Senate Democrats Call On GOP To Support Health Care...

Aug 5 2009
WASHINGTON - AUGUST 05: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) (L) speaks as Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV) (R) looks on during a news conference August 5, 2009 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Senate Democrats called on the Republicans to support their plan on the health insurance reform. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Here we see Senator Brown creating a defensive barrier with his hands by placing them in front of himself. With his palms facing downward he is attempting to symbolically hold some idea in place. If he held his palms straight up and down- like someone who was being robbed in a stick up- it would show an unwillingness to get involved; so the more someone positions their hands from horizontal to vertical we can gauge a willingness to participate. This gesture is also closely associate with "stop" or at least slow down... It would be important to judge meaning of this gesture in the context of what is being said at that moment, and the tone of the conversation.◦

Senate Democrats Call On GOP To Support Health Care...