A U.S. Coast Guard serviceman has been removed from the Tropical Storm Florence relief efforts after he was accused of flashing a white power hand sign during an MSNBC interview, according to NBC News.
The incident occurred during a cable news segment on Florence between a Coast Guard captain and Ali Velshi. The man in question was sitting in the background of the shot where he could be seen slowly raising his hand, putting his thumb over his pointer finger, and extending his pinky, ring, and middle finger toward the camera.
“Whatever that symbol means, it doesn’t reflect the Coast Guard and our core values,” said Coast Guard Lt. J.B. Zorn. “It won’t be tolerated.”
“We’re not going to let one person detract from the good work the Coast Guard is doing in the region,” he added.
The accused serviceman has not been identified by the media and Coast Guard officials will not release his name.
The hand gesture made in the segment has typically been known to mean “OK,” but recently, members of the alt-right have started a trolling campaign to appropriate the sign in a trolling campaign — a move they also pulled with the online comic character Pepe the Frog — to trigger liberals and members of the media. Additionally, the “OK” sign is also tied to the “circle game,” which is a viral meme that involves
So, it is not always clear if and when the hand gesture is actually being used in a racist fashion, but the Coast Guard still deemed the act to be inappropriate.
“This is a frustrating distraction for the Coast Guard during our hurricane response,” the Coast Guard said in a statement. “This person has been removed from the response pending an investigation. These types of actions are not reflective of the core values of the Coast Guard.”
Watch above, via MSNBC.
[image via screengrab]
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