I can’t get back the eight and a half minutes of my life that was used watching this stupid video. The video suggested that the American Sign Language (ASL) “I Love You” (ILY) hand sign was the work of the occult, along with the sign for either the Texas Longhorns or “Rock On!” at rock/heavy metal music concerts. I explained to several people who also saw the video the difference between the signs–the ILY sign requires an outward thumb, while the Texas Longhorns/”Rock On!” signs do not. The ubiquitous gesture came from the fingerspelling of the “i”, “l”, and “y” being combined at once on one hand. Here is an example from a screenshot of a frame in the video:
I’ve heard these types of accusations before, but this video went overboard in lumping the ILY sign in the same group as the “Rock On” and Texas Longhorns hand symbols. But you can’t tell the people who made the video that. According to them:
The Horned Hand or “Cornuto” represents the Devil, Satan, the Goat (the bathomet). It is a sign of recognition between those that are in the occult.
Then the video showed images of famous and political people sporting the ILY sign as well as the other signs. The apparent conclusion? The ILY sign is EVIL!!! BAD!!!! You’re buying a one-way ticket to that fiery place down there…and I’m not talking about the tropics. Being funny, a friend started singing the lyrics to “If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don’t Want To Be Right.”
Now I must confess that I get tired of people, upon finding out that I’m deaf, flashing me the ILY sign to show some kind of solidarity about the deaf people. Nice gesture of goodwill, but it doesn’t say a damned thing! How can you declare your love (friendship-wise or otherwise) if you don’t even know me? But despite being über-sick of the ILY sign, I strongly think it doesn’t purport any sinister ties to the occult. C’mon…it’s just an expression with good, and sometimes misguided, intentions. This is the same line of thinking people use in accusing deaf people of being in gangs, just because some of the signs are similar to the gang signs, as illustrated here.
The video even went as far as attempting to analyze the hidden satanic meaning of barcodes. Craziness bordering on paranoia, I tell ya. But please, leave ASL out of it, mmmkay?
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Vikki, I share your dislike for the ILY sign. For me, the ILY sign is just as bad, if not worse than scratching your nails on the blackboard.
I actually go out of my way NOT to buy products with ILY sign on them.
And from Deaf culture point of view, the ILY sign is actually considered superficial…you don’t say it to your significant other, your child, etc. You sign each word separately, and doing that adds more meaning to ‘I love you.’
I’ve always found it amusing and irritating that people put ILY on everything Deaf-related. It’s like we’re cutesy, irresistibly cuddleable kiddies.
But maybe we could use this video to put a stop to it! We could go around and say, ‘The ILY sign is a really an occult thing… The ENTIRE Deaf Community is into the occult! See this video?! This is PROOF!’ ;)
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Oh, come on. Besides being separate from the “horns” sign in both origin and formation, it is a sweet example of Deaf Culture that has crossed over to the hearing community, and adopted by the prominient and the common people. Hearing people flash grins at us when they catch us using the ILY sign: they recognize it and see that Deaf people are affectionate to each other just as they are.
There are also variants on it: the IRLY (including the word “really”, the one in which the forefinger is circled to mean “I always love you” and the airplane ILY which means “I’ll fly anywhere to be with you, ILY.”
It is used in crowds to pick out other Deaf people. It is used with both hands to indicate “romancing”. It is combined with a different sign on the other hand to indicate dynamism in relationships, such as “hate” on the left hand and “ILY” with the right, slowly moving toward each other.
And that’s just a start. When you think how versatile this sign is and how it beautifully complements Deaf culture, plus its crossover power, it actually is one of our most valuable signs. Just like the English word “love” and all its equivalents in other languages.
Hackneyed? Yeah. Sappy? To be sure. But no substitute as elegant exists. I use it, and all its longer versions with my family and very close friends.
The reality is that hearing people usually just learn ILY sign and that’s it. I agree with Vikki…it’s as if hearing people think that it meets the “requirements”, so to speak.
I’d rather they learned something else, other than ILY…like how about “hello, my name is…” or “how are you?” or something like that.
Something that actually will lead to a real CONVERSATION.
