Around The World in 60 Minutes
20/10/09 16:56 Filed in: U.K. | Coded Speech
Nothing like catching a good, fleeting, cross-cultural moment on one of the programs we've recorded on the DVR. And the more subtle the moment, the better. Leslie Stahl's interview with Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia on 60 Minutes a year ago did not disappoint.
At one point during the story, the camera cuts to Justice Scalia fielding questions from a student at Oxford University in the U.K. The student asks the Justice, "Supposing yourself as a supreme court justice were granted the power to appoint the next president of the United States. Who would you pick and why, and would he or she be better than your last choice?"
As is often the case with culturally-infused communications, there's a lot more to this question than one might initially realize.
For example, you might think that the word "your" in "...your last choice" is a jab at Americans who previously voted for George Bush. You also may think that considering the circumstances that the student's behavior was passive aggressive, if not outright inappropriate. This was after all a supreme court justice he was talking to, for God's sake!
In fact, the student had no incendiary intentions at all. He wasn't being passive aggressive. He was simply using a typical British communication pattern for broaching sensitive or controversial subjects. You see, although Americans like to get right to the point and put their cards on the table so to speak, this is not the preferred approach in many other cultures. You see,the British are more apt to take a "don't rock the boat" approach; They use a kind of coded speech when talking about sensitive issues. Such was the case with the "...your last choice" comment.
Let me explain.You may recall that in the final days of the presidential election in 2000, Justice Scalia played a big part. His decision to end Florida's recount of votes practically handed the presidency to George Bush. This is precisely what the student really was asking about–not whether Scalia preferred Obama or McCain!
You have to hand it to Scalia. He saw right through this British code and read the situation better than most self-professed veterans of international business. His reply to the student:
"You want to talk about Bush versus Gore, right? "I perceived that!"
At which point the students all began to chuckle, almost as if to say Scalia was spot-on.
There was a good chuckle for me in all this as well. No sooner did Scalia let the students know he got the point of the question, he continued to answer the student with a typical American reply, "I and my court owe no apology whatever for Bush versus Gore. We did the right thing. So there."
At one point during the story, the camera cuts to Justice Scalia fielding questions from a student at Oxford University in the U.K. The student asks the Justice, "Supposing yourself as a supreme court justice were granted the power to appoint the next president of the United States. Who would you pick and why, and would he or she be better than your last choice?"
As is often the case with culturally-infused communications, there's a lot more to this question than one might initially realize.
For example, you might think that the word "your" in "...your last choice" is a jab at Americans who previously voted for George Bush. You also may think that considering the circumstances that the student's behavior was passive aggressive, if not outright inappropriate. This was after all a supreme court justice he was talking to, for God's sake!
In fact, the student had no incendiary intentions at all. He wasn't being passive aggressive. He was simply using a typical British communication pattern for broaching sensitive or controversial subjects. You see, although Americans like to get right to the point and put their cards on the table so to speak, this is not the preferred approach in many other cultures. You see,the British are more apt to take a "don't rock the boat" approach; They use a kind of coded speech when talking about sensitive issues. Such was the case with the "...your last choice" comment.
Let me explain.You may recall that in the final days of the presidential election in 2000, Justice Scalia played a big part. His decision to end Florida's recount of votes practically handed the presidency to George Bush. This is precisely what the student really was asking about–not whether Scalia preferred Obama or McCain!
You have to hand it to Scalia. He saw right through this British code and read the situation better than most self-professed veterans of international business. His reply to the student:
"You want to talk about Bush versus Gore, right? "I perceived that!"
At which point the students all began to chuckle, almost as if to say Scalia was spot-on.
There was a good chuckle for me in all this as well. No sooner did Scalia let the students know he got the point of the question, he continued to answer the student with a typical American reply, "I and my court owe no apology whatever for Bush versus Gore. We did the right thing. So there."
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