A Brief History Of The Finger
The first documented 'finger' insult occurred in ancient Greece, when the playwright Aristophanes made a crude visual insult using the middle finger to represent a penis. In that context, 'The Finger' was used as an aggressive, phallic put-down.
By jabbing a threatening phallus at your enemy, you are belittling him and making him your sexual inferior.
When the Romans imported the art, music, and culture of the Greeks, the finger came along too. Roman Emperor Caligula, a pioneer in perversity, frequently shocked his citizens by forcing them to kiss his middle finger instead of his hand. One of his bodyguards, Cassius, whom Caligula often taunted as being too effeminate by jabbing his finger at him , finally had enough humiliation and assassinated him. Clearly, 'the finger' insult was not to be taken lightly!
During the Middle Ages, the finger went underground. It was still known, but the Catholic Church frowned upon its use, as the middle finger was supposed to be holy in the Mass. The unholy insult lurked deep within the hearts of filthy-minded folks everywhere, hiding from sight until the 19th century when it began to crop up again thanks to the invention of photography.
In 1886, Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn slipped his little finger fastball into the Boston Beaneaters team picture. The split-second art of photography could turn the once boring painted portrait into a spontaneous work of rebellion, humor and spunk. Americans everywhere quickly got into the act.
In the immigrant mish-mash of early 20th century America, the finger was the one symbol every man, woman and son of a b itch could understand. With the invention of the automobile and the following invention of bad driving, it could be delivered from behind the safety of the wheel.
Hence, the finger became the great universal insult. All it needs to deliver its punch line is a clear line of sight!
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