Norway reads something sinister in 'Hook 'em' sign (Jenna's gesture shocks Country)

Houston Chronicle ^ | Jan. 22, 2005 | ANDREW DANSBY

[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."

[wildwood]

i guess it's their commitment to God, church, Christianity and the antithesis of satanism that inspired them to get so outraged over this.

[Isabelle]

If predictions indicate that Norway will be Islamic by the end of the century then certainly the rest of the continent will have fallen to Islam well before that.

And the folks in Norway are shocked by Jenna's gesture.
WAKE UP EUROPE!!!!

[Prost1]

And to think, these are descendants of a people who terrorized Ireland, Britain, Scotland and Northern Europe!

Too much inbreeding, I guess.

[YouGoTexasGirl]

DIDN'T ANY OF THE "WEIGENS" WATCH THE ROSE BOWL???!!!!

[Colonel Kangaroo]

One small problem with the article. The article referred to the University of Texas as "UT" UT is the University of Tennessee, founded in 1794 years before there even was a Texas. I think the University of Texas should be referred to as UT2 or UTjr.

[Salamander]

The Anti-Babe?....LOL!

[followerofchrist]

You are probably right. But notice even a little novelty story can anger people! This new American patriotism of hating every nation with a leader who disagrees with our government is wearing thin. There is a mean spirit about the world right now. Even a major disaster like the Tsunami causes fighting and national hatreds, when it should cause unity in kindness and charity. It's like a you-know-whatting contest, and it is boyish, silly and immature.

[Eurotwit]

"Sjokkhilsen fra Bush datter," read an outraged headline on Norwegian news Web site Nettavisen. Translated: "Shock greeting from Bush daughter."

---

I actually went back and read this story again. It is located in the showbiz section of the news.

http://pub.tv2.no/nettavisen/side2/kjendis/article333079.ece

It actually says:

Here is the picture that the entire USA is talking about tonight...

On the political discussion group Fark (perhaps they could have mentioned Freerepublic) which mainly consists of American members, there is already a heated discussion about just what Jenne is trying to communicate.

---

And here the newspaper actually calls this an outraged headline. Well. that is just a plain lie.

And, I agree that there seems to be too much hate around. It is a dangerous path to go down. Hate eats at yourself more than anything else.

But, there is also a lot of compassion. There was many compassionate Freepers on many Tsunami threads, and I am sure many contributed to help the victims.

More of that, less hating. (Except Arsenal Football club, hate them all you like :-P)

Cheers.

[lawgirl]

wow how very ethnocentric of norway.

hey norway. ACDC stands for AntriChristDevilChildren. No, really. It does.

[Colonel_Flagg]

And there are Swedes who will tell you that Syttende Mai is really Swedish Independence Day. It's the day we finally ditched Norway. :)

[DocRock]

"I can't think of anything more repulsive"

I can...

[rock58seg]

We have to remember that European Leftists are very provincial and unsophisticated. :-)

Just like our own Liberals and leftists!

[tomjohn77]

I dont know anybody that have even talked about that hand gesture. Dont make a big deal out of it because its not a big deal here. Nobody that I know have even talked about it. People dont care what hand gesture Bush does. So if anybody think that we have big conversation about it just relax. Nobody cares!