An Excerpt from WHITE HORSE #OscarPistorius

From the chapter…

First Impressions: Hugs and Window Dressing

“I have learned that there is more power in a good strong hug than in a thousand meaningful words.” ― Ann Hood

The first thing I notice, when I see Oscar first-hand, is that he doesn’t look very different to how he appears on television. I thought there’d be some surprising or unexpected charisma which one only picks up directly – you know, seeing Oscar one on one, in the flesh. But there isn’t. He doesn’t seem as tall as I’d expected. He doesn’t seem muscular or particularly frail. He seems like an ordinary guy with a corny hairstyle and an expensive suit, who looks like he got less sleep than I did. That and he has a wonky way of walking.

If the absence of the door is mildly disquieting [because I wanted to inspect it first-hand] the excessive police presence inside the courtroom is downright weird. But what’s even weirder is what Oscar’s doing right now:

Oscar is going to each member of the police and giving them a hug and a handshake.

Then it’s his family’s turn. When last did Oscar see these people? When last did he see his family? Months ago or a few minutes ago?

Is this a movie premiere? Is this the red carpet of the Oscars or is this Oscar deep in the red in more ways than one, facing the charge of murder?*

Oscar’s showy entrance may be aimed at controlling the sentiment of the court, especially this side of the court, where I’m sitting. If that’s the plan I’m not quite falling under the same hypnosis. The hypnosis I believe goes something like this:

Surely if Oscar’s jailers think he’s an okay guy, who are we – his persecutors – to argue?

If you’re thinking this is overthinking, that this is venturing into conspiracy theory – stop. What we know for a fact from the O.J. Simpson trial [now that it’s over, now that it’s 22 years later], is that everything from the defense and prosecution side was meticulously planned and choreographed. Everything was placed like mannequins in a shop window in order to solicit a particular response from the swarming public.

The Oscar trial is similarly contrived, which is why there are a bevy of blonde paralegals [aka Reeva lookalikes], defense and prosecution ploys [designed to catch the other off balance], and why Oscar himself has a carefully choreographed demeanor. We see clues to this preprogrammed “roleplay” in….