Defiance is the act of resisting shaming. The middle finger salute came about as it was common practice in the Middle Ages to cut off the middle finger of captured soldiers, as this finger was necessary for effective archery. Soldiers would come to taunt their enemies by showing them from across the battlefield that they still had their middle fingers. Today this gesture is widely used to communicate, “I reject your efforts to shame me.” As humans are prone to go too far in utilizing compensatory behaviors like this, we often end up rejecting more criticism and shaming in ways that are unwise. What is Creator’s perspective?

We view this gesture, being merely body language in lieu of a spoken admonishment, as far from the worst of potentially harmful actions. Indeed, it is inevitable that people subjected to mistreatment from attempted shaming will turn to extremes of all kinds in order to defend themselves. As such, this gesture is more an act of dismissal than returning of a blow that could lead to severe and even fatal physical injury. Its best use is to defuse the situation by, in effect, raising one's shield to make clear to an attacker they have no power here because you will deflect their would-be assault, as you are one step ahead, you have sized them up, and are rejecting the idea they are in control and have power over you. That is sometimes far better than engaging in combat; it is a way of signaling, "You are not getting to me and I am done with you," and that dismissal may well be the last word because it signals strength, resilience, and a resistance to what was being launched and, once a perpetrator sees their bullets are simply bouncing off that shield, may well suspend the attack and move on. We do not see it as the most desirable way to go about deflecting an insult, or a would-be verbal assault and wounding of a worse nature, because it is a halfway measure to avoid surrendering to ugly treatment by using an ugly retort, an ugly gesture. But the idea of withdrawing from the contest by, in effect, signaling, "You are not getting to me. I am done with you," is a good strategy to deflect a would-be aggressor and deflate their aims to harm and inflict a kind of punishment and misery.