Hundreds of 'Jeopardy!' Players Demand Apology for Contestant's Alleged 'White Power' Symbol

[babylonsister]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeopardy-players-demand-apology-for-contestants-alleged-white-power-symbol?ref=home

Hundreds of ‘Jeopardy!’ Players Demand Apology for Contestant’s Alleged ‘White Power’ Symbol
NOT OK
Jamie Ross, News Correspondent
Published Apr. 29, 2021 5:46AM ET
Twitter

Hundreds of former Jeopardy! players have put their names to a furious open letter demanding an apology after a new contestant appeared to flash a hand gesture used by white supremacists earlier this week. On Tuesday's episode, contestant Kelly Donohue arranged his hand in a way that looked similar to the upside-down “OK” sign adopted by some racists. The open letter, signed by more than 500 former contestants, said that, whether Donohue made the sign with bad intentions or not, it shouldn’t have made it to air and they are now asking for “a statement and a disavowal” from the show’s production team. However, in a now-deleted Facebook post, Donohue said there has been a misunderstanding and that he raised three fingers to show that he was a three-day winner, as he did with two fingers and one finger to mark his earlier victories. “There wasn’t a hidden agenda or any malice behind it,” he said, according to Vice. Representatives for Jeopardy! haven’t officially commented on the controversy.

[hlthe2b]

1. Who knows if he was being "too cute by half" or NOT? I'm actually glad the controversy is

front-burner. It is past time to put those who are actually racist a'holes in sheep's clothing on notice (and those who enable them) that the world is aware and watching. If this guy was innocently oblivious, well, he won't do it again, either.

[CincyDem]

3. Quick...with the fingers on your dominant hand, count with me...1...2...3.

Now, look at your hand.

I respectfully submit that most of us are holding up our index, middle and ring fingers a la Boy Scout salute style....maybe with your thumb and little finger touching.

If your natural, reflexive count to three’ hand gesture is middle, ring, and little finger a la WP...maybe there’s something about your reflexes you don’t want to be broadcasting on national TV.

Nothing scientific here...just a hypothesis and a little test. This group is probably the bast base to see if that hand gesture just happens by chance among folks with a bias toward inclusivity (vs WP).

[rurallib]

4. Excelent point!

[ProfessorGAC]

7. Disagree

Personally, I use the thumb & 2 fingers. It probably comes from being what we now call a point guard from age 11 to 17. It's easier to tell 3 from a distance with the thumb out, so it won't get confused with 2 or 4 fingers.
I'm not the only one. So, I don't think it's as reflexive as you suggest.
Also, that signifying of three is exactly how it's done to indicate a 3 point shot.
Watch an NBA player hitting a big three. Often, they will raise both hands with thumb & forefinger circled and the other 3 fingers up. The ref does it on every shot behind the line to indicate it's a valid 3. In today's NBA that 3 sign is displayed 50-60 times a game.
I think we all agree that a league that's 70% black is not into flashing idiotic white supremacy signs.

[CincyDem]

11. Those are three great points.

I’m just an average sports guy who never played but your point about seeing three from a distance makes complete sense. And I never connected the WP with the NBA...you’re 1000% right that there’s no WP flashing in the court.

Still feels weird to me to count out three like that but I’ll take the learning. Thanks.

[Midnightwalk]

28. Reflexive

I’d have to think harder on terminology. Point guard is a good point but that sounds the more natural reflex is to count with index to ring (ima) and you trained to reflexively use thumb to middle (pim). Yeah both reflexive but I wonder if index to ring is actually more innate.

I agree with your other points

[hlthe2b]

15. I don't gesture that way, nor do others in my circle. Like the girl scouts , I raise three fingers

without making a white supremacist gesture. YMMV

I already said he may just be obtuse. But I'm glad others are noticing. Damned glad. Sad that some feel the need to excuse it because in this time of rising White Nationalism, it is damned serious and not just some super leftist sensitivity.

