Reading through my Twitter feed this week I was dumbfounded to come across a story recounting how murder accused Oscar Pistorius was out on the town with “tow truck baron” Craig Lipschitz, a controversial figure linked to and charged with violent crimes in the past.
During the evening Pistorius became involved in an altercation in a Sandton nightclub, the VIP Room, last Saturday night. Unnamed witnesses to the nightclub fracas recounted how, Oscar Pistorius was as drunk as a skunk and that he became highly aggressive during an argument with Jared Mortimer a Sandton businessman. Pistorius claims that Mortimer “aggressively engaged” him about his Reeva Steenkamp murder trial.
I have tried to remain objective in my commentary on this trial, but really, today I found myself contemplating the question, “Is Oscar Pistorius pathologically stupid or could there be some other excuse for his behaviour?” Can we simply put this behaviour down to poor judgement or is this incident just another example of the aggressive behaviour and poor impulse control that I have come to expect from Oscar Pistorius. Aggressive behaviour condoned and excused by his family who continue to justify and deny his irresponsible and at times bizarre conduct.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE VIP ROOM?
Reports are that murder accused, paralympian Oscar Pistorius, who killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, was downing tequila shots, and socialising with known violent offenders. It is alleged that he had scantily-clad women sitting on his lap prior to the fight that led to him being asked to leave the VIP Room nightclub on Saturday night.
On Twitter, @aleshavr tweeted “@OscarPistorius how abt a pic of those underdressed… i mean underprivilaged women u had on ur lap at VIPRoom on Sun morn jst b4 u tweeted”
Oscar Pistorius has confirmed that he was at the VIP Room in the exclusive Johannesburg suburb of Sandton on Saturday night. However he has denied being the cause of an argument with racing driver and clothes store owner, Jared Mortimer, saying Mortimer had “aggressively engaged” him about his trial.
Jared Mortimer claimed the athlete was introduced to him by a mutual friend named Guil Yahav, a former bouncer, who in 2002 admitted slashing another bouncer across the face with a knife shortly before he was murdered by other people. Mortimer said that Pistorius poked him aggressively in his chest during their altercation and then become aggressive with another clubber, prompting bouncers to ask his group to leave the club.
The Johannesburg Star newspaper said another partygoer stated that he had witnessed the scuffle between Mr. Mortimer and another “flat-out drunk” man he later identified as Pistorius as he passed him with a group of friends and allegedly flashed his middle finger at him.
The VIP Room is known for its A-list clientele. Mortimer related that in an attempt to shield Mr. Pistorius from the prying eyes of the public the curtains in the VIP section were drawn so that nobody could see Pistorius was present. He stated that the two of them were chatting about shared acquaintances -including Mark Batchelor, a former footballer who attended court regularly. It has been alleged that Pistorius threatened to break Batchelor’s legs over an argument involving his former girlfriend Samantha Taylor.
Mr. Mortimer also stated, “He started talking about some of my friends and he said he had statements and evidence that would get my friends into trouble. But he wouldn’t use it because he wasn’t that kind of person”.
Mortimer further alleged, “He was drunk, but not bad. We were drinking tequila and I still remember putting down my drink and thinking I couldn’t drink it while my friends were being spoken of like that.” Mortimer claims that he pushed Pistorius into a chair after the athlete insulted one of his friends.
“A little bit later Oscar had a confrontation with another man and the bouncers were asked to please remove him because he was causing trouble,” Mortimer added.
The Johannesburg Star newspaper said it had spoken to three other people who corroborated Mortimer’s allegations but who had asked to remain anonymous.
Jared Mortimer claims Pistorius tried to call him on Sunday morning but he ignored his calls. The athlete then tweeted a series of biblical quotations and pictures of himself with disabled children, referred to in the tweet above.
OSCAR’S BIZARRE TWEETS
On Sunday morning Oscar Pistorius returned to Twitter with some rather bizarre tweets for us. It has been confirmed that his Twitter account has not been hacked and that he did indeed post these messages.
In total, he shared three tweets with his over 300,000 followers on Sunday the 13th July
The first read, – “The Lord is close to the broken hearted,”
This was followed by “You have the ability to make a difference in someone’s life, Sometimes it is the simple things that you say or do that make someone feel better or inspire them” .
Finally he quotes a passage from holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning as seen below.
.
He concludes his Tweets on Monday the 14th of July with –
“Lord today I ask that you bathe those who live in pain in the river of your healing. Amen”
THE PISTORIUS FAMILY RESPONSE
The Pistorius family responded to the events of the weekend by putting out a media statement in which they defend his behaviour once again..
The statement by Leo Pistorius on behalf of the family reads:
“We have taken note of the media coverage of the so-called ‘nightclub incident’ over the past 24 hours and feel compelled to issue this statement as some of the outrageous claims simply cannot stand uncorrected. “Whilst Oscar venturing out into a public space with his cousin, in the current climate and whilst his court case is still under way was unwise, those of us closest to him have been witness to his escalating sense of loneliness and alienation. This, we believe, is underlying some of his self-harming behaviour. “As a family we are counselling Oscar to find ways of dealing with his feelings of isolation.
“At the same time however, we cannot allow one man’s untrue version of what happened to stand unchallenged.”
