Reading the Wrong Signs

There are times when you have to watch what you say because you never know who is listening. For those who communicate through sign language, the time is coming to start watching where you sign because you never know where people are watching... and whether they actually understand what you're saying. Recently in Anchorage, Alaska, a man pulled up to a stoplight and observed three people in the truck next to him. There was one person in the back of the truck seemingly making gestures that the man in the car interpreted to be signs of disrespect and so he proceeded to honk his horn, flick off the three in the truck and drive off. What he failed to realize at the time is that the man making the signs in the back of the truck was in fact, deaf and was communicating in sign language with the people in the truck.

Now the first mistake in this incident was being egotistical and thinking that of all the random places in the world, at a traffic light, someone is going to start showing you gang signs or something to show you disrespect. The egotist in this case was 26-year-old Raymond Keith McWain who believed he was being slighted. Rather than choosing to ignore the jibes, even though they really weren't, leads me to think that perhaps McWain was hoping to capture some of the thug life attitude that pervades many major cities. Not that Anchorage isn't a major city but somehow, you don't hear gangsta rappers talking about the thug life in Alaska. An eskimo perhaps but not a gangsta rapper. So McWain cemented his mistake by giving the trio in the truck the finger. Digitus impetus. The middle finger; the one sign that most every American knows.

The second mistake in this incident was the reaction of the trio in the truck. They should have ignored McWain and allowed him to continue on his own pissed off way but instead they decided to confront him. Following McWain to a pizza parlor a short distance away, they began a pushing and shoving match trying to ascertain the problem of the other party. This quickly degenerated into a physical fight. McWain's cousin, Daniel Harris, who worked at the restaurant, suddenly sprang into action and came after those assaulting his cousin. While two of the men beat McWain, Harris went to work on the deaf man. Apparently things were so intense at one point that Harris pulled out a gun and hit the deaf man with it and then fired several shots. The police were called, people fled and Harris was found huddled inside the restaurant crying and whimpering and carrying a whole lot of drugs and drug paraphenilia. Needless to say, he's in trouble.

The investigation continues and it seems like this is only the beginning but I can only think that had McWain let the whole signing thing go and admitted to himself that he doesn't know enough about what was being 'said' in the car to feel offended, his cousin Harris probably wouldn't be looking at lots of jail time right now. I'm sure Harris sees it that way. It's insane to think that this whole thing quickly spun out of control due to such quick rising tempers. Had all the parties calmed down and attempted to think through what was happening, it's more than likely that the situation wouldn't have ended the way it did. The more important thing is that McWain and all of us should learn one thing important for the rules of the road and that is to learn to read the signs the right way. If someone in the car next to you suddenly starts gesticulating wildly, our natural instinct is to figure out the significance.

If you determine that it isn't some sort of plea for help or assistance, go back to listening to music, thinking about your day, watching the traffic and dealing with your own troubles rather than looking to other cars for more trouble. It just makes sense. Sure at that moment it's difficult not to get upset, especially when you feel that you have been disrespected but come on. I will admit that I don't know much sign language but from what I remember learning from childhood and all, there are no real gestures or signs (other than the obvious ones) that should have been misinterpreted as gang signs or insults. McWain seems like he was looking for trouble and that's exactly what he got.