Sunday, January 24, 2010

Friends,

please watch this video.





Now - as you can imagine - those who know me - this has got me quite worked up. How is that person even a principal if they are getting so carried away as to call the police. Also, if the principal in this situation has lost all sense of proportion why are not the police taking a stand and refusing to pursue this case - they must get thousands of complaints every day that are non-starters and they simply refuse to pursue them. They are a waste of valuable police time that could be better employed pursuing real menaces to society. Also - they are supposed to prevent child abuse - not perpetrate it.

I really implore all readers of my blog - please stand up and make a noise on behalf of Zakh Price.

The man in this video has been diagnosed with Asperger's and yet he is a psychologist.

People with Asperger's Syndrome are not or need not be intellectually disabled. With the right support, like Dr. Dubin, they can be valuable members of our society contributing to the economy and making a valuable input in the areas of their speciality.

One feature of Asperger's Syndrome or Asperger Syndrome (AS) is the tendency to obsess or get intensely interested in one thing - at the total disregard of everything else. This can lead to misunderstanding amongst other people in society and the tendency to brand AS people as excentric, wierd, mad, etc. However, the ability to specialise should be seen as a strength as well.

As a Christian man, I would like to assure Zakh and Carole his grandmother, of my prayers. I pray that this fiasco is resolved quickly and that all the money that will be raised for legal expenses won't be needed but can instead be put towards Zakh's educational needs.

There is a facebook campaign that has been started for Zakh's situation.

Please read and respond.

The only thing that I disagree with the video I posted above is that I don't think Zakh's IQ should have been made public - it is not, in my opinion, a factor in the reaction that lead to these charges and that even if Zakh's IQ were were in the normal to high range his reaction would still be justified.

Please comment on this and Please circulate this to as many people as you possibly can.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

It's been a long time since I last posted anything to my blog and since we are in a new year – I felt that it is as good an excuse as any to post another and make it a bit more current.

Firstly, to all my readers, Happy New Year! I hope you and yours will have a good one. I came home for Christmas – that is, I visited my family in Africa, and when I said say family, I mean ALL of them, and that is a lot. My neice got married and family and friends flocked from near and far to celebrate the marriage. The venue was simply awesome. I was able to join the festivities because my brother and his wife very kindly bought my air-tickets.

After the wedding we went back to my parents home and celebrated Christmas. Having been away from family for as long as I have, it is such a good feeling to be amongst them again. As I write, I sit on the deck of a beautiful beach home on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal. Yesterday we went to see a sight that I had not expected – a place called Oribi Gorge (which is near Port Shepstone). It is a most beautiful place. It is hard to capture in words the breathtaking views that we saw. However, as beautiful as it is, it is also incredibly nerve-wrecking. I am not sure of the depth of the gorge, but it is easily in excess of 100 m. I have been told that it is in fact nearer 300 m. and there is a sheer drop to the bottom. Introduce three little children who have a tendency to wander away from their parents and others who tempt fate by walking right up to the edge and you can get the picture. I am not that courageous – a 'cautious George' – only approached the edge on all fours and I lay flat on my stomach to peer over the edge. I never knew this place existed until yesterday.

Spending time at the coast we have of course been down to the beach. A couple of days before I got to the beach, my brother and his family went down. They were on the beach and were exploring in rock-pools – all of a sudden my brother heard a scream from his youngest (2 ½ years) and the rock-pool in which he was paddling had turned blood red. He had cut is foot on a piece of broken glass in the rock-pool. There was a very long laceration extending from just below his little toe and it required 13 stitches. How sad that someone else's thoughtlessness had to spoil my nephew's and his family's holiday.

Not to finish off on a sour note – my holday draws to a close and I gear up to go home, I will be sad to say goodbye, but I am comforted by the thought that back in England, I have friends who are looking forward to seeing me again.and I know that we will be doing many fun things together.