Musings of a Restless Mind

I posted this on LinkedIn, to point out that certain people seem to think that any hand gesture is some kind of crypto Nazi sign of solidarity, which makes no sense. A fellow LinkedIn member came across it and reposted it to mock my take, and it has attracted over 16,000 views and 67 comments so far, causing one (presumably sarcastic) comment telling me to enjoy my fame. Actually, I am. Internet rule number one is, of course, don’t feed the trolls, but, given our current cultural moment, I think it’s worthy of a little further discussion to poke the screaming two-year old, answer my critics.

So, now to my critics.

As someone wittier than I said, “If you’re the one hearing the dog whistle, then you’re the dog.” Now I used the picture of David Hogg saluting the DNC with an upraised arm, since no one was likely to accuse Hogg of being a Nazi or Nazi sympathizer. I introduced Hogg with the snarky comment that he “came to fame by hiding in a closet during a school shooting,” which some people took offense to, claiming I was being mean to an innocent, brilliant young man. As snarky as it might be, my statement is literally true. Hogg’s only claim to fame is having survived a horrific school shooting (along with the vast majority of his fellow 3,000 classmates). No one can deny that is the source of his fame. As articulate as he may be, it seems that–like a type-cast actor–his only issue is gun control. At least that’s the only issue that gathers him any headlines or fame.

To those who questioned my use of LinkedIn as a venue, I say, it’s up to them. LinkedIn can take it down if they like or remove me from LinkedIn if they want. It’s their site and their prerogative, and I’m not paying them for their services despite their frequent attempts to get me to pay for extra services.

To those who think I’m ruining my career by doing it, what part of “retired” don’t you understand? Perhaps it will discourage recruiters or even the site itself from sending me notices about job openings or offering to help me find my next job, and that would please me. Also if you’re concerned about what it might do to my and your career, you may have noticed that there’s a new President who seems much more likely to make sure left-wing posts, or at least those calling his buddy Musk a Nazi, are more disqualifying for your career than my barely political post. You do realize that you’re identifying yourselves as the equivalent of an “insurrectionist” to the new administration by calling a poster an idiot for posting his allegedly Trump friendly POV?

For those who merely posted that I’m an idiot or other insults, what’s your point? At least you might consider quoting a Shakespeare insult to sound more educated. Perhaps LinkedIn should allow a thumbs down icon to go with their thumbs up one, so you can register your disagreement that way, or you might take the hint that they don’t like negative comments from that lack. Going to the trouble of writing a comment to call me names only reflects badly on your ability to express yourself.

To those who made references to my parents or spouse, grow up! That means nothing to this senior citizen, and puts you on the same level of a 3rd grade bully, and you’re announcing it for everyone to see. You might as well just say, “You’ve got cooties!”

To those who try to explain the nuances of hand gestures to convince me that Elon Musk’s sidewise raised arm with an open hand is totally different from David Hogg’s sidewise raised arm with a closed fist…, well, that was my point. It’s not a substantive argument. The point of Hitler’s Nazi salute was to compel solidarity with whatever he said like a form of call and response brainwashing. He insisted all his followers respond with the same hand gesture whenever he made it. In fact, in the 30’s as the Nazis were rising to power, they had frequent parades through the streets of Berlin, and, if any onlookers didn’t respond with the Nazi salute, gangs would detach from the parade and literally beat them up. You just look stupid giving the Nazi salute to a crowd if the crowd doesn’t respond with the same, and calling any hand gesture by someone you disagree with a Nazi salute is just gaslighting. Besides, using some gesture to signal your followers that you secretly support…, what? If you also argue that everything they just said aloud in public amounts to the same thing, why a secret signal?

Finally, if you’ve read this far, you probably don’t need to hear this, but I’d like to point it out anyway. Folks, cancel culture is over, kaput. It’s a dead parrot. Freaking out by yelling J’accuse! on social media won’t get you anywhere anymore. To quote President Barack Obama, “I won. You lost. Elections have consequences.” Yelling about hand gestures doesn’t cut it. Accusing Musk of fascism because he wants to cut a quarter of the government’s budget and Trump of the same because he wants to remove most government regulations and decrease government control is too absurd for words. When did Hitler or Mussolini ever do that? You keep using that word. I don’t think you know what that word means.

So troll me some more if you want to. Maybe I’ll get enough traffic that I can monetize my site. 🙂