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 ...
Now, in that picture it does not look like he is signalling “OK” (although he may have been), it looks more like a gesture you might make to underscore “the point is....” something like that.
Boy, we’re probably going to have to lock up all the Italians, eh? I mean, they are a gesticulating people! (And this pope is of Italian descent, his parents were both born in Italy I believe.)
I’m looking at the picture of the young parrot petty officer in the foreground and in the background is the watch stander flashing the white power sign... In reality it looks like he’s picking a zip in front of his ear.
I didnt even know therr was a white power sign
White power:
A job
family
God
Country
USC
A good meal
Don’t vote for libtards.
LOL...I knew somebody would check. You win!
Good memory, Drew! Thanks for bringing that up. Perfect example of the hypocrisy of leftists. Especially fitting that both cases are in branches of the armed forces.
It could spell OK if you show your left hand to the camera, or KO, if you show your right.
Utterly insane to think it is in any way a racial slur.
Trump should step in, and whoop some Coastie’s Brass ASSES!!
So, the Coast Guard is now under the authority of stupid people on social media?
God help the mariners!
Idiocracy: it's not just a movie.
I know nothing of the political landscape of the Coast Guard and its relation to MadDog’s DOD. Will be interesting to see this play out.
Usually Trump calls out this insanity. However, his response to Charlotteville told me he treads lightly when dealing with accusations of “far Right” insanity. Especially before midterms.
At the least, when the hurricane crisis has passed, I’d like to hear the result of an internal investigation. The Coast Guard knows who this man is and whether an innocent man is being victimized by cowardly leadership.
LOL!
I was kinda worried that I’d left out the < /s>. Even here, you never know.
Pretty soon the thumbs up will be deemed offensive too.
Thanks, GraceG!
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