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Notes -
Its particularly easy to make that move if you're on an elevated platform and wave or otherwise gesture in a way that is directed at some particular person or part of the audience.
If you're waving towards someone on the same height plane as you, the arm will naturally be at a 90 degree angle so its visible to them.
If they're lower than you, then you'd be rotating the arm and palm downward towards them so, again, its more visible to the intended target. That puts you more in the "no no" range, especially if you have the arm fully extended.
All kinds of tricks to avoid it looking like a salute. Don't fully extend the arm, or use only a couple fingers (or the classic 'finger guns.' Although is that too violent?), or hell, use both arms. Most of those make you look more goofy, but that's a tradeoff. But man, isolating one gesture from a speech as evidence is not a great tactic.
And finally, if you ask me, the factor that makes the Roman Salute 'bad' is the part where you usually yell "SEIG HEIL" or "HEIL HITLER" while doing it. At least, that's the part that removes all ambiguity.
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