Nelson Mandela, famous
for many things but mainly for the tremendous amount of good he has done for
the world. He made several contributions
to the world and was South Africa’s very first black president. Mandela died December 5th, 2013 of
a lung disease at the age of 95. Many would think that because he was one of the most influential and helpful people in all of Africa, as well as around the world, that there should be a proper ceremony of his death. The remembrance was several hours long and
was televised all over the world. Many people were in attendance, including Barack
Obama, but they were lacking one major thing: a legitimate sign language interpreter.
The man who was hired
to be an interpreter for sign language for the televised remembrance or Mandela seemed to
be making up several gestures and it raised a lot of commotion on the news. as well as online. Many people became angry that the man did not even
know sign language and that he was standing up looking like a fool, making
the ceremony look unprofessional. The
South African government admitted that the man lacked the qualifications it
took and that he should not have been on the stage at all.
Not only did he make himself and the ceremony look foolish, he made it
unfair for all of the disabled people who wanted to watch the ceremony,, but could not.
Now, several days after
the ceremony, and many people have settled down about the ordeal, several people are starting to
joke about the man. There has been a skit
of Saturday night live imitating the man.
The skit is hilarious, showing a man in the back as President Obama is speaking. The interpreter is making the incident seem a lot worse than it actually was, which made it funny for the viewers. Several other people have posted videos of
the man on YouTube from the ceremony, along with several other YouTube videos
making fun of the man. The video of him
even made it to the popular and most view page on YouTube at one point.
All jokes aside, Nelson
Mandela was a great man that made several great contributions to the world
throughout his life. Next time there is
going to be a ceremony to remember a significant person they need to make sure
that people are actually legit and know how to do the job they are being paid
to do.
Smith, David.
"We Made Error over Nelson Mandela Sign Language Interpreter –
Government." Theguardian.com.
Guardian News and Media, 12 Dec. 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
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