finger' was associated with archers.

The middle finger was raised as a threat, symbolizing a 'trigger finger' and you were

targeted to be shot.

In retribution, the middle finger was also cut from archers' hands so that the bow

could no longer be fired by them. Thus starting 'the finger' as we know it.

So its actually a good gesture - someone was warning you that an archer somewhere

had targeted you.

Interesting....that was also the alleged association for the raising of two fingers in a somewhat impolite manner as archers in fact use 2 fingers to draw back their bowstrings rather than one and this gesture was allegedly made by the English to the French to show that they still had their bow fingers. Same rationale though.

When confused it's always best to refer to Arnold's approach on the matter..

[asiancup2007]

The thing people dont seem to consider is how an Asian person would get treated in our country, if they had the nerve to do the flipper or similar on one of us..they more often than not would be the victim of road rage

Im pretty sure that large numbers of our bogan society would not take this crapola from someone who was just a visitor TO OUR country,.."are lucky to be in OUR country" or more likely to the thinking of "shouldnt even be in OUR country"

The reality is Asians often scamper around like scared church mice in our countries as they KNOW better than to try to crap on someone elses turf. Dont think ive ever seen a lone one silly enough to do the flipper or invite that sort of trouble anyway (ok..gang scene excluded!)

If farangs in LOS used that logic however, instead of living by the same sword as their fallen anscestors, then the dead ones may have lived a little longer.

Tell that to the guy who got stabbed to

death in melbourne by thais after stepping

in to help someone being bash.

I wonder how the manhunt goes in Thailand BTW.

[Tejas]

That's actually the secret symbol for "I've just taken out a loan on our house that you paid for, sucker."

Good one. And that actually happened to me. Bad one.

[Loz]

Tejas,

sorry for your troubles. but you have inspired another thread!

[lioness]

That's rubbish.

In Thailand it means that people expect more respectful behaviour. There is a total lack of respect in the West nowadays and it`s not welcome here. This is what makes Thailand such a great place to live.

Why would anyone want to make these sorts of gestures?

When Farangs move to Thailand they need to lose their Western aggression, as it`s not tolerated in Thailand.

I was trying to think of a suitable reply, but you have got it down perfectly. Generally the people who want to make these sort of gestures are illbread and uneducated in my book.

[way2muchcoffee]

That's rubbish.

In Thailand it means that people expect more respectful behaviour. There is a total lack of respect in the West nowadays and it`s not welcome here. This is what makes Thailand such a great place to live.

Why would anyone want to make these sorts of gestures?

When Farangs move to Thailand they need to lose their Western aggression, as it`s not tolerated in Thailand.

I was trying to think of a suitable reply, but you have got it down perfectly. Generally the people who want to make these sort of gestures are illbread and uneducated in my book.

I completely disagree. Flipping the bird is a commonplace expression of annoyance and irritation. If a person reacts violently to it, then it is that person who is ill bread and uneducated.

It reminds me of the censoring of the 'f' word or the use of euphemisms in the PC generation. What is wrong with a word? Retarded versus mentally disabled - the unfortunate person is still impaired in some way. Their situation is not changed one way or the other by the word. Ridiculous stuff really.

You say darn, I say dam_n. You say ouch, sh_it. You say 'I'm annoyed', I say 'fu_ck you'. I really don't see the difference. The emotion expressed is the same. It is the reaction to that expression shows the measure of the person.

Edited February 5, 2010 by way2muchcoffee

[phetaroi]

I completely disagree. Flipping the bird is a commonplace expression of annoyance and irritation. If a person reacts violently to it, then it is that person who is ill bread and uneducated.

It reminds me of the censoring of the 'f' word or the use of euphemisms in the PC generation. What is wrong with a word? Retarded versus mentally disabled - the unfortunate person is still impaired in some way. Their situation is not changed one way or the other by the word. Ridiculous stuff really.

You say darn, I say dam_n. You say ouch, sh_it. You say 'I'm annoyed', I say 'fu_ck you'. I really don't see the difference. The emotion expressed is the same. It is the reaction to that expression shows the measure of the person.

It is common place among very common people. Among many groups of people it is not common place at all.

There is no need to make people feel uncomfortable. It's called self-restraint. We had "mildly mentally retarded" students in our school. Do you know how they felt when they were called "retards"?

[way2muchcoffee]

It is common place among very common people. Among many groups of people it is not common place at all.

There is no need to make people feel uncomfortable. It's called self-restraint. We had "mildly mentally retarded" students in our school. Do you know how they felt when they were called "retards"?

Yes. I understand. Among many 'civilized' people the flipping the bird could result in the loss of your life.

Retarded and 'retard' is not the same thing. One is an adjective and the other is a noun. One is descriptive and the other is a label. To retard means to slow. If something or someone is retarded it means they are slow or in the case of a person not able to process information quickly. Are mentally disable people not 'slow to process information'? To me it is the same.

I realize that people refuse to be labeled by others, but why? Is my self worth tied to your referring to me with a label? If so, isn't it me who had better wise up and realize that your opinion of me has nothing to do with my opinion of myself? Or, should we simply sanitize the entire world so that nobody has an opportunity to take offense at anything?

I believe people express a false outrage at descriptive language (and gestures) simply because they are taught to, without any analysis or understanding of what exactly they are being offended by. If people would lighten up a bit they just might realize that most of the PC stuff is just that - political.

