Text characters, the ones used online at any rate, include symbols that aren’t letters of the alphabet, punctuation, or numbers.
So far, so obvious.
I was replying to comments this afternoon, and figured I’d use the emoji/dingbat/whatever “okay” hand sign. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
But I also figured that, since folks who don’t live in my part of the world read this, I’d better do a little research.
A gesture that means ‘I’m leaving now and had a good time’ in one culture can, I’ve gathered, mean ‘I reject you’ in another, and I’m wandering off-topic.
Anyway, I did a quick Google search to see if there were cross-cultural landmines hidden in that touch-the-thumb-and-index-finger gesture.
And, wouldn’t you know it, there are. Sort of.
- “The ‘OK’ Hand Gesture Is Now Listed As A Symbol Of Hate“
Bobby Allyn, NPR (September 26, 2019)
It’s a good thing I didn’t use Unicode character 128076. Seems that it’s now perceived as a white supremacist symbol.
Although I’m not “white” by some standards, which haven’t been current for several generations now, I’m definitely melanin-deficient.
So finding some symbol which wouldn’t be quite so likely to inspire alarm and revulsion seemed prudent. Since we had a (very) little snow earlier this afternoon — and because I like the shape — I used a snowflake (❄) instead of that (divisive?) gesture.
I talked about perceptions, labels, fear, and making sense last month:
- “Free to Agree With Me: Cancel Culture and Freedom of Expression“
(November 18, 2023)
