Watching U.S. President Barak Obama speak of his hero, Nelson Mandela, on December 10, 2013, something was distracting me; the rather large man signing for the deaf used such exaggerated gestures I had trouble concentrating on what Obama was saying. Little did I know that the interpreter was a “fake,” according to the Deaf Federation of South Africa. “It was horrible; an absolute circus, really, really bad, Nicole Du Toit, an official sign language interpreter, told the AP. “Only he can understand those gestures,” she added.[1] I suspect that labeling the fiasco a “circus” skates over the underlying mentality in over-reaching and lying to cover it up. Years later, I wondered the same thing concerning Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Are we, the public, out of the loop concerning what really goes on inside governments?
As soon as I read that the interpreter is a fake, I suspected that the South African government fronted the man so to appear sophisticated to the world. I recalled how just hours after Nelson Mandela died, “spontaneous” dancers in formal black dresses preformed outside Mandela’s house. I had the sense of self-aggrandizing people behind the scenes taking advantage of the obvious publicity for South Africa.
To be sure, the interpreter would explain that he had been in a schizophrenic episode while he was signing and that he could not even remember having signed afterward. Hearing this “explanation,” I suspected that with so much on the line, powerful players behind the scene may have pressured the man to lie. One American news network showed footage of the signer using strange signs at yet another occasion. Perhaps with so many schizophrenic episodes while signing, the man might have picked another profession. I suspect the mental health explanation is a fake on top of a fraud, both indicative of a broader attempt by government officials or other power brokers in South Africa to “cash in” at the nearest opportunity, regardless of any sense of solemnity at such a momentous occasion.
In 2018, the quick FBI investigation of Brett Kavanaugh's past sexual behavior was closed to the public even as U.S. senators relied on the findings, at least in part, before voting on whether to confirm him as a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The private nature of the report opened up the possibility that a cover-up between the Republican Party and the FBI was in the works. According to an opinion-piece at CNN, numerous sources who could have confirmed Kavanaugh's sordid behavior at a party at Yale were excluded from the interview list by the White House.[2] A lot was on the line; the high court stood to be conservative-leaning for decades. That such an outcome should pivot on a politicized nomination "circus" ought to raise enough concern; that the court's leaning could be due to a private report being a charade ought to make frustrated blood boil.
Both of these cases raise the unhappy possibility that what happens inside governments is effectively shielded from the public eye such that democratic accountability cannot function. The cases also raise the specter of outwardly nice public officials being in government anything but. Are we, the public, too gullible, or is it simply the case that people in positions of great power are not wielding it responsibly and able to get away with it?
As soon as I read that the interpreter is a fake, I suspected that the South African government fronted the man so to appear sophisticated to the world. I recalled how just hours after Nelson Mandela died, “spontaneous” dancers in formal black dresses preformed outside Mandela’s house. I had the sense of self-aggrandizing people behind the scenes taking advantage of the obvious publicity for South Africa.
To be sure, the interpreter would explain that he had been in a schizophrenic episode while he was signing and that he could not even remember having signed afterward. Hearing this “explanation,” I suspected that with so much on the line, powerful players behind the scene may have pressured the man to lie. One American news network showed footage of the signer using strange signs at yet another occasion. Perhaps with so many schizophrenic episodes while signing, the man might have picked another profession. I suspect the mental health explanation is a fake on top of a fraud, both indicative of a broader attempt by government officials or other power brokers in South Africa to “cash in” at the nearest opportunity, regardless of any sense of solemnity at such a momentous occasion.
In 2018, the quick FBI investigation of Brett Kavanaugh's past sexual behavior was closed to the public even as U.S. senators relied on the findings, at least in part, before voting on whether to confirm him as a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The private nature of the report opened up the possibility that a cover-up between the Republican Party and the FBI was in the works. According to an opinion-piece at CNN, numerous sources who could have confirmed Kavanaugh's sordid behavior at a party at Yale were excluded from the interview list by the White House.[2] A lot was on the line; the high court stood to be conservative-leaning for decades. That such an outcome should pivot on a politicized nomination "circus" ought to raise enough concern; that the court's leaning could be due to a private report being a charade ought to make frustrated blood boil.
Both of these cases raise the unhappy possibility that what happens inside governments is effectively shielded from the public eye such that democratic accountability cannot function. The cases also raise the specter of outwardly nice public officials being in government anything but. Are we, the public, too gullible, or is it simply the case that people in positions of great power are not wielding it responsibly and able to get away with it?
Sources:
1. Kim Hjelmgaard and Marisol Bello, “Interpreter For Deaf Branded a Fake,” USA Today, December 12, 2013.
2. Frida Ghitis, "Kavanaugh Probe Was a Cover Up," CNN.com. (accessed October 5, 2018)
1. Kim Hjelmgaard and Marisol Bello, “Interpreter For Deaf Branded a Fake,” USA Today, December 12, 2013.
2. Frida Ghitis, "Kavanaugh Probe Was a Cover Up," CNN.com. (accessed October 5, 2018)
