How I Saw Them

By Susan Constantine-Perfido -

Body language expert Susan Constantine-Perfido analyzes the personalities of three Citrus County commissioners based on her observations at the Jan. 4 county commission discussion on LGBT propaganda displays in the libraries. 

On Holly Davis: She was biased and she'd already made up her mind from the very beginning. She was very controlled, disengaged and not listening. When someone already has made a decision, you see very little movement in their body language. She was very stark, solid and stoic. When people were talking about their stories, you could see in her facial expressions if she agreed with them. Whenever it was an LGBT speaker, you could see her head nod in agreement. When it was someone from the other side, her facial expression and eye movement showed contempt. Her voice was condescending and smug. Her tonality and her demeanor all reeked of smugness.

On Ruthie Schlabach: She's not fit to be in a leadership position. She's more interested in being liked than doing what is right. She has issues with comprehension and assimilating basic information, and she is emotionally driven. She got very exasperated. She was slouching down in her chair, then leaned back and slouched down again. When she says I don't know, she really doesn't know. Literally her own language gave us insight into her inability to be a decision maker.

On Jeff Kinnard: He's the guy that wants to straddle the fence. He's the guy that wants to give a little. He's more concerned about himself and not being considered a "bigot." He was concerned people would look at him as an LGBTQ hater. He's compromised. He has a strong opinion, but he's more concerned about his reputation than making a hard decision. He was appeasing his own sense of guilt. He was one that waffled back and forth and back and forth, thinking "What if I go this way? Then nobody is going to get angry with me."  His shoulders kept coming up and he had collapsing body language, which indicated he is very insecure.