Warren vs. DeVos: How a Perceived Handshake ‘Snub’ Exposed The Right Wing’s Cultural Ignorance
By Stephen Miller | 3:37 pm, January 18, 2017
There’s a lot of outrage surrounding the Betsy DeVos confirmation hearing. Donald Trump’s nominee for education secretary was asked about everything from climate change to conversion therapy to keeping guns in schools. When challenged to help Bernie Sanders with his plan to make college tuition free, DeVos reminded him that nothing in life is truly free, (which Sanders conceded).
But it’s what happened at the end of the hearing that’s causing a bit of an uproar on social media. As Devos made her way around a crowd and proceeded to shake hands with the senators who questioned her, she extended her hand to Senator Elizabeth Warren, but the progressive icon and 2020 Democratic frontrunner promptly “waved her off” and left the room.
Warren’s apparent snub was widely criticized on social media by pundits on the political right, who called the move classless and another example of the erosion of proper decorum in Washington, which has created a toxic, partisan atmosphere that voters can’t stand. On the political left, Warren was cheered for “pwning” DeVos.
What really happened? A closer look at the video of the altercation suggests it was neither a “snubbing” nor a “pwning.”
At the 1:41 mark of the video, Warren clearly does raise her hand to wave at DeVos before walking away. But what is being denounced as a vicious snub on Warren’s part is perhaps better understood as an example of cultural misunderstanding, or, at worst, racist insensitivity on the part of Warren’s critics, including DeVos.
Upon closer examination, Warren appears to be signaling to DeVos in her native Cherokee. The open hand gesture, first developed in 1823, is universally recognized among Native American Indian sign-language studies, according to manataka.org.
DeVos may have perceived it as a refusal to shake hands, but it was actually an attempt at a friendly gesture. Like a typical Trump supporter, DeVos failed to recognize and embrace the diverse tapestry of America. This is problematic on several levels.
The respected Senator from Massachusetts is clearly acknowledging DeVos with her native people’s “Hau” hand gesture, indicating “Greeting” or, more specifically, “I have spoken.”
Actually, that’s not even correct, though it’s a typical misreading by cisgendered white imperialists. In fact, “Hau” is the greeting used by Native Dakota Sioux tribes. The proper greeting used by Warren’s native Cherokee is “Osiyo.” Conflating the two would be problematic as confusing French and German.
The “open-hand greeting” was also popularized in early American novels and artwork featuring the Indian tribes of North America, in particular the famous painting by Frederic Remington known as The Parley (pictured below with Warren):
Once again, the political right, with their sights set on the Great Democratic Hope for 2020, are using anything they can to smear her, and refuse to take a step back and acknowledge their own privilege and cultural blindspots. They would be well-advised to log off Twitter and hit the library, or at the very least, enroll in some cultural sensitivity training.
Shame!
http://heatst.com/politics/warren-devos-handshake/
By Stephen Miller | 3:37 pm, January 18, 2017
There’s a lot of outrage surrounding the Betsy DeVos confirmation hearing. Donald Trump’s nominee for education secretary was asked about everything from climate change to conversion therapy to keeping guns in schools. When challenged to help Bernie Sanders with his plan to make college tuition free, DeVos reminded him that nothing in life is truly free, (which Sanders conceded).
But it’s what happened at the end of the hearing that’s causing a bit of an uproar on social media. As Devos made her way around a crowd and proceeded to shake hands with the senators who questioned her, she extended her hand to Senator Elizabeth Warren, but the progressive icon and 2020 Democratic frontrunner promptly “waved her off” and left the room.
Warren’s apparent snub was widely criticized on social media by pundits on the political right, who called the move classless and another example of the erosion of proper decorum in Washington, which has created a toxic, partisan atmosphere that voters can’t stand. On the political left, Warren was cheered for “pwning” DeVos.
What really happened? A closer look at the video of the altercation suggests it was neither a “snubbing” nor a “pwning.”
At the 1:41 mark of the video, Warren clearly does raise her hand to wave at DeVos before walking away. But what is being denounced as a vicious snub on Warren’s part is perhaps better understood as an example of cultural misunderstanding, or, at worst, racist insensitivity on the part of Warren’s critics, including DeVos.
Upon closer examination, Warren appears to be signaling to DeVos in her native Cherokee. The open hand gesture, first developed in 1823, is universally recognized among Native American Indian sign-language studies, according to manataka.org.
DeVos may have perceived it as a refusal to shake hands, but it was actually an attempt at a friendly gesture. Like a typical Trump supporter, DeVos failed to recognize and embrace the diverse tapestry of America. This is problematic on several levels.
The respected Senator from Massachusetts is clearly acknowledging DeVos with her native people’s “Hau” hand gesture, indicating “Greeting” or, more specifically, “I have spoken.”
Actually, that’s not even correct, though it’s a typical misreading by cisgendered white imperialists. In fact, “Hau” is the greeting used by Native Dakota Sioux tribes. The proper greeting used by Warren’s native Cherokee is “Osiyo.” Conflating the two would be problematic as confusing French and German.
The “open-hand greeting” was also popularized in early American novels and artwork featuring the Indian tribes of North America, in particular the famous painting by Frederic Remington known as The Parley (pictured below with Warren):
Once again, the political right, with their sights set on the Great Democratic Hope for 2020, are using anything they can to smear her, and refuse to take a step back and acknowledge their own privilege and cultural blindspots. They would be well-advised to log off Twitter and hit the library, or at the very least, enroll in some cultural sensitivity training.
Shame!
http://heatst.com/politics/warren-devos-handshake/
