U.S. Marshal Service: Poor Verbal Skills and Deceptive?

On Friday January 15, 2010, two Deputy U.S. Marshals interviewed me at my home about a law enforcement matter.  The interview was taped.

At one point in the interview I used the word "tawdry."  The word means tastelessly showy.  I would venture to say that the word is in the vocabulary of most high school seniors.

It was clear the Deputy Marshal did not know what the word meant.  He looked at me quizzically.  I substituted the word "inappropriate."  Check the audio tape.  You will hear me say "tawdry," then there is a pause, then I say "inappropriate."

The Deputy Marshal revealed two things about himself.  First, his verbal skills were obviously not that good.  That troubled me.  Here was a man who told me he had been reading my blog since the previous November (2009).  Did he even understand what he was reading?

Second, the Deputy Marshal's behavior was deceptive.  He could have said, "tawdry -- what does that mean?"  But he didn't say that.  I suspect he didn't say that because he knew he was being recorded.  He didn't want others -- in the Marshal Service, in the Justice Department -- to know about his limited verbal skills.  So he said nothing in the hopes I would clarify my statement.  That behavior constitutes "deceptive behavior."  If this Marshal read something in my blog that he didn't understand, would he go to a colleague or superior and say, "Could you read this and tell me what this blogger means?"  No.  The Marshal's behavior with me suggests he would not want to disclose to anyone that he didn't understand something.  His behavior with me suggests that he is an individual who creates false impressions about himself.

John Hinckley was found to be deceptive by his evaluating psychiatrist.  The psychiatrist testified in court that John Hinckley's deceptive behavior was a symptom of a narcissistic personality disorder.