Quote:
Originally Posted by look 171
I am not hip, so what or why? I remember about 15 or 20 years ago first seeing some Asian, maybe movie stars or something doing that in photos of magazines while waiting for take out. Now, its seem everyone's doing it.  |
It's one of those things that has evolved and been adapted by various groups over the years, and it's use depends on
context.
My first encounter and understanding, outside the historic usage as a symbol of "victory" from WWII, was during the anti-war movement of the Viet Nam era. It was used as a sign of "peace," as in a victory
over the war (as opposed to
"in" the war), which soon evolved into a sign of solidarity with those opposed to the war, which morphed into solidarity with those in the counter-culture who peacefully resisted the "establishment" of the time in their dress and behavior--including recreational drug use. Since that time, whenever I see it used by people today, I identify it as a sign of identification with some cultural sub-group that is, in some way, resisting the norms of their society, peacefully. In short, when I see it used today, I interpret is as indicating the person is in some kind of "fight" for a particular cause which I may or may not even know about.
Of course, I also see it used by some who, quite obviously, have no clue as to why they are using it. They use it because they see others (say, Justin Bieber) use it and they think it's cool.