Michele summed it up perfectly. I don’t have a problem with deaf people using the ILY sign to each other as well as with hearing people who are in the know. Hell, I use it sometimes with my loved ones. My problem is when a perfect hearing stranger, upon meeting me, gives me the sign as if that’s all they need to say/do to facilitate conversation.
Your statement, “Hearing people flash grins at us when they catch us using the ILY sign: they recognize it and see that Deaf people are affectionate to each other just as they are,” for some strange reason reminded me of the Big Red chewing gum TV commercials back in the day. You would see white people showing affection by tightly hugging and kissing each other, but the black couples were either at each other’s arm lengths while holding hands, or loosely hug each other, sans the liplock. It was considered a scandal to show *gasp* that black people actually do know how to kiss. Eventually, the powers that be lifted up the curtain and started showing everyone slobbering on each other, much to the cheers of the black community.
My point? Why would the ILY sign be used to validate to hearing people that deaf people know how to express affection? That’s a bunch of hokey if you ask me. :major eye roll:
I happen to enjoy the “ILY” sign because it has a special meaning between me and my mom. I use it with my kids every now and then if we’re a distance away. I think in small, calculated doses, the “ILY” can be a nice thing.
Vikki,
You’re such a good writer. I love your wit! ;)
~ LaRonda
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One reason why I don’t like deaf and ASL expos is the never-ending excess of ILY crap there not to mention lots of loitering problems in lobbies of hotels and more.
I agree with you about the excessive ILY stuff, but somehow I don’t think the hotels hosting the expos have a problem with deaf people hanging out in the lobbies…translates to $$$$$$, a language we ALL can speak.
Vikki. Have you attended grassroots-oriented sporting or general events and witnessed their dirty underbelly? You’d not believe all the freeloading off hotels and whatnot. Many attendees don’t lodge there! Heck, many grassroots don’t even register for these events. That’s why National Softball Association of the Deaf and USA Deaf Basketball and its regional organizations got fed up and required registration just to hang around the outskirts (lobbies and ticket booths) of their events. THeir numbers plummeted so low. Deaf Way I and II would have twice as many attendees if they were more stringent in their enforcements.
That’s hearing’s problem, not Deaf people. Deaf people know what that means, hearing don’t, Their loss. Come on. Get a grip.
Your attitude is exactly why it’s dangerous to ignore certain implications about some of the issues in the deaf community. What if the idea that the ILY sign having ties to the occult grows to the point where if a deaf person uses that sign, s/he gets harrassed or assaulted by the bible thumpers? It’s important to ensure that the hysteria is nipped in the bud as early as possible. So try to get a grip on that.
i personally dislike that i-l-y sign. that is not asl period. it showed up at the dawn of SEE. i do not condemn deafies using the sign tho. i dont buy i-l-y items either. what wrong with me-love-you sign? to me it is more meaningful.
A little history here… the ILY sign, to the best of my knowledge, came up in the 1970s– the renaissance of deaf culture. Most of the original artists who used the symbol in their artwork did so to express deaf pride, which was an entirely new concept after decade upon decade of oppression. Now, most of those artists won’t have anything to do with the symbol in their artwork because it’s become trite.
Will the “ILY” sign still be prevalent in the year 2050? Well, I once saw a lady with a large “ILY” tattoo on her upper back. So the answer is probably yes.
Batman says: “Hey Vikki what does this mean?” [Makes a “5″ gesture]
Chris says: [Shrugs]
(Both of us were wondering by the way why so many DeafDC-ers were making such a ruckus about voting for Batman for President.)
(Not that Batman isn’t flattered. Right after I stopped recording, he put his “5″ gesture over his heart, sighed in touched appreciation, and made the ILY sign).
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PS,
How can we be SURE that Batman said this, you ask (especially since he apparently neither spoke nor signed)?
Simple. Batman communicates with his steely-eyed glare.
And with his “5″ and off-camera “ILY” gestures.
Well, in ASL, if you were to use “5″ and sort of use ‘pushing’ motion repeatedly, it means “Take it easy” or “cool it!”
Another possibility: use “5″ once with certain facial expression, and it means “hold on for a few”.
But then again, for all we know, if Batman moved his “5″ in an arc, he could be saying “hello” (a gesture, not a sign). :-)
And by the way, what is a grown man like you doing with a Batman doll?!