And, no, I have NEVER raised middle, ring, and little finger to gesture three. Nor has anyone I've spent time with.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

19. Like the professor said, you clearly don't watch/play basketball.

[tavernier]

31. Exactly

My first thought yesterday when I saw the three pictures of his win signals. One and two are normal. After that you have to change your entire hand configuration.
But on the other hand, if he won three Jeopardies, I doubt he is a closet MAGAt. Probably just a nerd trying to be sports cool.

[Phoenix61]

32. I think you're on to something.

If you do a peace sign you use your thumb to hold the outside two fingers down. Reflex to keep the pinky pinched when you add an extra finger to make 3.

[Ms. Toad]

33. There's a difference between counting

And holding up fingers to designate a number.

Right now, I am dealing with the remnants of cancer surgery, which make it painful to hold down the ring finger finger, while the middle finger is up - or hold up the ring finger while my pinkie is down. So, while I would count starting with my thumb, I would designate the number 3 with middle, ring, and pinkie on my dominant hand. Pretty sure I would have before surgery, as well (since those three are least awkward to hold up on my non-dominant hand).

That said, I would be holding them up in the air, not nestled against my chest - which just seems odd.

[Retrograde]

42. Some Europeans count starting with the little finger

I've known older adults (back when I was a child) who were either raised in Europe or were children of recent immigrants - they started with the little finger. If you ever watch the time trial starts in the Tour de France, notice that the person sending off the riders counts down with his little finger as 1.

[48656c6c6f20]

54. What if I'm not counting?

I do the supposed wp thing occasionally. I think it started on the military. Because it can be a 3 or 8 depending how you present it. Vertical with palm toward me is a 3, horizontal palm toward me is an 8. Used to communicate on a aircraft carrier flight deck. Dude was maybe flashing whit power or not. Who knows for sure?

[cinematicdiversions]

49. Honestly this is the Betsy flag thing all over again.

Most people have no idea it is racist. I mean sure, we can use it to get a Hispanic truck driver fired for saying okay.

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/sdge-worker-fired-over-alleged-racist-gesture-says-he-was-cracking-knuckles/2347414/

But outside of that little bit of cancel theater, who would know. This sounds like the stupidity that Carville and others were talking about.

I mean a bunch of white man carrying Tiki torches and chanting "The Jews will not replace us" is very self explanatory. But cancelling people for trivial minutia is something else entirely

And yes, I hope the twitter mob that got the Hispanic man fired are real proud of themselves. Way to fight the man.

[Buns_of_Fire]

2. I think I'll just keep my hands in my pockets from now on.

Oh wait, that's probably somebody's symbol for something, too.

i swear, you can't just casually walk around with your finger up your nose anymore without someone politicizing it.

[gab13by13]

5. Why is flashing the white power sign

any different than a Nazi salute?

[Buns_of_Fire]

8. I didn't see the clip, so I can't judge for myself one way or another.

But it's like what one judge said about pornography: "I know it when I see it."

But don't mind me. I'm still pissed that I can't use a "thumbs up" gesture anymore because of the former guy.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. Because Some People DO(!)...

...show the number 3 that way.
There's no reasonable signifying of anything with the Nazi salute other than a Nazi salute.
They're apples & oranges.
Just because a bunch of cretins appropriated a hand gesture doesn't make everyone who's been indicating 3 that way for years a bad guy.
We know the idiot bad guys use that symbol. But, not everyone who uses it is an idiot bad guy because there's actually a long standing legitimate use for that hand gesture.
I indicate 3 with the thumb & 2 fingers. That looks as like a W than the other symbol, but I can assure you that I mean in strictly as a 3.

[EYESORE 9001]

10. I indicate '3' with three fingers

Thumb and pinkie finger tucked into palm.

[Happy Hoosier]

17. So wait... no we tell people how to signal 3?

C’mon....

I mean I get that the symbol is coopted. And I’m not even saying the dude wasn’t being “too cute half,” but we have to avoid looking like we are jumping to conclusions.

[EYESORE 9001]

29. Not my intention to instruct how it's done

Just relating how I do it personally.

[Happy Hoosier]

47. Ah okay...

I do it your way too, but my neighbor always did it the way this guy seems to have done. Dunno.

