Is it an affectation that they’re trained to deploy? (If so, why?) Or is it just a natural thing that happens in the very specific circumstance of being a politician on the campaign trail, and that’s why no one else seems to do it?

I don’t think I’ve seen it in any other context 🤔

Cheers!

  • acme401@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    If you work for a large company, ask around if there is a toastmasters group. If so join it and you will be let in on all the secrets of public speaking.

            • anon6789@lemmy.world
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              9 months ago

              I just recently got a PZ2 driver from Vessel for my Honda. It was remarkable how nice it was to use compared to a Phillips screw and driver. I felt so much torque could be applied while the grip stayed rock solid.

              Also learned PZ screws are often used in cabinetry, and lo and behold, all my kitchen cabinet do in fact have that tell-tale X mark to indicate they are Pozidrive screws.

              I’ve still not had the opportunity to use a square drive Roberston screw, but would still like to use them for something one day.

  • yum_burnt_toast@reddthat.com
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    9 months ago

    from what i remember, they are coached to do it because pointing is seen as too aggressive but not making any hand gestures is too robotic. so its a way to make a non-aggressive emphatic hand gesture.

  • MightBeAlpharius@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    It’s more of a public speaker thing than just a politician thing, but… Well, politicians are all public speakers, so it makes sense that that’s the context you’ve seen it in.

    It’s literally a practiced gesture - public speaking makes use of some gestures that telegraph well to crowds, but seem unusual otherwise. IIRC, that fishing rod grip is an alternative to gesturing with a fist - it looks less aggressive, but gets the point across.

    • gdog05@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      I’ve heard that before too but being an old bastard, I’m pretty certain Clinton didn’t do it until after he was debating Bob Dole. Bob Dole used this gesture because he held a pen during debates. And he held a pen in his non-dominant hand because he had an injury in WWII and the way his hand curled made him look weak.

  • TrackinDaKraken@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    They all go to Ivy League colleges, and they all take the same public speaking classes.

    It’s a big club, but we’re not in it.

      • Holytimes@sh.itjust.works
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        9 months ago

        No the real answer is that literally nearly every possible configuration of your hands and movement is offensive and rude to some culture, person or religion.

        It’s fucking damn near impossible to find ANY that are actually safe.

        This has been a problem of public speaking for longer then America has been a country, and longer then the ivy leagues have been a thing.

        Public speaking hand gestures go back literally hundreds of years.

        • Cruxifux@feddit.nl
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          9 months ago

          Okay but the reason they all do it today is because they went to the same rich people colleges and courses. The reason those courses teach these things may have historical background, but that’s not what we’re referring to here.

  • Sibbo@sopuli.xyz
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    9 months ago

    It’s a wand. They are actually enchanting you, the first spell always makes the wand invisible. That’s why you never see it.

  • WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    9 months ago

    Esoterically speaking, it is a modification of the sign of the fig—a vaginal hand symbol indicating that you are creating with your words. The traditional sign of the fig has the thumb placed between the index and middle finger, which you see Bill Clinton do a lot. Others put the thumb on top, I imagine for plausible deniability of being satanic or something. The gesture is very old, going back to Ancient Greece or earlier.

    Historically, politicians have been influenced by groups such as the Masons and the Rosicrucians who would have been aware of the meaning of these gestures, and then it filters down over time to become standard political gestures for people who aren’t aware of their origin.

    • FatCrab@slrpnk.net
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      9 months ago

      The gesture is very old because, and I know this is a wild unsubstantiated theory, it’s a pretty natural and organic way to hold your hand when speaking to or before a large group? I suppose magic makes more sense.

      • WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        9 months ago

        These gestures aren’t exclusive to any particular group—part of the reason they last is that they are easy to discover multiple times and use in multiple ways, plus they seem somewhat natural. It’s similar to how the “devil horns” gesture can also be seen as an owl, a longhorn, or an I Love You. They’re multi-purpose, which is part of why they end up being commonly used.

        I’m not suggesting that everyone who uses the sign of the fig is using it in a Masonic or occult way, but rather that some politicians probably picked it up from that background and began using it, and then it was copied by other politicians who liked their style. Eventually, it just becomes a standard political gesture, and only some politicians would be aware of its roots.

        It’s possible that they just came up with it independently and copied each other, but if that were the case, I’d expect to see more closed fists with the thumb around the fingers mixed in rather than them synchronizing to the thumb on top (the “fishing reel” as described in this post). This is just my theory—I never had the chance to ask Bill Clinton where his thumb gesture came from, but it aligns with what we know about the connections between American politics and Masonry.

        Edit: Here is a good photo of Clinton with his thumb on the middle finger. He did it more commonly in his earlier years, later changing it to the thumb on top with his pointer knuckle jutting out as a base:

        https://media.gettyimages.com/id/50372601/photo/bill-clinton-and-hillary-rodham-clinton.jpg?s=1024x1024&w=gi&k=20&c=i2AwLQrnLVW64MFRCNF1_fRJN2D_gNeVo5PE-7L_sFM%3D

      • WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        9 months ago

        I’m a practicing occultist, so my knowledge of the gesture is from that angle. I’m at work right now, so I can’t drag up the best sources at the moment, but here’s a Wikipedia article about it:

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fig_sign

        And here is a Wikipedia article about hand gestures that mentions the “Clinton Thumb” under the single handed gestures section:

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gestures

        I believe I first heard the Masonic political connection from Lon Milo DuQuette, who I believe is a Mason as well as a practicing occultist like myself. He has over 1000 videos on occultism on YouTube, and I think I probably heard it from there as well as other sources about occult hand gestures.

        For the record, I’m not saying it is an occult gesture to imply any conspiracy—just that the history of Masonry and other occult interests in politicians over history have led to certain themes and gestures blending in to the common political vernacular.

  • Optional@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Public speaking is a performance and like any performance some people are good at it and some become good at it and some aren’t really good at it.

  • Arthur Besse@lemmy.ml
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    9 months ago

    their fishing rods are invisible for you? including the hook and line? that must be rough. how do you avoid getting caught when you can’t even see them?