Person of the Year?
Congratulations to Taylor Swift and her teeming multitudes of “Swifty” fans for her being named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. But, with all due respect, she would not have been my first choice.
For my money, this was the year of George Santos.
I come not to throw shade at Ms. Swift, but to call attention to the magazine’s criteria.
Since 1927, the magazine has featured a person, a group, idea or object that “for better or for worse ... has done the most to influence the events of the year.”
In a year that included her “Eras Tour,” which grossed about $2.2 billion in North America alone, it’s easy to justify the choice of Swift over such other finalists as Barbie, King Charles III and Vladimir Putin, who probably can’t carry a tune.
But, in the “...or worse” category, another name came quickly to my mind and I have not shaken it loose: George Santos.
Yes, I’m talking about the fabulous fabulist, also known in Brazilian beauty pageant circles as drag performer “Kitara Ravache,” whose alternative narrative began to unravel after The New York Times exposed a track record of untruths in his public statements only a month after his election.
The Department of Justice has charged the 35-year-old with a variety of offenses, including wire fraud, credit card fraud, device fraud, plus “conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States.”
Earlier this month, the House Ethics Committee issued a report that determined Santos had, among other things, spent campaign money on Hermès products, Botox and OnlyFans, a subscription site for adult content.
He also faces accusations that he lied about the college he attended and about working for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs; falsely said his grandparents had survived the Holocaust and that 9/11 “claimed his mother’s life;” fabricated an animal charity dedicated to a military veteran’s dying dog; and lied about losing four employees in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, in 2016.
He has pleaded not guilty, and the case is set to go to trial next September. But his GOP colleagues, setting aside their fears of losing his vote in their thin majority, finally had heard enough. Kitara Rivache had to go.
Unfortunately, that’s not the last we’ve heard of him. Our Person of the Year is a tireless attention junkie. Appropriately for our narcissistic age of do-it-yourself internet “influencers,” he immediately turned to Cameo, a Chicago-based video-sharing website where users can build their own fan base online.
Just as Donald Trump used Twitter, now X, as a powerful path to the presidency, Kitara Rivache lives on in cyberspace, offering his sage advice to the lovelorn and others. Fellow users of Cameo seeking to monetize their fame — or infamy — include Sarah Palin, O.J. Simpson and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, now under indictment for allegedly trying to help overturn the 2020 election.
“You stand your ground, sir,” Santos advised one recent viewer. “And don’t get bogged down by all the haters out there.”
In this bizarre twist to Andy Warhol’s legendary prophecy that everyone in the future will have their 15 minutes of fame, we see another unexpected consequence of media married uneasily to politics.
Santos’ saga reminds me of another freakish turn in politics. In 1986, two political unknowns, Mark J. Fairchild and Janice A. Hart, scored upset victories in the Illinois Democratic primary for lieutenant governor and secretary of state before anyone noticed they were fanatical disciples of famous extremist Lyndon LaRouche. That bizarre turn proved disastrous for Democratic candidates.
One can only wonder what form the next generation of con artists will take. No doubt they, too, will bemoan getting “bogged down by all the haters out there” when they’re exposed.
Or maybe the “haters” did Santos a favor. As Taylor might say — or sing — “Shake it off.”
cpage@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @cptime
Clarence Page: ‘Person of the Year’? How about George Santos.
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07.12.2023
Person of the Year?
Congratulations to Taylor Swift and her teeming multitudes of “Swifty” fans for her being named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. But, with all due respect, she would not have been my first choice.
For my money, this was the year of George Santos.
I come not to throw shade at Ms. Swift, but to call attention to the magazine’s criteria.
Since 1927, the magazine has featured a person, a group, idea or object that “for better or for worse ... has done the most to influence the events of the year.”
In a year that included her “Eras Tour,” which grossed about $2.2 billion in North America alone, it’s easy to justify the choice of Swift over such other finalists as Barbie, King Charles III and Vladimir Putin, who probably can’t carry a tune.
But, in the “...or worse” category, another name came quickly to my mind and I have not shaken it loose: George Santos.
Yes, I’m talking about the fabulous fabulist, also known in Brazilian beauty pageant........
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