In the rural areas of at least some of the US, giving someone the finger is quite different from what we normally think of when hearing that phrase. While Bill and Chris were biking the Katy Trail in Missouri, I spend some of my time on the winding, unexpectedly hilly roads of the verdant country. There, as in rural Nebraska where my grandparents had their farm, or along country roads in South Dakota, Wyoming, and other states, when you meet another driver, you simply raise the index finger of the hand at the top of the steering wheel in hello/acknowledgment of another person alive and well and driving in the country.
This casual greeting brings back good memories for me and a feeling of kinship with the person or people in the other vehicle. So go ahead. When appropriate, give ’em the finger. Just be sure it’s the correct one.
This, that and the other thing 