Posted on 01/22/2005 10:10:44 AM PST by nickcarraway
Jenna's gesture shocks those who recall it meaning devil worship
Jenna Bush's Longhorn salute during her father's inauguration festivities caused a stir in Norway, suggesting that Austin and Oslo are two cities separated by the same hand gesture.
"Sjokkhilsen fra Bush datter," read an outraged headline on Norwegian news Web site Nettavisen. Translated: "Shock greeting from Bush daughter."
Sjokkhilsen, indeed. The University of Texas marching band and Norway's death-metal musicians inspire the same reverent hand gesture from their respective legions, the time-tested "horns" produced by extending one's index and pinkie fingers.
The "Hook 'em, Horns" that Bush flashed when The Eyes of Texas was played at the Black Tie and Boots gala Wednesday was misconstrued by some in Norway as a sign of the devil used by a musical scene that terrorized the country in the late 1980s and early '90s.
Bush's gesture has more innocent roots, credited to UT head cheerleader Harley Clark in 1955. Clark, a former state district judge who retired to Dripping Springs, introduced the sign at a pep rally that November as a response to Texas A&M's "Gig 'em" sign, a thumbs-up gesture.
"Surely everybody in the world takes offense at the Aggie Gig 'em sign," Clark says. "I can't think of anything more repulsive than that hand gesture."
Death metal's history
In Norway the horns carried a greater menace. The country has long been a hotbed of death metal, a subgenre of music with a sordid history of church burnings, murder, inadvertant bludgeonings (with sheep skulls), pet sacrifices and sundry behavior best described as anti-Christian. There the gesture has little to do with sports rivalries.
Largely a reaction to the country's conservative population, its black or death-metal scene popped up roughly 20 years ago and has a grisly history, best documented in the book Lords of Chaos.
The appropriately named band Mayhem was at the epicenter of Norway's unsettling music movement. One of its founders, Oystein Aarseth, was stabbed to death in 1993 by a member of rival death-metal band. Of course, Aarseth was hardly a saint. When one of his bandmates, ironically nicknamed "Death," killed himself, Aarseth and another musician reportedly cannibalized him.
Norwegian death metal made headlines again in 2003. At a Mayhem show (death has been unsuccessful at breaking up the group), the group's current singer lost control of a sheep head he was ritualistically carving, and it flew into the crowd, fracturing the skull of a fan.
Needless to say, Norway's more prudish contingent was aghast upon seeing the daughter of the American president flashing a sign associated with such behavior.
It could be worse ...
America's metal scene has long inspired similar horn throwing, particularly during concerts. But without the arson and bloodshed, the worst crimes committed by low-grade U.S. metal bands are against good taste and good tunes.
There have been no reports so far as to any such misunderstandings about Bush's gesture in Italy, which has its own interpretation of the horns. Called the mano cornuto, when the hand is brought up to the forehead, the gesture signifies that one has been cuckolded.
"I suppose it can mean different things to different people in different parts of the world," Clark says. "I guess the Norwegians and Italians should be happy that our mascot was a longhorn and not a unicorn."
"Norwegians don't chew tobacco."
They do in the midwest US. Of course, these fine folks are really Americans who came from Norway.
"Sjokkhilsen fra Bush datter,"
That sounds.....dirty......
Now THAT'S funny!
Well we are shocked that Norwayouteigns are shocked.
But non the less, Texas must in the name of pacifying the politically correct, find some salute that is more acceptable to the Weigens.
May I suggest extending both hands, palms up and pinky sides together, with all fingers folded, except for the middle finger on each hand.
Imagine freepers reading a silly piece in the MSM and getting all fired up and outraged about it. Some people could castigate such people for being close minded and ignorant of the MSM.
Hmmm, maybe it's me but I don't see much outrage or "firing up. I see mainly mockery. And since this is a site devoted mainly to posting and reacting to news stories, I don't find that shocking.
Ten thousand swedes ran through the weeds
At the battle of Copehagen
Ten thousand swedes ran through the weeds
Chased by one Norwegian!
Just a little ditty taught to me by a Norwegian, to celebrate a battle they had with Sweden. Don't be too hard on them I think most of them don't care what she flashed as long as they could look at her, the males anyway!
I was just trying to be clever.
I failed :-)
I met the first "chewers" in Colorado.
Was Churchill trying to convey two different messages? Hmmm.
A Stir on Free Republic hardly equates to The entire MSM in Norway making a big deal out of it.
Oh yeah? They use a lot of "snus", which as far as I can tell is the same thing.
-ccm
No actually the real stir is the MSM media in America picking up a teensy little story in Norway and trying to make a big stir pimping it in the Houston Comical by saying there's a stir in Norway. It's extrememly important to liberals here to continually push the idea that any indigestion or gas in Europe is Bush's fault. ;-)
Not really. Snus you really just put in and leave there under your upper lip. None of the chewing and spitting.
Infact I am going to stuff one up there right now :-)
"No actually the real stir is the MSM media in America picking up a teensy little story in Norway and trying to make a big stir pimping it in the Houston Comical by saying there's a stir in Norway. It's extrememly important to liberals here to continually push the idea that any indigestion or gas in Europe is Bush's fault. ;-)"
Hole in one.
BUMP!
The fact that many of their male citizens are required by the government to keep military weapons and ammunition in their homes is interesting. Especially when you consider that these same men are not allowed to buy or own a private fiream.
One friend was issued a Schmeisser sub machine gun (the WWII German "burp gun") and 2000 rounds of ammunition to keep in his home. At the same time he was denied a permit to buy a government decommissioned Krag 30-40 rifle because the government (bureaucrat) didn't think that he could be trusted with a weapon.
I guess that it's a good thing that the Italians didn't see the inaugural. The "Hook-um Horns" sign to them is the sign of the cuckold. I knew a bunch of UT exes on a tour who were kicked out of an Italian resturant because the locals thought they were bragging about wife swapping or the like.
BUMP!
My understanding is that this sign dates back to medieval times, the era of the Welsh/English longbowmen. The French decreed that any archer captured by French forces would have their middle and index fingers of their right hand cut off. Before, during, and after battles, archers would hold these two fingers up, taunting the French because they were still alive and able to fire their bows. Eventually, it just became an all-around "F-U" sign.
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