[NickB79]

59. I have a funny story about a mistaken Nazi salute

A friend was getting married in a Catholic church, and I brought my Puerto Rican girlfriend with (now my wife). The wedding was in a smaller town in a more rural area of Minnesota, and the entire congregation was white except for her.

As the priest did his thing, he asked the church to raise a hand in a sign of blessing over the new couple. We all did. That's when I looked at my girlfriend, who had a look of HORROR on her face. I looked around, and realized it looked just like the entire church was giving a Nazi salute! Since everyone was white, I don't think it crossed anyone else's mind but her's.

She still tells that story to our friends, about the time I took her to a Klan wedding 🤣

[Cuthbert Allgood]

20. OMG basketball is full of white power people.

Even the damn refs are flashing the white power sign dozens of times in each game. The humanity!

[USALiberal]

6. Pure BS! Nice try!

[USALiberal]

57. Really silly post! WTF!! nt

[brewens]

12. One thing is if a guy is smart enough to make Jeopardy, it's unlikely he's a white supremacist.

This is the first I've seen on this and wasn't watching, so I know nothing about the guy.

[Dr. Strange]

13. Right?

This seems like a weird plot for a Nazi.

Okay, I'm going to flash the white power symbol on national tv. Step one: win Jeopardy three times in a row.

[jcgoldie]

18. Well I had read that Donohue

Sent political contributions to the Trump campaign and had some questionable social media references, but I can't confirm any of that and he has since made his social media private. If its true it makes it more likely he had something nefarious in mind in my opinion, but it may be bullshit.

[USALiberal]

58. Really, all GOPers are stupid? nt

[FakeNoose]

14. I didn't see it, but if I had

... I doubt that I would have thought the guy was intentionally making a "white power" sign.

This controversy will ensure that the show-runners will be a little more vigilant from now on. It's an easy thing to edit out, and that's what they'll do.

[dsc]

16. This is reminding me of the whole hysteria over gang stuff in schools

For a time we literally banned kids from wearing red clothing (no really it happened). Why, you might ask? Well red was a gang color. It is clear from the abundant evidence, that this guy was showing 1 the 2nd night he was on, 2 the 3rd night, and 3 the 4th night to signify 1,2, and 3 wins respectively. Just like gangs might to things we all do (such as wear red), white supremacists might flash OK signs and the number 3 and we shouldn't lose our minds when people who are clearly indicating 3 also flash three fingers and/or the OK sign.

[shrike3]

21. "Donohue said there has been a misunderstanding and that he raised three fingers

To show he was a three-day winner." First thing that popped into my head.

Bet he'll never do that again.

[NYC Liberal]

22. This is one of the stupidest "controversies" in a long time.

[hlthe2b]

25. The sign meant OK when I was a kid and the middle finger meant nothing. The Heil Hitler salute

was the way one hailed a cab in urban areas in my great grandparents' day. Americans who travel to the Middle East are clueless about the offense they cause when they eat with their left hand. Ditto when they direct unceasing eye contact on many Navajo tribe members and certain other (especially, Native) cultures.

There are cultural symbols that differ and change over time. These cues may not matter to some, but ignoring them can cause a lot of misunderstandings at a minimum and real problems in other contexts.

Things change. Some may seem silly, but even though the once innocent "OK" symbol has been misappropriated in a manner that annoys me, I still have no desire for someone to even contemplate whether or not I have White Nationalist sympathies. YMMV

[Johnny2X2X]

30. Spot on

The OK sign is no longer...Okay White Supremacists have adopted to signal White power. That's just what it means now. Maybe at some point in the future it goes back to being the Okay sign, but right now it's all about White Power and everyone should know that by now.

[Ms. Toad]

35. Just don't take up diving,

Where recognizing and using the OK symbol is a matter of life and death, since hand signals are the only communication tool available to most of us underwater.

And no. i'm not letting the bad guys own a useful communication tool, even when I'm above water, and my life doesn't depend on it.

