Patterico's Pontifications

9/17/2017

The Plea Of One Great Dad On Behalf Of His Beautiful Son

Filed under: General — Dana @ 8:11 pm



[guest post by Dana]

In the midst of a lot of stupid stuff in the news and Trump behaving like Trump, I wanted to close the weekend with a post that isn’t about the chaos of politics, the disgusting political kabuki that happens day in and day out, and the rank hypocrisy we see on both sides of the aisle. Instead, I wanted to put up a post that reminds us about the quality of life. Real life. Because real life is happening here on the ground, and for some, the schemes and dreams of politicians don’t garner much more than an exasperated sigh. And sometimes you have to let go of the big world – big picture stuff, and circle back home to your small corner of the world where your presence makes an enormous difference in the lives of those you love. That one place where you can affect monumental change right when it’s needed the most.

Consider Dan Bezzant, whose nearly-8 year old son, Jackson, is afflicted with Treacher Collins Syndrome. Because of how the condition affects the development of bones and facial tissues, and in Jackson’s case, leads to deafness, Jackson regularly faces vicious teasing from classmates. And from adults. According to Dan Bezzant, adults behave worse than the children. Already having had had one major surgery to rebuild one of his eye sockets, he will face other surgeries as time goes on.

Last week, having received a report from his wife that students made fun of Jackson, telling him he looked like a “monster,” Bezzant poured out his anguish in a Facebook post:

My heart is in pieces right now…my soul feels like it’s ripping from my chest…this beautiful young man my son Jackson has to endure a constant barrage of derogatory comments and ignorance like I’ve never witnessed. He is called ugly and freak and monster on a daily basis by his peers at school. He talks about suicide … he’s not quite 8! He says he has no friends and everyone hates him. Kids throw rocks at him and push him shouting these horrific words … please please take a minute and imagine if this were your child. Take a minute to educate your children about special needs. Talk to them about compassion and love for our fellow man. His condition is called Treacher Collins. Maybe even look it up. He’s endured horrific surgery and has several more in the coming years. Anyway … I could go on .. .but please educate your children. Please … share this. This shouldn’t be happening … to anyone.

Dan Bezzant reminds us of what really matters:

Jackson may not look like your ‘normal’ kid, but he is such a good boy and he’s got a huge heart. That’s what matters.

Jackson Bezzant needs some encouragement. If you would like to send him a card, you can do so here: P.O. Box 1563 Idaho Falls, ID 83403. Better yet, send him a birthday card. His birthday is Sept. 28. He will turn 8 years old. Help make it a happy day for a sweet kid.

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

–Dana

Emmys Open Thread

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:19 pm



Comment about how you, like me, are not watching.

Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.

Six-Part Series on Sergei Magnitsky and Natalia Veselnitskaya Begins Tomorrow

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 5:57 pm



Tomorrow I begin a six-part series on Sergei Magnitsky and Natalia Veselnitskaya. It’s better than reading a 4300-word blog post in one sitting.

The series will run at 9 a.m. Pacific each day, from tomorrow until next Saturday. The impetus for the posts is this amazing piece by Michael Weiss. Go ahead and read that for some background and to whet your appetite.

I decided it’s about time I did a full review of Bill Browder’s book Red Notice, and told the full story of Sergei Magnitsky — and explained what it has to do with that meeting that Veselnitskaya had with Trump Jr., Manafort, and Kushner.

The point of the series of posts is not to establish that Trump colluded with the Russians. It doesn’t really deal at all with what happened from the U.S. side. It is, rather, to shed light on what happened from the Russian side — by giving you, the reader, the full context of what it means to discuss Russian adoption with American officials. The background involves Russian kleptocrats, a $230 million tax refund fraud scheme, and the arrest, torture, and murder of a bookish stubborn, patriotic tax lawyer named Sergei Magnitsky.

I doubt most people here know the full story about Sergei Magnitsky. Since I have said that this is not about allegations of collusion between Trump and the Russians, it should be of interest even if you think there is absolutely nothing to that story from the U.S. end. The story sheds some light on the nature of the Russian government and its priorities.

It’s an interesting and tragic story. I hope it will interest you.


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