I have so many questions! What was the motivation behind the guy doing the sign language? I assume he works for a company or something and is vetted at least a little bit, right? I mean, he had to apply for that job and stuff, right? So has he worked many gigs like this for this company before and just never been caught? Or is this his first gig? If so, why would the company send a new hire to such a large and international event? Why would you even apply for a job like that if you don't know sign language? I mean, it's like me walking into a clothing designers and applying for the job and getting it. But I know nothing about sewing or clothing design and only can occasionally dress myself properly. I have no motivation to even attempt to break into that industry because I have zero knowledge. So is it money? Did he have a friend who scored him the position and he was broke and said sure, why not. I mean his sign language looks alright and much better than I could have faked. Does he practice in the mirror to keep this fake gig? Or is it malicious and he has some deep seeded hatred towards the deaf from an unfortunate childhood experience? Last thought: I don't know if we can blame Obama or other world leaders. The decision to call X company and request a sign language interpreter is likely a decision made by any number of the event producers. It's not really Obama's responsibility to make sure everyone is doing their job correctly. He has bigger things to deal with.
As I mentioned in another thread, I sometimes score those No Child Left Behind tests for students with special needs. The last time I did it, the protocols required that any time I saw (all the "test answers" were videos of kids demonstrating different skills) what looked like some kind of ASL, I'd have to inform my group leader, who would then request that the ASL interpreter take a look and translate if necessary. I got to talking to both of the ASL interpreters, as I ended up with a lot of answers with signing and apparently there is a shortage of ASL interpreters and it can pay fairly well. That said, I have no idea what the deal was with this dude. It seems like they've established that he wasn't signing ASL or any other deaf language. I'd imagine that he must have come recommended by somebody, even though the article says that people "expressed reservations" about him, as something had happened in the past. I love that as a backstory for a villain.Or is it malicious and he has some deep seeded hatred towards the deaf from an unfortunate childhood experience?
What's most likely is that he knows some, enough to get by on a casual basis, and somehow someone along the line fucked up majorly and got him this gig. Incredibly distressing, as someone coming from a Deaf background.