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US Coast Guard member 'removed' after making 'offensive' OK sign on live TV
Fox News ^ | 9/15/18 | Lukas Mikelionis

Posted on 09/15/2018 9:05:28 AM PDT by Drew68

The U.S. Coast Guard says it “removed” a member from its Hurricane Florence response team Friday after he made an “OK” hand gesture on live TV that the service branch deemed “offensive.”

The unidentified team member was caught looking into the camera and then swiftly making the hand gesture, prompting a backlash on social media.

The hand signal was seen in the background of MSNBC’s live interview with Sector Charleston Commanding Officer Capt. John Reed, who was providing an update on actions taken by the Coast Guard in response to Hurricane Florence.

Many social media users called for the firing of the individual, accusing him of making a so-called “white power” hate symbol.

The agency immediately responded to the outcry and distanced from the controversy.

“We are aware of the offensive video on twitter - the Coast Guard has identified the member and removed him from the response. His actions do not reflect those of the United States Coast Guard,” the agency tweeted.

The Guard is now investigating the matter. In a statement, the agency said the incident was a “frustrating distraction” amid the dangerous hurricane that is poised to affect more than 10 million people this week in the Southeast.

There have been at least four deaths since the storm reached the coastline on Friday morning, according to officials.

There’s no clear consensus whether the “OK” hand gesture constitutes a hate symbol. While it has been adopted by some fringe far-right figures, it has also been commonly used by many Trump supporters.

The Anti-Defamation League previously noted that the “OK” gesture isn’t a hate symbol.


(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: coastguard; livetv; ok; removec; removed; stupidity; thoughtpolice; uscoastguard
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To: SkyDancer
Makes me want to quit and get a job flying float planes out of Roratonga

I never realized how out in the middle of nowhere the Cook Islands are. How did they ever find those places?

141 posted on 09/15/2018 11:03:31 AM PDT by Drew68
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To: Paine in the Neck

Barry O approves:

No, he’s just nonchalantly flicking a booger off his thumb.


142 posted on 09/15/2018 11:07:28 AM PDT by beelzepug (The permanent political class that runs this country is...the great(est) danger we face)
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To: Starboard

Can’t We just shoot them? It would be faster...


143 posted on 09/15/2018 11:09:28 AM PDT by mabarker1 (Lcongress- the opposite of PROGRESS!!!)
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To: Drew68

Buckwheat say O’Tay!


144 posted on 09/15/2018 11:09:33 AM PDT by BlackbirdSST (Apparently I voted demoncrat for 40 years. They all wore 'R' jerseys! 'R'atpublicans!)
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To: Drew68

I guess they just floated around and bumped into them - dunno.


145 posted on 09/15/2018 11:15:05 AM PDT by SkyDancer ( ~ Just Consider Me A Random Fact Generator ~ Eat Sleep Fly Repeat ~)
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To: Drew68

When exactly did the common language hand signal for “OK” become offensive? Like, can we get a date on this? Will we see scandals where someone made an OK hand sign in a high school picture in 1973?


146 posted on 09/15/2018 11:16:35 AM PDT by thoughtomator (Number of arrested coup conspirators to date: 1)
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To: thoughtomator

This country has become a country of snowflakes just searching for a reason to be offended.

They wake up every morning just looking for a way to be offended.

Never should leave their safe place in the basement of their parents house.


147 posted on 09/15/2018 11:20:47 AM PDT by JayAr36 (We have the best government that money can buy.)
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To: Drew68

.
Sick sick sick!


148 posted on 09/15/2018 11:20:50 AM PDT by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: mabarker1

149 posted on 09/15/2018 11:21:18 AM PDT by thoughtomator (Number of arrested coup conspirators to date: 1)
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To: thoughtomator
When exactly did the common language hand signal for “OK” become offensive?

A surprisingly straightforward article from ADL:

How the “OK” Symbol Became a Popular Trolling Gesture

150 posted on 09/15/2018 11:25:05 AM PDT by Drew68
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To: Drew68; Chode

Then SUE faux snewz channel AND twitter FOR A STARTING AMOUNT OF: $999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,876,543,211.02 !

