September

September

Friday, October 7, 2011

Can We Create a New Non-Offending Hand Gesture?!?!

Has this ever happened to you…you are driving along and someone does something that is stupid, dangerous or just rude to you?  What can you do to let them know when the usual hand signal is also offensive to you and you would NEVER consider using it?  What can a person do when they are extremely frustrated by the driving skills or behavior of another person and they want to let them know by making some sort of hand gesture, HOWEVER, the usual hand gesture that is used by the more crude and uneducated of our society is also the wrong thing to do? 

I think we need to come up with a new proper hand gesture or signal that will let idiots know that we all know they are idiots BUT is a cultured and proper way.  I have thought long and hard about this.  Some have been shown to me occasionally when I have been…let’s say, less than attentive when driving and they get the message across without being crude and offensive.  So I have been trying to decide what the best “polite” hand gesture should be and start teaching the world some new manners beginning with this. 

One option would be, elbows bent, both hands out to your sides, shoulders shrugged and a look of “what in the world do you think you are doing” type of expression on your face.  This however could be dangerous if you are driving since it is a 2 handed gesture.  This could work if you have a passenger that is the designated “signer” that would interpret what you are saying and then sign it to the perpetrator of the offense. 

Another option is to try to communicate to them as to what they should have done in order to help them in the future when faced with the same situation.  However, this may take longer than is necessary and if it is a person of a certain gender, they don’t take direction from ladies very well. 

The next one I thought of was trying to find out from someone who knows American Sign Language how to sign, “Where are your brains”?  Maybe this can be done with one hand, but usually, sign language is so beautiful when it is being done correctly that the person may think you are saying something nice, unless you are making a very angry face while signing.  Here again though, it may take too much effort when you are trying to still drive correctly and responsibly while trying to improve conditions in the world around you. 

The last idea I had which seems the most direct and efficient would be to do the old, twirling of the finger up by your temple, thus let them know you think they are crazy and shouldn’t be driving.  This would be effective if it wasn’t used so much already to signify stupidity is almost every other area of life.  No, we need something just for idiot drivers and I am still at a loss as to how best to let them know what I think of them.  Until I can come up with something, I will continue to yell at them in my car where they will never hear a thing I say, and maybe that is safer for all involved.