Whether you’ve always admired Mr. Spock’s unemotional logic or not, it’s time to embrace the iconic “Star Trek” character’s ways.
Specifically, the Vulcan salute invented by the late actor Leonard Nimoy -- hand raised palm out, middle and ring fingers separated to form a “V.”
Actor George Takei, who played Sulu on the 1960s TV series and subsequent “Trek” movies, tweeted Thursday that this touch-free salute is “how to properly greet someone during the coronavirus outbreak.”
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper pointed out on CNET that there’s one potential stumbling block to the Vulcan salute’s widespread adoption: some people have trouble separating their middle and ring fingers. Dr. McCoy, played by the late DeForest Kelly on “Star Trek,” was one of those who struggled with the greeting. He tried it in the episode “Journey to Babel” while unhappily outfitted in Federation ceremonial duds. “That hurts worse than the uniform,” he says.
But even though some people will have to wrench their fingers apart with their other hand to create the salute’s signature “V,” social-media denizens immediately embraced Takei’s recommendation. One even offered an addendum:
“Stay home and watch Star Trek…”
-- Douglas Perry
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