“Mr Mortimer, who has been unknown to Oscar and our family until he approached the press with his story of the so-called ‘altercation’ in which he has cast himself as the victim, is a man peddling untruths designed for maximum attention and maximum damage.”
“We wish to categorically state that there is absolutely no truth to this man’s assertions that Oscar, for instance, insulted the President of South Africa or boasted about our family’s so-called influence. Nor is the bizarre statement that our family “owns the SANDF”.
“Oscar was at school with one of President Zuma’s sons and liked him a lot. Oscar also has great appreciation of President’s Zuma’s extraordinary support of the paralympians.”
“Both Oscar and his cousin were equally taken aback by Mr. Mortimer’s accusations relating to the trial.
“My investigations indicate that Mortimer was the aggressor and eyewitnesses confirm this.”
“Being in a public space such as this, and thereby putting himself in a place where this kind of confrontation could take place, was ill considered.”
“We do however believe that Oscar is grappling with an extreme level of emotional pain that is manifesting itself in some of his recent unwise actions and choices.”
THE MEDIA WAR
In response to the Pistorius family response above Jared Mortimer has offered to take a polygraph in support of his claims against the paralympian star. On Wednesday 16th August he challenged Pistorius to do the same! As yet there has been no response. I for one await Pistorius’ reply with baited breath.
OSCAR HAS LOST HIS SHINE
I am absolutely incredulous at the recent behaviour of Oscar Pistorius. Although it certainly supports my assessment of his personality and character, one would expect him to exercise some restraint and discretion given his current circumstances. I cannot understand why his family would allow him to frequent an establishment of this nature until his trial is concluded. To provide the prosecution team with this type of ammunition at this late stage of the trial is in my opinion “pathologically stupid”.
I would like to point out to this “wayward child” that when you are on trial for murder it isn’t wise to frequent nightclubs and get drunk in public. Considering the fact, that you are accused of the murder of your “girlfriend” and you are trying to convince the world of your “remorse”, allowing half naked women to sit on your knee is probably in bad taste and really not the brightest strategy.
Another thought to ponder is that while facing murder charges it is probably in your best interests not to associate with violent offenders who have very chequered pasts. On the flipside, it really is a good idea to keep your head down and your nose clean.
Another stellar policy would be not to engage in aggressive behaviour and brawls in nightclubs, no matter how provoked you feel. In fact it may have been ill considered to frequent a nightclub at all.
I can’t say that I am surprised by the nature of the of Pistorius tweets, which are aimed at an attempt to paint him as a really kind-hearted and religious soul and are, in my opinion, very self serving. They highlight the fact that he sees himself as the victim. They also emphasize the fact that he is in pain and that he is suffering, putting the focus very squarely on Oscar Pistorius, where history has proved he prefers it to be. This is typical of Pistorius narcissistic behaviour throughout the trial. Posting material of this nature was in my opinion not a very intelligent move. I came across a tweet yesterday which perhaps might aid Mr. Pistorius should he feel the need further Tweet, “Some free PR advice: again when in doubt (or on trial for murder) whatever you do,
DON’T tweet! You’re welcome!”
While I am on a role, let me deal with the oh so predictable response from the Pistorius family. Of course Oscar Pistorius is not to blame for his poorly considered decision to go out clubbing, or for the scuffle, or for anything else he did that night. As usual, Pistorius did nothing wrong, he said nothing wrong. Trouble just magically found him, again! He did not insult Jacob Zuma or his family members. Although, if he had would this be so terrible. I can’t think of a single person on the planet more deserving of insult. He did not say his family was powerful and owned the South African National Defense Force. A comment typical of a person with a narcissistic personality who believes he is omniscient. What better way to feed delusions of power than for your family to own the Defense
Force, with all their guns!
He was once again the victim of everyone else’s aggressive behaviour, poor judgment and lack of restraint. Typically the fact that he did not simply walk away from the altercation is everyone else’s fault as well. Poor Oscar!
Oscar Pistorius is, according to his family, struggling with feelings of isolation and alienation. Is this really surprising? Newsflash – killing a defenseless woman doesn’t usually make you popular or inspire others to get to close to you. Anyone getting to close to this killer should in my opinion fear catching a stray bullet, as guns magically seem to “just go off”, when Pistorius is in the vicinity.
Another problem for those associating with Pistorius, is his remarkable ability to shift blame. Avoiding him is probably in his friends best interests, should they want to remain unscarred. We have all witnessed how the idea of taking any responsibility for his actions seems to be a foreign concept to Pistorius and his family. Even his defense team has been on the receiving end of this trait.
Another thing that troubles me is how Oscar Pistorius, being so anxious, managed to go out, to a nightclub in Sandton, mix with dangerous people and get involved in a fight without his gun. Is his GAD cured or did he forget he had GAD that evening, the power of tequila!
In any event the latest chapter of the Pistorius saga has provided some amusement and lots of debate. Fortunately for him, with the trial almost concluded his conduct will have no effect on the determination of his guilt or innocence, however in the court of public opinion he has taken another serious knock. His actions may very well come back to haunt him should he be convicted, as behaviour will be relevant in the determination of his sentence. This is not the behaviour of a remorseful person but of one who remains irresponsible and aggressive. Where will he go from here?
Expert Profiling is contactable on Tel: 390 9957 email – [email protected] or [email protected] or on Twitter @LauriePieters.