A better question:
What’s a grown man like me doing with a plastic green dinasour?
(Batman says “Hold up a minute, I know the answer to this question!”
(But then he just glares silently without answering…)
An even better question: WHAT toys do you have other than a dinosaur and a Batman?
I’m surrounded by toys in my home, but my excuse is, I’ve got a 2-year-old who plays/uses them (and I’ve got another baby on the way). What’s yours? ;-)
Are you one of these people that sleeps with a dinosaur or a Batman every night?
Heh.
Nothing wrong with a grown man keeping in touch with his inner child. HOOZAH!
As long as he doesn’t remain Peter Pan and refuses to grow up.
HOOZAH!
Awwww…. That’s sweet, Batman…But I’m sorry I am already spoken for… Spiderman is my man. And he does the ILY sign better…although upside down at times…
But the whole I-L-Y thing– whether you like it or not– Who are THEY to suddenly decide it’s ‘evil’ when they don’t know a damned thing about it? There are some people out there who will find evil in anything. In addition to the fact they’ve villified the wrong sign, since they think the ‘rock on’ sign and they ILY signs are the same– You know the goat (rock on sign) really has nothing to do with cult worship anyway? There is a horned character in the Pagan religion who hangs out in the woods. He isn’t devilish or violent. He’s a woods fairy/magical creature. They’ve got it ALL WRONG. I’m so sick of these paranoid people. SHEESH.
I think it’s cute whenever someone tries to be nice. I don’t care how they try. I’ll take nice over rude any day– but like everyone else I don’t buy ILY stuff either mainly because I don’t feel “deafness” defines me. I am a person who happens to be deaf. It is only one of many ways to describe me, just as I am blonde-haired and blue-eyed. I don’t strongly identify with ILY, though I’m learning ASL. I have many interests and hobbies.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but judging from your other comments, you’re late-deafened. So you haven’t had the longevity required to start getting sick of hearing people giving you the ILY sign. Sometimes it feels like a condescending gesture…especially if they don’t learn a couple other signs like Michele said before– “My name is…”
It is almost similar to a white person going up to an Asian person and saying in a mock Oriental accent, “me love you long time.”
Kim, I second Vikki’s comments. Vikki and I have been Deaf our whole lives and we’ve seen hearing people come up to us (and to other Deaf people as well) and flash “ILY” to us and act like they did a GREAT thing by doing it and then go on their merry way.
Kim, I understand what you are saying about the paranoid people who will see evil in anything. There are some groups that see evil in Harry Potter books, for example, which I think is silly.
But…that doesn’t detract from Vikki’s main point.
(By the way, you remember me recommending a book called “For Hearing People Only”? It has a chapter in it about the ILY sign.)
Let me tell you a story. It happened while I was attending State University of New York at Albany. I was eating lunch in the cafeteria with my interpreter one day, and all of a sudden a guy I’d never seen before comes rushing to our table and he said (not signed), “I only know how to sign four words!” Then he proceeded to proudly sign these four words: “Eat sh*it and die!”
My interpreter and I looked at each other for a second, and because the guy had done those four signs correctly and clearly, I could only tell him that these signs looked good. He gave me a big grin and rushed off.
Strange as it was, it was far more preferrable to getting a ILY sign flashed in my face.
I can only hope that this guy, whoever he was, has long since learned more signs other than these four words. At least if necessary, he can sign “eat” to a deaf person if they’re hungry, for starters.
And to me, that’s something to build on.
I’m also not forgetting that hearing people wield immense power over deaf/Deaf people: if they suddenly pronounce ILY sign as “evil” (even though most of us can’t stand that sign anyway), what’s to stop them from pronouncing other signs as “evil”?
Remember, hearing society has long had a history of meddling with ASL and unfortunately they aren’t going to stop any time soon, and this is just yet another example.
You didn’t even ask the guy if he understood what he was saying? I don’t think very many would go up to another person and tell them that proudly if they really understood what they were really saying.
Trust me, he knew what he was saying because he mouthed each sign as he did them.
He knew. He just thought it was funny or cool to know these four signs.
Huh. Wow. You handled that well, then. My response would’ve probably been, ‘You too, @$$wipe.’
