Quote:
Originally Posted by Andro
For the record, the number of rational reasons given for why a pointed finger is offensive is still at 0. Nobody has yet to give any explanation. But then again that's expected, because there literally is not a single rational reason why it would be offensive.
Of course any etiquette book will tell you that pointing is considered rude. Like many rules of etiquette, there is often little explanation as to why. But the dislike of pointing is often a cultural thing, where it is considered much more offensive in some cultures than in others. Often simple hand gestures can be interpreted in many different ways. For instance, the Peace Symbol, index and middle fingers held erect; if you turn it around and show the back of your hand it is deeply offensive in some parts of Europe. The OK hand sign and the Thumbs Up hand sign are also held to be deeply offensive signals with sexual connotations in some cultures. And meanings can change over time; recently the OK hand sign has been co-opted by the White Supremacy movement, interpreted to mean Whites Only (3 fingers up for W, thumb and index make the O.)
But we are talking specifically about pointing with your finger. The bias against pointing with your finger has deep cultural roots dating back to ancient times, when a pointed finger could be used to bring down and administer a hex. The pointed finger could also be used to direct the Evil Eye. We can scoff at this now but these were deeply held beliefs for generations, which still permeate some cultures today.
Pointing also stigmatizes the target. The indicative gesture assigns blame. You Point Out problems. You Point the Finger at the one who is to blame. As the author Raymond Tallis said in his book
Michelangelo’s Finger:
Why is it so rude to point at someone, even if the action is not meant to be cruel or demeaning, is not accompanied by laughter, even when the pointing finger is not guiding jeers to their target, allocating blame, picking us out of a reluctant crowd for some unpleasant, dangerous, or humiliating task? It is because the pointing finger prods at a vulnerability we all share. We are skewered on the attention of another person and any others to whom the pointing is also addressed. ... Pointing, in virtue of co-opting other consciousnesses, intensifies the sense we all have at times of being known and yet not-known—of being ‘mis-known’, of helpless exposure to uncomprehending eyes that imagine they comprehend us.