The finger gun is a hand gesture in which the subject uses their hand to mimic a handgun, raising their thumb above their fist to act as a hammer, and one or two fingers extended perpendicular to it acting as a barrel. The middle finger can sometimes act as the trigger finger.
It is also sometimes used by placing the "gun" to the side of one's own head, as if committing suicide, to indicate a strong desire to be put out of one's misery, either from boredom or awkwardness.
Children and teenagers have occasionally been punished or removed from school for making the gesture. In some cases this was because authority figures interpreted it as a signal for threatening real violence, while in others they interpreted it as unacceptably supportive of gun violence in general.[1][2][3] which has been labeled "ridiculous" by some commentators.[4]
In 2006, Fahim Ahmad allegedly made the gesture when speaking about the possibility of Canadian Security Intelligence Service agents ever coming to his apartment, which was used as evidence of his conspiracy to commit terrorism by a police informant.[5]
In sports
Texas Tech fans use a form of this salute, which they call "Guns up" (fingers pointed upward), to cheer their team.[citation needed]
The gesture, performed with both hands, was a signature of professional wrestler Mick Foley while he was in his "Cactus Jack" persona, as well as the The Motor City Machineguns.[citation needed]
Major League Baseball pitcher Pascual Pérez would often draw criticism and ire from his opponents, as he would mimic "shooting" them with finger-guns during games.
In popular culture
In the 2007 Bela B. music video for the song Gitarre runter, the footage ends with a scene of the lead singer forming a finger gun and killing himself.
An advertisement for the Xbox 360, which featured an impromptu mass finger-gun battle by people in a subway station was later banned from syndication.[6]
Actor Simon Pegg led a similar "gun battle" between his friends in the television show Spaced.
In the South Park episode Something You Can Do With Your Finger, the boys believe that the gesture is called "fingerbang"
On the January 13, 2009, episode of "Late Show With David Letterman", comedian Jimmie Walker claimed that the general manager of a Best Western hotel in Seattle, Washington, asked him to leave because the staff had felt threatened by his inadvertent use of the finger-gun gesture at the registration desk.[7]
In the anime Yu Yu Hakusho main character, Yusuke Urameshi's signature technique involves using the finger gun pose, followed by shouting "Spirit Gun" which discharges a bolt of spiritual energy from the tip of the extended finger gun gesture.
In the Total Drama Island episode "Total Drama Drama Drama Drama Island", Noah pretended to shoot himself while listening to Harold's talk about beavers.
In the videogame Team Fortress 2, the Heavy character can taunt his opponents by mockingly making the finger gun gesture and yelling, "pow!", pretending to shoot; however, as an easter egg, opponents can actually be killed by this gesture.
References
- ^ Hoy, Wayne K. "Educational Leadership and Reform", ISBN 1593113218, 2005. p. 311
- ^ Boston Herald, "School gives hands-on lesson after kids pull finger-guns", March 28, 2000
- ^ http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/1458180/detail.html
- ^ Stahl, Michael J. "Ethical Perspectives", ISBN 0781755417, 2004. p. 2
- ^ PBS, Frontline, Canada: The Cell Next Door, January 30, 2007
- ^ Anderson, Charlotte. Huffington Post, The Best Worst Commercials You've Never Seen, June 23, 2008
- ^ Late Show With David Letterman (January 13, 2009)
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