Why is the High Five losing out to the Fist Bump?

Isn’t the fist bump more pirate, though?

No way. The terrorist fist bump is way cooler. It has a dual function. Not only are you getting the camaraderie of the high five, but you are also making a statement to the ignorant few.

This is a damn good question. I believe that it’s because the high five is seen as very 80s and the fist bump (sometimes called the fist pump) is the newest way available to show a ‘cool’ greeting to your friends. High five is seen as old school and played out because even your grandmother might high five you. Mostly your younger friends will be the ones to fist bump you.

A slight variation and combination on these two is called the ‘porn star high five’. This is accomplished through using the elbows to do a ‘fist bump’ like maneuver. Typically you would do this when you’re working with something that you don’t want to get on someone else’s hands. i.e. chicken blood, car grease, wet cement, etc.

I’m not yet completely OCD that I’m forced to walk around with antibacterial wipes and wash my hands every minute. That being said, I don’t want to high five you….I don’t know where those hands have been.

I don’t know about the high five or fist bump.
But the ass slap is forever.

@Nimis: George Bush declined to slap Misty May-Treanor’s bikini’d bottom when he visited the US Beach Volleyball team in Beijing. Some people think it may have been the smartest thing he’s done in 8 years. Personally, I’d have gone for the slap, but I’m just some guy on Fluther, not the Leader of the Free World!

I don’t know anyone who does the fist bump, except for dorky people on TV…I will stick with the high five as long as I have hands.

If you do capoeira, you do the fist-bump all the time. Actually, it’s a sideways hand smack(a ‘side-five’ if you will) then a fist bump.

I greet my friends with a hug and a “hi”. The fist bump is more ethnic in my opinion, at least those are it’s roots.

tinyfaery, that answer gets under my skin a little. Are you saying the the blacks made up the fist bump and mostly it’s the blacks that use it? That’s sure what it sounds like you’re saying.

“White people hug and say hi and black people fist bump.”

It’s been said the fist bump started with the Wonder Twins. They were the first to fist bump in the media. The fist bump really took off when Michael Jordan would put talcum powder on his hands and do the fist bump to people on the way to the court so he wouldn’t have to reapply the powder. wiki link here

I was under the impression that black and white people like Michael Jordan so it’s not ‘ethnic’, ‘urban’ or ‘inner city’.

If I’ve misinterpreted your answer, please explain.

edit: and yes I do realize that the wiki article agrees with you in a very generic way in the middle where it says that it can be traced to urban black youth in the 60s and 70s. The nature of wiki is that anyone can edit it.

The wonder twins touched rings; I wouldn’t call that the fist bump. I think the fist bump became popular through MTV and rap/hip-hop music, thus my ethnic comment. Everyone does it now because MTV created a racially and ethnically diverse “youth culture”. First the young people did it, now these young people are adults. Now that 45-year-olds are doing it, I’m sure something new will come along soon enough. Or maybe the high-five will come back—it’ll be retro.

I’m not sure how you interpreted what I said. I feel like I’ve been on fluther long enough for people to know I eschew stereotypes and generalization, and I do not support any belief that posits human beings are essentially or universally anything. And by the way, I am ethnic.

Now we are agreeing. It seems that the internet and television have blurred the lines between traditional cultural boundaries. That’s really the only point that I’m trying to make.

I just hate it when people say I’m doing a ‘black’ thing. There are no ‘black’ things anymore. There are only ‘people’ things.

Maybe I’m too touchy. Sorry if I offended.

Me too. High-five!

ha..tiny. you’re funny. how’s that cherry coke.

Yes, I received my email. I feel wanted.
Edit..oops wrong question. that was dumb.

It’s gone, and now I have to burp.

[very serious face]
The Wonder Twins were aliens from a planet that we know little to nothing about.
I feel that we are not in a position to fairly judge whether they were ethnic or not.

Hello…. They are ALIENS!!!!.

Hahaha…but seriously. What does ethnic mean these days? Not white?
Is it the default answer for being culturally different from the status quo?
Is being white still the status quo? Even with how alternative culture has been exploited by the media?

The only real divides between the people these days are economic, not cultural.

Has ethnic come to mean economically different from the status quo then?
It seems to be thrown around so easily to simply denote other.

Sorry. I think I may have hijacked this thread.
[Ass slaps bodyhead to stay on topic.]

White can be ethnic. We do have a general “American” culture, but there are also immigrant cultures, and these people have children who are learning to assimilate (for the good or the bad). My Mexican family can hardly be considered ethnic anymore (language and food are pretty much the only traditions that we keep), but a white family from Croatia, for example, I wold consider an ethnic culture, especially if they live in a “ghetto”.

This thread is blowing my mind. The Wonder Twins were aliens?!!! WHAT! How did I not know this?

To go back to Trudacia’s answer, with the fist bump you only exchange the germs on your knuckles, the high five involves an entire hand’s worth of germs.

Hey! My post was translated to Pirate! Very cool!

I would absolutely prefer the fist bump over the handshake. Purely for fewer amount of nasty germs or whatever that you could avoid sharing with the other person, especially if male. A man touches his privates every time he takes a piss or poo. He also touches them about 1500 more times throughout the day as well as the inside of his nose, ear, mouth, ass, and so on. The Asian part of the world figured this out many many moons ago and created the standard of bowing at each other without having to share any germs and whatnot with each other. Now I know we could get something fun and creative going that would work in business greetings and social hip situations that would help not spread grossness. Every time I have had to shake another persons hand be it in business or friendships, I felt nasty afterwords. By the way, I am a man and all above info about men are definitely true. Yes they are!

I’m glad I asked this question! Who knew it would branch off into Brazilian martial arts, Asian hygiene, and (for whatever reason) Cherry Coke.

revivethefive.org, mates!

Oh, and because there is still 20 minutes left here in California: Yarr, ye scaliwags! There. Now that’s done.

no idea but i really think that high fives are cooler and more appropriate, fist bumps are kinda stupid and pretty gay

@PVBMISFIT — Ironically, even though I am the creator of revivethefive.org and part of a casual movement to bring back the high five, I don’t see any reason to demean both the fist bump and homosexuals by using the word “gay” as though it was an acceptable criticism. If you don’t like the fist bump, don’t do it. High five your friends, join the movement, but let’s remember that both the High Five and the Fist Bump are friendly endeavors.

Hygiene?