Monday, April 16, 2007
two big thumbs up!
I just read something new and interesting today. Seems that in Iraq (and the rest of the arab world), the "thumbs up" gesture does not mean "way to go!", but something more along the lines of "up yours". Oh sure, as Slate says, maybe the Iraqis are savvy enough to change the meaning to a good one to praise the troops, but I suspect that the answer is more along the lines of this: after decades under Saddam, the Iraqis know how to say one thing and mean another, like maybe smiling, waving and quietly saying "fuck you", and we just dont get it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Back in saner days, the Air Force used to actually teach the troops going to other countries about things like that. Fer Chrissakes, they even gave us a class before gong to England.
'Course I suppose being heavily armed balances out the need for the extra training.
i remember when our troops first ran through bagdad, and all of the happy people were in the streets waving thumbs up. god.
That mistaken hand gesture is commonly known as "fuck you" in parts of Asia, as well.
Post a Comment