[Johnny2X2X]

36. I don't think anyone thinks divers need to change their hand singals

Deaf people either. The world is plenty able to divine meaning and context. No one's going to accuse a diver of White Supremacy for using an accepted hand signal in the context of diving, nor will they accuse someone using American Sign Language. But in public, and definitely on a TV show, people know what it means, it's a nod to White Power.

[Ms. Toad]

37. The world is plenty able to divine meaning and context

And that is not limited to diving and ASL.

Plenty of people use the OK symbol to mean just that: OK.

[hlthe2b]

38. As in all things, CONTEXT matters.

[Ms. Toad]

39. I was responding to a post that essentially said context didn't matter

(Outside of social era).

And isn't part of the context here that he was designating the number of times he'd appeared on jeopardy?

[hlthe2b]

40. There isn't a lot of context there, being on stage with his hand against his chest, so I have

no problem with giving some benefit-of-the-doubt. That said, unlike your example, or the example of those players and referees on the basketball court, it wasn't clear-cut obvious as to the intent. It was an unusual way to signal "3" for many.

Being "misunderstood" or not understanding the alternate meaning of the symbol is the "go-to" excuse used by those "actual white supremacists" when facing consequences. Just read some of the transcripts from the legal defenses of those charged after Charlottesville and the myriad of RW politicos caught by cell phone cameras at "questionable" rallies.

That said, the guy acted like an arrogant clod on the show while exploiting his "15 minutes of fame" so that likely has biased many towards thinking the worst. Fair? Probably not.

[Ms. Toad]

46. I know nothing more than the still capture I saw.

And there is always context that isn't captured in a screenshot.

I'm just pushing back against the concept that since a bunch of jerks took a prank pulled on liberals and ran with it that those jerks now own a communication tool - and that the era when the photo was captured decides whether it is an OK symbol, or a white power symbol.

I certainly agree that context is important - which means that in most instances it would be pretty impossible to sort out merely from seeing a photo (which inherently strips context out).

[Devil Child]

27. Agreed NYC Liberal n/t

[malaise]

23. I saw it - further he was arrogant on steroids from his 1st game

so I'm with the former contestants. I was so glad to see him lose to Dana.

[soothsayer]

24. Me too

[Devil Child]

26. Thinking of Carville's recent critiques on excess wokeness as I read this

Convenient timing.

[Treefrog]

43. Yep.

[Oneironaut]

34. I believe the contestant, but he was kind of a tool.

I was happy when he lost. This “controversy” makes anyone who signed that letter look kind of dumb, though.

[MichMan]

41. Remembering the post about NASCAR fans at the Daytona 500 this year

Holding up 3 fingers for Dale Earnhardt and people here thinking it was all about white power

[TheProle]

44. Mr. Carville, your table is ready...

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jeopardy-hand-gesture/

[obamanut2012]

45. It was obviously the White Power symbol

NO ONE puts their fingers in that to denote "three."

[11 Bravo]

48. Perhaps YOU don't. But what colossal arrogance it must require ...

to state that NO ONE uses that hand configuration to denote the number three.

Perhaps it's a result of years of officiating rec league and HS basketball games, but I routinely display "three" just like that.

I'm crushed to learn that I am now a white supremacist.

(Also, the white power gang over at Snopes calls this claim demonstrably false.)

[Behind the Aegis]

50. Been fun to watch the rationalizations.

Was it a WP signal. Possible, but likely not, but watching some immediately dismiss it out of hand or provide excuses, well, that has been precious.

[yagotme]

53. "Bad" actors have been appropriating signs/signals for decades.

The "OK" for WP. Different colors, by gangs, to identify each other. Even the Nazi emblem, the swastika, was used by a Native American tribe, then used by a U.S. Army division prior to 1938 or so. Eventually, if this keeps up, no one is going to be able to make any type of hand gesture, wear any color of clothing, because it "means something" to someone else.

[Hortensis]

55. If they could be sued for libel, bet they would have

waited to see if it actually was a white power gesture.

What a shame people like this in these social media days are free to act out without consequences. Hope a few are identified anyway, and it comes home to teach them a little lesson.

[Bonx]

56. His third win. People promoting this are stupid and hateful idiots.