Hero worship fuels societal breakdown – body language expert

Speaking to members of the University of the Third Age (U3A) in Benoni, body language expert Dr Denise Bjorkman called Judge Thokozile Masipa’s initial ‘not guilty’ verdict in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial a “miscarriage of justice” on June 10.

The initial ruling was later overturned on appeal by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).

Bjorkman also spoke about the DRD4 gene, DNA crime and survival drivers, and the various personalities involved in Pistorius’ trial.

In the original trial, Masipa dismissed premeditated murder charges and convicted the Blade Runner of culpable homicide for killing Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013. She sentenced him to five years, but the SCA later upgraded the conviction to murder.

“What you saw was a miscarriage of justice based on the personalities in the courtroom,” Bjorkman said.

Discussing crime and survival drivers, she identified status, influence, autonomy, relatedness or belonging, and fairness, justice, or revenge as key factors she uses in personality profiling and criminal trials.

“We have to examine the four categories to understand what triggered their actions and what caused the change. The most important aspect of a person’s personality is status because their survival depends on it,” Bjorkman said.

Pistorius’ and Steenkamp’s personalities

She said the Paralympian was insecure despite his fame and powerful connections.

About Steenkamp, she added, “What people don’t know is that Reeva was a stalker, not malicious, but a kind who just wanted to be somebody.

“Apparently, she would sit outside big agencies at 06:00, knocking on their windows and asking to be signed. She was determined, relentlessly trying to get people to notice her.

“Now you’ve got two people with problematic personalities. She had strong needs for status, influence, certainty and belonging, and suddenly, he kills her.”

Distress

Looking into Masipa’s personality, Bjorkman said the judge may have under-emphasised key crime scene details, such as the time-lapse after the shooting, because of possible sympathy for Pistorius, shaped by her background as a social worker.

“Do you assign a social worker with a slight disability and health issues to judge the Oscar trial? Ethically, if there’s a conflict of interest, it should be declared. She should have recused herself, but she didn’t.”

Bjorkman highlighted several factors used to influence Masipa, including placing a bucket near Pistorius during post-mortem evidence for his emotional distress and allowing him to walk on his stumps to demonstrate his disability.

“She wasn’t interested in examining the time lapse in the trial because the focus was on the ‘poor guy’. Masipa herself was unwell, disabled, and needed assistance getting to court. She had a heart of gold and was deeply concerned with humanity, community, and finding a solution for a star who had done so much for the country.”

“The bucket and removal of his prosthetics added to the drama and, ultimately, she ruled largely in his favour,” said Bjorkman.

Hero complex

She described hero worship in SA as a dangerous mindset contributing to societal breakdown.

“When you’re in the presence of a hero, you feel compelled to protect them. That’s the danger – our society is breaking down because of this hero complex.

Here’s a tightened and polished version of that sentence:

“As long as you’re great, famous and important, people make excuses for you because they look up to you and think, ‘Maybe one day it could be me or my child‘. But that’s wrong,” she said.

Also Read: Body language expert to share insights into Oscar Pistorius trial at U3A meeting

Also Read: U3A to elect new committee