# What should be done in response to the White Power gesture being flashed on camera? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 15, 2019, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895 "2019-12-15T16:10:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/381 "2019-12-24T13:11:29Z")
> [@Corry\_El](#): > > the Godwin’s Law problem of that whole comparison. If no one is ever allowed to compare anything to the historical events involving Nazism, it then becomes impossible to learn anything useful from those events, and much more likely that they’ll re-occur. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/382 "2019-12-24T20:05:25Z")
> [@Unreconstructed\_Man](#): > > Yes. That’s what happens when you feed the trolls. The Very Online left has spent the last three years going apeshit whenever anyone’s flashed an OK sign on TV or in a photo. Instead, they should’ve just ignored them. The fad would’ve quietly fizzled out and the rest of us would still be able to use the OK sign. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/383 "2019-12-24T20:06:08Z")
You have to be dumb as shit to actually believe that. ---
**Author:** ![Unreconstructed\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@Unreconstructed\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unreconstructed_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/384 "2019-12-24T21:25:49Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > You have to be dumb as shit to actually believe that. If obvious trolls are trying to get a rise out of you, you have two options. You can: 1). Point at them and scream _”LOOK AT WHAT THEY’RE DOOOOING!!! PUNISH THEEEEEM!!!”_ while crying and wetting your pants; _or,_ 2). Not do that. Liberals picked option 1. If they’d picked option 2, it’s likely the whole OK fad would’ve just sputtered out and died on 4Chan, just like all the other unsuccessful trolls they’ve tried to turn mainstream. Riling up professionally Mad Online liberals was the only reason to even bother with it. It’s the only reason it was _funny_. No reaction = no laughs = no reason to carry on. Next time, try not giving them what they want. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/385 "2019-12-25T04:11:33Z")
Right, you’d have to dumb as shit to believe that. ---
**Author:** ![Unreconstructed\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@Unreconstructed\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unreconstructed_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/386 "2019-12-25T11:55:05Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > Right, you’d have to dumb as shit to believe that. Nope. You’d have to be dumb as shit to disagree with it. Your turn. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/388 "2019-12-27T01:13:05Z")
Racist trolling isn’t some special case that doesn’t count as racism. It’s the exact same thing and it should face the same consequences. Racists don’t go away when you ignore them. They become normalized. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/389 "2019-12-27T01:17:52Z")
> [@Unreconstructed\_Man](#): > > If obvious trolls are trying to get a rise out of you, you have two options. You can: > > 1). Point at them and scream _”LOOK AT WHAT THEY’RE DOOOOING!!! PUNISH THEEEEEM!!!”_ while crying and wetting your pants; _or,_ > > 2). Not do that. > > Liberals picked option 1. If they’d picked option 2, it’s likely the whole OK fad would’ve just sputtered out and died on 4Chan, just like all the other unsuccessful trolls they’ve tried to turn mainstream. Riling up professionally Mad Online liberals was the only reason to even bother with it. It’s the only reason it was _funny_. No reaction = no laughs = no reason to carry on. > > Next time, try not giving them what they want. What we (society) did with this OK hand sign trolling by 4chan was…_we gave 4chan exactly what they wanted._ I don’t think positive reinforcement is a good approach in dealing with trollery. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/390 "2019-12-27T01:38:54Z")
I don’t think you’re a trustworthy source when it comes to human interactions. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/391 "2019-12-27T01:40:23Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Racist trolling isn’t some special case that doesn’t count as racism. It’s the exact same thing and it should face the same consequences. Racists don’t go away when you ignore them. They become normalized. So you think the star of \*Borat \*should face the same consequences as actual racists? ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/392 "2019-12-27T01:45:29Z")
Bleep beep boop! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/393 "2019-12-27T01:49:06Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > So you think the star of \*Borat \*should face the same consequences as actual racists? Because anti-racist satire is somehow the same thing as racist trolling? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/394 "2019-12-27T01:59:06Z")
Just because I anticipate the response let me offer an example of how they’re not the same. What is Borat doing? He’s tricking people into believing they are free to reveal their bigotry before a sympathetic audience and thus exposing the bigots to shame, ridicule, criticism, censure, etc. In comparison, what do 4chan racist trolls do? They post racist messages. … and that’s all. See how that’s not the same? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/395 "2019-12-27T02:06:19Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Just because I anticipate the response let me offer an example of how they’re not the same. > > What is Borat doing? He’s tricking people into believing they are free to reveal their bigotry before a sympathetic audience and thus exposing the bigots to shame, ridicule, criticism, censure, etc. > > In comparison, what do 4chan racist trolls do? They post racist messages. … and that’s all. > > See how that’s not the same? No, I don’t. He’s acting racist. And he’s trolling others. And you said “Racist trolling isn’t some special case that doesn’t count as racism. It’s the exact same thing and it should face the same consequences” Perhaps you should adjust your statement then? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/396 "2019-12-27T10:36:42Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > What is Borat doing? He’s tricking people into believing they are free to reveal their bigotry before a sympathetic audience and thus exposing the bigots to shame, ridicule, criticism, censure, etc. > > In comparison, what do 4chan racist trolls do? They post racist messages. … and that’s all. > > See how that’s not the same? How would you feel if you were one of the people Borat did not successfully troll and thus not put on film? You wouldn’t feel insulted that he thought you racist enough to go along with him? You wouldn’t want an apology for this, not to mention putting you in the awkward position of having to play along with performance art? (Because it would be insulting to accuse someone of trolling to their face other than in a “you didn’t just say what I thought you said?” mock shock way.) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/397 "2019-12-27T11:22:31Z")
That’s some kind of attempt at satire, right? Otherwise it’s nonsensical. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/398 "2019-12-27T13:47:57Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > No, I don’t. He’s acting racist. And he’s trolling others. > > And you said “Racist trolling isn’t some special case that doesn’t count as racism. It’s the exact same thing and it should face the same consequences” > > Perhaps you should adjust your statement then? The fact that you claim they are both trolling reveals your confusion. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/399 "2019-12-27T14:26:44Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > So you think the star of \*Borat \*should face the same consequences as actual racists? While I don’t find the _Borat_ shtick to be remotely amusing, it is clearly intended to be satire at the expense of racists and bigots. I grant you that some of the midshipmen were just being clueless assholes rather than out and out racists. But I frankly don’t see much point in spending a lot of effort giving them the benefit of the doubt as being the former and not the latter. If you’re trying to be controversial, context matters. SBC is playing a role. The midshipmen were not. There is no reasonable argument to be made to the contrary. Aside: you are one of the few on this message board who I thought would require an explanation of a joke/bit, and why it’s different than racists being trolls by hiding behind plausible deniability. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/400 "2019-12-27T17:46:39Z")
I saw thread title and it popped into my mind that the best rebuke is a 4-finger salute. Two fore- and two little held a certain way that means “Everybody snots and farts.” Participants are on their honor not to use the signal unless arrogant White Power salutes are truly going on. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895/401 "2019-12-27T18:06:05Z")
I recognize the individual words. But not the manner in which they are arranged. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-done-in-response-to-the-white-power-gesture-being-flashed-on-camera/844895.md?page=19)