Fist Bump Gets The Nix

Looks like now that Obama is the Democratic party's nominee, and he needs to run to the center and otherwise appeal to middle America for votes, he's retiring another part of his campaign: fist bumps. And it's a shame. I liked the fist bumps.

I've got a few friends with whom I share greetings that include fist bumps and it's a fun, cool, informal, and a gesture that has some power to affirm friendship and connectedness. It's a non-verbal emotiona harmonizer. It feels pretty masculine, too, a ritual of greeting that feels like the emotional equivalent of saying "Dude!" to your buddy in an exclamation of recognition and happiness. It links you to professional sports figures who fist-bump one another to encourage good efforts, express solidarity for the bumped teammate, and mug for the cameras.

I'm pro-fist bump. Obama abandoning the fist-bump is yet another disappointment to this would-be Obamacan.

Apparently Obama's most famous fist bump was with his wife, so perhaps he doesn't use the fist bump exactly the way I do, as an incident of male bonding. Personally, I can't think of a time I fist-bumped with a woman, although I see no particular reason not to. Maybe I should expand my use of fist bumps. Salsola, for instance, is fairly staid in personal mannerisms, and might need to be introduced to the fist bump and taught its proper use in context. And I see no reason for Obama to retire his.