Who started this fist-bump business? It’s a fist-pound, people. For once and for all, I’d like to call it by its proper name, fist pound. It’s not a fist bump, contrary to whatever white news anchor named it.
I like to think of it as a sign of youth. It’s kind of like slang. Someone, somewhere, decided that instead of giving his friend the old high-five, they’d switch it up and pound fists, instead.
Barack and Michelle Obama were satirized on the cover of The New Yorker this week. It’s caused quite the media frenzy and even offended a few. My only fear is that there are some people out there ignorant enough to believe the image. One of the satirized moves of the Obamas was the widely discussed fist bump.
By now, most of us know that the Obamas like the fist pound. They displayed it publicly, and now I feel like I hear the term “fist bump” on a daily basis. By the way, the Fox News host, E.D. Hill, who suggested that the gesture might be considered a “terrorist fist-jab,” lost her show after making that comment.
I know most of you are wondering about its origin, so I’ve done what most of us do in times of wonder — I went to Wikipedia. Much to my dismay, Time Magazine already wrote, “A Brief History of the Fist Bump,” so there’s no unearthing of origin for me to play around with.
Wikipedia got its information from Time Magazine, which cited 1970s NBA player Fred Carter with “knuckle bumping.” Time also found that others claimed the Wonder Twins were to blame. I’m not sure it matters who struck fists first, only that, between cartoon characters and an athlete, I don’t think we need to fear terrorist acts on seeing this gesture.
I feel that “fist bump” isn’t really what the kids are calling it these days. I feel much more comfortable calling it a “pound.” I don’t like the term “bump” because, for me, the word “bump” elicits visions of a light tap or even an accidental movement. Worse yet, I think of two people choreographically bringing their backsides together. But, hey, if your fist-pound is more of a bump and that makes you feel good at the end of the day, then so be it.
I’ve been fist-pounding with my friends for some time now. My old roommate, Morley, and I both used to say “fist-pound,” and follow up with physically hitting fists. OK, so maybe that’s the white-girl version, but it certainly isn’t a display of terrorism or a sign of any secret society.
It is many things: It can be a greeting, a goodbye, or, simply, “good job” or “nice work.” Maybe your best friend scored on her date last night: Enter fist-pound. It’s a hip way to bond with your closest mates. It’s like a handshake or a high five, but way cooler, until some weirdo from Fox News declared it a terrorist sign, and now Auntie Em in Kansas is frightened.
My friends at work and I fist-pound. We even decided to share it with some of our older, dinosaur-esque bosses. I work for one guy in particular who loooooves to high-five. He kind of abuses it, in fact, but it’s his thing so we let him high-five to and fro. My co-worker and I discussed whether we should actually share the fist-pound with said boss. We love to fist-pound with one another, but thought if boss man knew how, he might well use it incorrectly or abuse it to the point where we young proletariat workers wouldn’t have a symbol to call our own.
We showed him, but then again, we didn’t need to, because the media has said, “fist-bump,” so many times that the gesture could start losing it’s credibility. And, no, he doesn’t do it right, either. We’ve told him to stick to the high-five.
I find it humorous that so many people are up in arms over the gesture. Barack Obama is not a teenager, but he is in touch with young Americans. Heck, I’d venture to say he’s pretty with-it.
So why persecute the guy? Or, more specifically, why call him and his wife terrorists, when they’re really just sharing a gesture, which is apparently lesser known than the high five? No one called Carol Burnett a terrorist because she tugged on her ear at the end of every show. I guess we live in different times.
With the upcoming election, there will be many different opportunities to mock each of the candidates. I’ve been reading lately about how challenging it’s been to poke fun at Obama. He’s a well-spoken, educated, well-liked, non-boob kind of guy, and, unfortunately, he and his wife’s fist pound is one of the few things his opposition can nit-pick about.
Personally, I love the gesture: To me, it’s loving, cool and hard core all wrapped into one. There’s nothing wrong with a little “street cred,” even if it does get watered down, called a bump and used by the masses.
