Fin. Ger. Tip.

So why is the finger already being defamed at this early stage of its existence? 

Is something missing in this extraordinarily complex body part, which will go on to learn so many movements and sequences over the course of its life — movements that are more than just impressive? 

Who doesn't know the moment when a newborn first wraps their whole hand around the fingers of Mama or Papa? 
That's probably the sweetest first experience parents receive from the new arrival.

But fingers have also developed — or been taught — properties that are far less sweet and not the least bit pleasant. 

Anyone who has survived the traffic wars in Paris or New York City will remember the proudly and usually furiously raised middle finger. 
From which hand? 
Doesn't really matter. 
The middle finger simply needs to look raised and aggressive. 
Nothing more. 

The aggressive's counterpart is the raised thumb — which communicates more approval than actual stature.

But the real part-time villain on every hand is the index finger. 
It has the eventful ability to reveal the character of its owner. 

Oh really? 
Oh yes. 

Because this troublesome finger has learned the art of fingerpointing. 
No, this isn't a natural evolutionary development — it's more of a socially manufactured manifesto, designed to redirect blame onto others. 

"They're the ones to blame!»

Anyone who thinks that mistakes only happen to other people is simply wrong. 

But there are characters in the development of Homo and Sapiens who don't handle mistakes well. 
They prefer to sidestep them entirely. 
And point the finger at suitable — or wholly unsuitable — candidates who can fill the role of the guilty party. 
No qualifications required.

The rumour has it that the pointer always comes out looking better when fingerpointing. 
Wrong! 

The real motive behind it is rather unflattering. 

That thing is called self-worth — which is, in itself, an impossible word. 
A feeling for the value of one's own self? 
Well, the feeling is real. 
And it's tragic. 
And depressing. 
Because those who feel worthless are holding a terrible hand. 

Still, with a bit of practice, fingerpointing can be deployed short-term to give that sense of self a small boost. 

The disappointing part? 
It never lasts long. 

So far, so human — understandable motives for pointing the finger at others.

But when the pointing finger truly wants to do harm, it belongs to a power-obsessed narcissist who knows how to deploy it with precision and manipulation. 
Fingerpointing in the hands of politicians and the powerful resembles mass production of the guilty. 
Groups become instantly recognizable as scapegoats.

Political fingerpointing describes the phenomenon whereby one person or group blames another for specific problems or situations. Full stop.

Older readers will remember a certain Joseph McCarthy, who spent the better part of seventy years ago hunting down alleged communist spies and their sympathizers. 

One Mao Zedong, chairman of the Communist Party of China, launched the Cultural Revolution to consolidate control and suppress independent thought. 
His finger pointed at something called the "class enemy.» 
In Mandarin, naturally. 

And then there was an Austrian amateur painter who specialized in fingerpointing at minorities. 
Jews, homosexuals, and the Romani were murdered through countless pointing fingers.

Fortunately, this hobby of the powerful has been definitively put to rest in our modern twenty-first century. 

Nobody uses fingerpointing against immigrants in political rhetoric anymore. 
That would simply be unacceptable. 

Nobody raises the same finger in climate debates to discredit scientists and environmentalists, to demolish their credibility. 
That would be simply too warming.

Nobody would ever again use a single finger to classify transgender people as dangerous. 
That would be utterly absurd.

Or what do you think about that, dear index finger?