Quote Originally Posted by Ativan View Post
And the OK hand originated from a benign source. Meanings of words and gestures can and WILL change over time. Kek was formerly a benign word, but it has now become a neo-Nazi dog whistle.
Except they don't change universally. They change among those groups that find new purposes for the word or gesture.

In a vacuum, I can't tell whether someone is a neo-Nazi based on whether they said "lol" in Orcish. I can merely assume what meaning is attached when I already know, via the person's affiliations, how they're likely to use it, or if the situation bares no other reasonable interpretation.