Originally Posted by UpstNYDesigner

I heard about that. It happened one time in Chicago. It was on the news. I gasped! A deaf man who signed ILY to his girlfriend was killed by a gang memeber because of that "symbol" according to the police. Police there warned deaf people NOT to sign at all! That is real dumb! We need signs to communicate!

You know that the ILY sign and the devil sign concept are too similiar. The ILY sign concept has thumb, first and index fingers while the devil sign concept has only first and index fingers without the thumb. It was invented by a rock musician who used it. In his interview that my brother heard on the radio why he used that symbol. He said his grandmother wanted to punish him or to make a point, she scolted with both first and index finger unintentionally. She could not close up her index finger! So, the rock star got that idea and used in concert as a pointer to others.. Then people used it as, "you devil!"

Even when I sign ILY to hearing people, they sign the devil concept and I said no...use the finger!!! They said to me, no, that is not what I meant, I meant to say you devil! People are still uneducated with this! I tried to explain to people on this regard.

I remembered in San Miguel, El Salvador back in 1997, I signed ILY to the deaf as they were leaving church. They all gasped! One told our missionary partner and then he told my pastor then he told me what was going on. Our missionary partner/friend told us he forgot to warn us not to sign ILY since the deaf there abanoned the ILY because of a deaf gang in San Salvador used the devil symbol, the very same I am talking about eariler. It looked too similar.

Should we change ILY sign concept? Maybe because hearing people twist our language. Like the L on forehead for loser. That is another danger. It is actually an insult sign concept I believe it was invented by hearing people.

All three sign concepts: ILY, devil (not the one ASL uses that you put your thumb on your temple of your forehead and use first two fingers and bend it. I am talking about first and index finger.) The same you also use for "B.S." In hearing world, it really means "you devil." And the L as in Loser.

Hey, even I know some "D"eaf use the sign concept for "hearing" on the forehead instead of mouth. Now, you know how you feel when hearing signs L as in Loser. Judge not lest ye be judged (Matthew 7:1). Careful how you sign or judge someone!!!! Hey, even the middle finger!!! Or the sign concept for T in our ASL. It is an insult to non-Americans! Our T means the same as middle finger!!! To be honest, I am not signing our T anymore. I am using Central American concept for T although the universal sign concept is like an L sideways. The middle finger pointing up in Japan means brother. Third finger means sister.

Quite interesting huh?