first, he wasn't defending anything. Second, HE IS RIGHT, at the time this photo was taken the circle game was just the circle game. It didn't get co-opted by right wingers until the next year.

It started being used as an actual WP symbol after the photo at the army navy football game went viral in late 2019.

In what manner?

While true, the circle game was just the circle game when this photo was taken. It wasn't until a couple of years later that it was co-opted by right wingers.

You are 100% correct. In 2018, when this photo was taken, it was just the circle game. It wasn't until 2019, when the photo of the military member doing it at a football game went viral, that it got co-opted by the right and used as a white pride symbol.

Most kids are trying to figure themselves out at this age. It doesn't mean that what they do at 17 becomes who they are. I've used the N word as a slur once in my life, it was when I was 17 and trying to fit in with a new crowd. They rightfully lambasted me for it and I've never used it since. Thankfully that was before everyone had a camera in their pocket or like these kids, it would have haunted me for life.

I wasn't a racist, I was a dumbass kid trying to fit in. At 55 I look back on my life and I've been a strong advocate for equality for all people, for protection of minorities, for trying to truly solve the underlying issues that drive inequality, etc.

That's true but that didn't happen until 2 years the year after this photo was taken. in 2018 it was just the circle game, unfortunately I know this because my buddy got me with it far too many times.

Read the article others linked that clearly state it wasn't actually used as a WP symbol until 2019.

once again, it wasn't actually used as a WP symbol until 2019 as reported by the ADU.

Far more likely it's someone playing what was a very popular game in 2018.

Yes, and it didn't gain traction until the photo of the military member at a football game went viral. That was after the photo was taken.

The same article you linked says right in it that it wasn't actually used as a WP symbol until 2019.

it wasn't adopted as a actual WP symbol until 2019, which is also in what you quoted.

You may be correct, but I tend to give the benefit of the doubt and think this is a kid playing what was a stupidly popular game in Wisconsin in 2018.

It didn't gain any traction outside of 4chan until the photo of the military member doing it went viral. As the article says, it was 2019 when it started actually being used as a WP symbol.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/12/16/how-okay-hand-sign-keeps-tricking-us-into-looking/

Agreed. I'm quite sure that in the 6 years since this photo went viral they were corrected and someone posted a comment that if you read the follow they were indeed correct.

I've already replied to this claim. It was not used as an actual white pride symbol until late 2019 after the photo from the army navy football game went viral.

This is also stated in the links that others with your same thought provided. It wasn't until 2019 that it was used as a wp symbol.