Since he didn’t have a malicious or negative tone as he said those four signs, I had to take it at face value, even though it was far from typical.
He was just one of those…um…punks or goths or off-the-wall types.
I had another experience at that same university which I handled very differently.
I took this intensive course in Shakespeare and this teacher was a jerk in general who lived and breathed Shakespeare (that in itself didn’t make him a jerk…other things did, but it’s too long to explain here). Normally he would lecture on Shakespeare the entire time and very rarely invited any questions or comments from students. He liked having the floor all to himself and usually got emotionally involved in his speeches.
Anyway, one day he was well into his lecture when all of a sudden he stopped himself and abruptly asked me the sign for “orgasm”.
Now, up until that point, nothing in his lecture that day (or even the week/s before) even remotely covered sex or orgasm at all.
I was offended because it was clearly off the point and had nothing to do with his lecture and I wasn’t about to educate him about signs for “orgasm”.
So I lied and said there wasn’t any and that we simply spelled it out. He looked SO DISAPPOINTED, like he was expecting me to do something really dirty or blue or something.
If it had been a student who had said that, I would have given him/her a much more scathing response. But as it was a teacher, he got away with just a lie from me (and of course, a loss of potential titillation & entertainment value).
Jeez. You sure run into more weird people than I do. I haven’t had experiences like that. Guess I should count my blessings!
I think that’s because I’m always Deaf. I sign all the time. I never act “hearing” (I’m incapable of it anyway), and therefore when I run into hearing people, I frequently get all kinds of questions and comments from them that really reveal what they REALLY think of culturally Deaf people.
Want one more story? ;-)
Same university…different teacher.
This teacher also interrupted his own lecture to ask me if sign language was “universal”.
I said no, it wasn’t universal, since French Deaf have their own sign language, German Deaf have their own, Japanese Deaf have theirs, etc etc.
He thought about that for a second, then said, “How sad!”
I couldn’t believe it. I mean, hearing people have THOUSANDS of languages all over this planet. Even in China, there are literally hundreds of dialects within the Chinese language that are seriously different enough to cause a communication barrier.
Not only that, it is well known in linguistics field that a language can only be supported & sustained up to a certain distance. Once you pass a certain distance, it becomes too difficult for people to support the language, and then inevitably, new words or changes in grammatical structure turn up. That’s why there are so many languages.
And this guy was telling me that Deaf people could only have ONE language for the entire planet? I don’t think so!
So I told him (as nicely and politely as I could): “Well, when hearing people come up with one universal language for themselves, then maybe we Deaf will think about doing the same.”
After I said that, the whole class got really QUIET for like 20-30 seconds, and then the teacher hurriedly continued his lecture where he had left off.
LOL. That’s a great response to the teacher!
I’ve gotten that question too, but all of their reaction to my answer generally has been, ‘Oh.’ And with teachers, they had the common sense to ask me privately before or after class. :P
Your comment about getting those weird comments is interesting. I’m pretty much always Deaf too. I only use my voice when I’m angry or irritated and that’s not very often. But I rarely get those weird comments nowadays.
Maybe it’s my attitude that scares people into not making idiotic comments! :D
Hi Michele, Yes I remember that book and I’ll order it when I get back. I’m in Mexico right now. I’m really interested in reading it!! And may recommend my library to stock it. About the guy– I have to agree with Deaf Pundit. Maybe he didn’t know what he was saying? But he said he knew. What a strange encounter! I think you handled it perfectly by the way.
Yes–that’s true Vikki–point taken. And you have a right to your views. I was only expressing mine as a late-deafened person. Hearing people do ILY to each other now too. It has made it’s way into the mainstream. I’m not offended by it. You are. I’m not judging you. I can see why it offends you, and had never looked at it that way. I myself have never done that to a deaf person and no strangers have done it to me yet. The first time it happens, I will think of this blog. hahaha. I agree it must be weird for you. I have done the ILY to my kids when they’ve been up on stage or on the field and look to me in the stands. I do it instead of waving or I just wave my my middle fingers. They get it. I know it’s more of a casual “I Luv ya”, not I LOVE YOU! :-)
Alot of strange people out there; ‘course others would think us strange. Thank God for our strange family. And, I love being blessed with my sences and heart. Peace and LOL = Lots Of Love
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