Edited February 5, 2010 by way2muchcoffee

[PeaceBlondie]

Post deleted

[thaiozy]

The thing people dont seem to consider is how an Asian person would get treated in our country, if they had the nerve to do the flipper or similar on one of us..they more often than not would be the victim of road rage

Im pretty sure that large numbers of our bogan society would not take this crapola from someone who was just a visitor TO OUR country,.."are lucky to be in OUR country" or more likely to the thinking of "shouldnt even be in OUR country"

The reality is Asians often scamper around like scared church mice in our countries as they KNOW better than to try to crap on someone elses turf. Dont think ive ever seen a lone one silly enough to do the flipper or invite that sort of trouble anyway (ok..gang scene excluded!)

If farangs in LOS used that logic however, instead of living by the same sword as their fallen anscestors, then the dead ones may have lived a little longer.

First of all there are many asian nationals living in auss & i bet you would not get thais doing wrong to the extent of other asians & due to the nature here in auss it is little wander why they scamper around

I would never bring my wife or son to live in auss & naturally i am one

Thais do give the finger especialy when p** off as my mates young wife does & knows exactly what it meant

As mentioned they aren`t brought up to do the finger but must be rubbing of to the youngsters through foriegn connections

HA ! someone elses turf! yu obviously forgot the gov. f***d the turf when they gave a free rain to the kiwis to take our best paying labour jobs, so why dont yu sort out some of those big boys on uor turf

[lioness]

I believe people express a false outrage at descriptive language (and gestures) simply because they are taught to, without any analysis or understanding of what exactly they are being offended by. If people would lighten up a bit they just might realize that most of the PC stuff is just that - political.

What a load of Twaddle, scraping the barrel now just for something to say.

[way2muchcoffee]

What a load of Twaddle, scraping the barrel now just for something to say.

Simply because we disagree fundamentally is no reason to be rude or disrespectful. Isn't that what this thread is about after all? And aren't you promoting strict rules for human interactions in order not to offend?

It would be less hypocritical if you would address and argue points from your perspective rather than impugning the beliefs of others out of hand.

[phetaroi]

What a load of Twaddle, scraping the barrel now just for something to say.

Simply because we disagree fundamentally is no reason to be rude or disrespectful. Isn't that what this thread is about after all? And aren't you promoting strict rules for human interactions in order not to offend?

It would be less hypocritical if you would address and argue points from your perspective rather than impugning the beliefs of others out of hand.

You see, that's the problem with your point of view on this. Lioness said something you don't like, so now you call her rude and disrespectful and hypocritical and "impugning the beliefs of others out of hand". Based on your point of view, why isn't she perfectly right in saying what she said?

Years ago when I was an assistant principal in the States, I would nearly vomit every time the female principal would reprimand a student who had given the finger or used the F word by saying, "Adults never say (or do) that." Well, my view is quite different -- there's a time and place for almost everything. But to be honest, the number of times one must resort to vulgarity and obscenity ought to be rather limited...and if it's not, perhaps what's really limited in that person. Giving the finger or using the "<deleted>" phrase requires not on iota of intelligence. Even Richard Pryor, later in his life, realized that there is wisdom to some restraint: "There are no niggers here. The people here, they still have their self-respect, their pride."

[way2muchcoffee]

You see, that's the problem with your point of view on this. Lioness said something you don't like, so now you call her rude and disrespectful and hypocritical and "impugning the beliefs of others out of hand". Based on your point of view, why isn't she perfectly right in saying what she said?

Years ago when I was an assistant principal in the States, I would nearly vomit every time the female principal would reprimand a student who had given the finger or used the F word by saying, "Adults never say (or do) that." Well, my view is quite different -- there's a time and place for almost everything. But to be honest, the number of times one must resort to vulgarity and obscenity ought to be rather limited...and if it's not, perhaps what's really limited in that person. Giving the finger or using the "<deleted>" phrase requires not on iota of intelligence. Even Richard Pryor, later in his life, realized that there is wisdom to some restraint: "There are no niggers here. The people here, they still have their self-respect, their pride."

Yes of course you are right. My post smacks of the same hypocrisy I accused lioness of. I won't deny that. An alternate interpretation is that I wasn't really offended, and that I was only pointing out the inconsistency in lioness' position and her actions.

Please don't get me wrong. I don't go around calling people retards or flipping the bird at the slightest provocation. I'm from Seattle, which has to be one of the most PC-minded cities in the world. I was raised with it. I have been trained to withhold my tongue and speak with caution and deliberation so thoroughly that it is second nature. Nevertheless, I have come to believe that the PC madness has gone way too far. I believe that it now serves to stifle conversation, and makes the English language so full of euphemisms that original meaning gets lost.

Edited February 6, 2010 by way2muchcoffee

[mauGR1]

I am guilty of giving the finger a few times in the past,it's just a rude way to show disapproval w/out talking too much.

I remember once in India i had to run very fast though, because the native guy went ballistic and called his mates to give me a lesson.

I have become more considerate lately,not only because i realized that i can make the world a better place adopting good manners,but also because i cannot run so fast anymore.

There are safer ways to let the steam go off than being disrespectful to disrespectful people,plenty of choice.