EACH


151 posted on 09/15/2018 11:27:00 AM PDT by mabarker1 (Lcongress- the opposite of PROGRESS!!!)
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To: Steve_Seattle
That makes it even more outrageous. Trump has the power to reassign the people responsible for removing this guy and calling the “OK” sign offensive, and he should do it to set an example. This weak PC bullshit in our armed forces needs to stop.
152 posted on 09/15/2018 11:29:35 AM PDT by LeeClementineKenny (TRUMP 2020! - MAGA!!! - www.DonaldJTrump.com)
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To: Old Yeller

I think that’s the idea.


153 posted on 09/15/2018 11:29:37 AM PDT by jmcenanly ("The more corrupt the state, the more laws." Tacitus, Publius Cornelius)
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To: Drew68

Of course, the initial defense is that with the OK symbol the ring, index and pinky fingers are close together rather than spread apart to look like a “k”.


154 posted on 09/15/2018 11:45:08 AM PDT by Crucial
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To: SkyDancer; Chode

I want more details on the “Crab Racing”

That sounds like something that ‘Dem Cajunz created.

Unless it’s got something to do with crawling sideways across the sand while your Significant Other/Spouse is on your back..


155 posted on 09/15/2018 11:46:59 AM PDT by mabarker1 (Lcongress- the opposite of PROGRESS!!!)
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To: Drew68

I’m looking at his hand and it does appear that it is an “OK” symbol since his three raised fingers are together instead of spread apart. It is an easy to spot gesture to spot from a distance, which makes it useful.


156 posted on 09/15/2018 11:47:24 AM PDT by Crucial
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To: SkyDancer; Chode

I want more details on the “Crab Racing”

That sounds like something that ‘Dem Cajunz created.

Unless it’s got something to do with crawling sideways across the sand while your Significant Other/Spouse is on your back..


157 posted on 09/15/2018 11:47:27 AM PDT by mabarker1 (Lcongress- the opposite of PROGRESS!!!)
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To: Drew68
Agreed. But this is about 2 separate matters altogether.

1. The "ok" sign was allegedly-settled by the media itself over a year ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3j9tRWfqGI and was shown to originate as an internet hoax by lefty Snopes.

2. The Nazi-supporting jacka$$es still trying to maintain a media presence do, in fact, appear to use a derivative of the hand sign but, much like gang symbols more common to urban landscapes, it's all in the presentation, that below being the popular method to flask "Ok".

If I were the commanding officer, what I viewed in the video would have been cause for an inquiry, particularly after complaints: The kid saw he was on-camera and appeared to make a purposeful motion. It looked too representative of symbolism to have been a mere "Ok" as aptly-demonstrated by a young Eddie Murphy; to suggest otherwise is rather ignorant. It certainly was not a young man waving "hi" to his mother or child.

I'm not a white supremacist and I have no idea whether they truly do have their own method to signal others with their "sign" - let alone have members in DC or within the Trump administration - but that was not "Ok": It looked like any other punk gang member signalling others.

FAKEOUT: This outrage BS is out of hand. For shiggles I watched it full screen a number of times and then repeated the motion of wiping my eyebrow in the same manner. Guess what:

It looked like what was depicted in the video (shockingly similar, lol). On a small screen (phone) it does look like something else entirely). It certainly was no "Ok", but I leave final judgment with the CO and hope he got a fair hearing.

158 posted on 09/15/2018 11:55:12 AM PDT by logi_cal869 (-cynicus-)
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To: Drew68

Fairly common sign underwater while scuba diving. Who knew divers were all white power Nazis?


159 posted on 09/15/2018 11:58:48 AM PDT by doorgunner69 (no mntion whast)
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To: DocRock

“Isn’t that also an emote on our text apps?”

Yes it is.


160 posted on 09/15/2018 12:04:29 PM PDT by jocon307
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