No clue. I also don't see why words such as the f bomb and sh*t are offensive either. They're just words, and the middle finger is just one of 10 fingers... I do love how they blur out the middle finger on TV, as if you dont know what's behind it...

The story is that the french cut off British guys middle fingers so that way they could use weapons of war. So the Brits used to show them their middle finger to show that they could and would fight.

I guess its just some of the culture behind America and other places. Its rude because we were taught that it was offensive, just like biting one's thumb toward someone was offensive in Shakesphere's time. It really depends on learned behavior of a culture overall.

On what Austinius said.... In the 100 years war, the longbow became the deciding factor for the British. The longbow they used was fired with the middle finger, and was made from the yew tree. When the British would win, they would chastise the French by showing their plucking finger, telling them they could still "Pluck Yew"

stolen from wikipedia sorry because i didnt know but the 100 years war theory is a urban myth and i didnt know the proper reason and believed i should clear it up The origin of this gesture is speculative, and quite possibly thousands of years old. It is identified as the digitus impudicus ("impudent finger") in Ancient Roman writings[1] and reference is made to using the finger in the ancient Greek comedy The Clouds by Aristophanes. It was defined there as a gesture intended to insult another person. The widespread usage of the finger in many cultures is likely due to the geographical influence of the Roman Empire and Greco-Roman civilization. Another possible origin of this gesture can be found in the first-century Mediterranean world, where extending the digitus impudicus was one of many methods used to divert the ever present threat of the evil eye.[2] Another possible origin is the phallic imagery of the raised middle finger (the middle finger being the longest finger on the human hand), similar to the Italian version of the bent elbow insult. Also, there is a variation of the finger where it can be done by performing The Fangul, by sticking out the finger during the throwing motion. A popular urban legend states that during the Hundred Years' War, the French would cut off the middle fingers of captured English archers so they would be unable to use their bows, and that after the Battle of Agincourt, the victorious English showed the French that their middle fingers were still intact.[3]. This legend is also said of the V sign.

its not just in America its the same here in UK