Black Man, Dead Man

I published this in The Huffington Post following the events in the US last week: (See What Is Feeding Gun Violence, Racism and Anger).

BLACK MAN, DEAD MAN

Last week’s death toll: two black men following what should have been routine police interventions – or even non-interventions – and five white officers gunned down by a sniper in Dallas. Certainly not a typical week but somehow not all that surprising. So why does this stuff keep happening?

I’m sure everyone has a theory. The politically minded will always trumpet a pet cause such as racism or poverty. But true answers are rarely...

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Posted on 15 Jul 2016
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Killing made easy

Hi, I published this article in the Huffington Post this week in the aftermath of the massacre in Orlando. (see: If You Think ‘Guns Don’t Kill People’ You Are Missing The Point)

KILLING MADE EASY

The National Rifle Association in the United States, and other gun owner lobby groups constantly proclaim the “Guns don’t kill. People kill.” True. But people with guns kill much more efficiently. I suppose that nuclear weapons don’t kill either.

I started writing this column many times. After each mass-shooting spree I would try to complete it but was never quite able to do so. I would finally...

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Posted on 17 Jun 2016
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Screwed up parents, screwed up kids

Screwed up parents, screwed up kids!*

(Chers lecteurs Francophones. SVP, voir la note plus bas. Merci)

Screwed up parents almost always produce screwed up kids but screwed up kids don’t always have screwed up parents.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had the ability to ensure our children turned out well-adjusted, functional and happy? I would give anything for that guarantee.

Rats and enriched environments
There were some classic studies that showed a clear pattern: Rats raised in enriched environments appeared to do much better at tests of intellectual functioning than rats raised in regular...

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Posted on 05 May 2016
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On lady ‘staches and why kids can be so cruel

Hi, this was published in my Huffington Post Canada blog on March 3, 2016 (SVP, voir plus bas pour la version Française)

On lady ‘staches and why children can be so cruel

“Miss, how come you have a moustache like a man?”

Did you ever hear a six-year old say something like this to a teacher? Or how about, “Why is your nose so red?” or “You have big ears!” As adults, we can laugh at these little glimpses into the minds of children but what happens when a child is the target of these types of observations?

Children have an interesting way of thinking. They are completely in their own little...

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Posted on 24 Mar 2016
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Eulogy to a janitor

Giuseppe Zacchia
1923-2016

Please honour this remarkable human being by sharing his story to the people that matter in your lives. It was published in the Huffington Post on February 9, 2016, Eulogy to a Janitor.

________________________________________________________________

Chères lecteurs et lectrices Francophone:

Après plusieurs années de déclin physique mon père est décédé le 1 février. J’ai eu la chance de publier un hommage à lui dans le Journal Métro en 2012 et dans ce blogue. Une version un peu plus long a été publié hier dans le Huffington Post. Je ne demande pas de...

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Posted on 10 Feb 2016
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Et comment désirez-vous mourir, Monsieur?

Voici la version Française de mon billet du 24 septembre:

Nous mourrons tous, un jour. Si nous avions notre mot à dire sur la façon dont cela se produira, qu’est-ce que la plupart d’entre nous choisiraient?

Dernièrement, j’ai commencé à poser directement cette question à des clients, des amis et des membres de ma famille; les résultats de ce sondage non scientifique sont très révélateurs. Parmi la cinquantaine de personnes à qui j’ai posé la question, toutes, sauf trois, ont dit : « Dans mon sommeil. » Une a répondu : « D’une crise cardiaque. » Cette réponse quelque peu étonnante...

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Posted on 11 Dec 2015
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I just don’t know how to be happy

I JUST DON’T KNOW HOW TO BE HAPPY
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Why are some people more prone to depression than others? The answer is far from straightforward. Many people are sad because their lives aren’t going well. Failed relationships and employment problems account for many of these. But plenty of individuals are just sad and can’t point to any specific reason. Some will even say, “I just don’t know how to be happy.”

So what is depression? It isn’t like a typical disease that can be measured with a lab test. For this reason I think the best way to see depression...

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Posted on 07 Oct 2015
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How would you like to die, sir?

We are all going to die. If we had a say in how it happened, what would most of us choose?

Recently I began asking clients, friends and family members this straightforward question and the results of this unscientific survey are very telling. Of the fifty or so people I have asked, all but three said, “In my sleep.” One said, “By a heart attack.” While a bit of a surprise, she was doing research in cardiology and explained that such deaths are often very quick. “No time to think about it,” she added. One said, “Doing something I love like scuba diving or skiing.” Another chose skydiving....

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Posted on 24 Sep 2015
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Random thoughts

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I’ve been writing this column for ten years now. I often get random thoughts that turn into columns and stories but many others just sit there as just that – random thoughts. They don’t look like they will ever develop enough to be any more than the runts of my ideas litter. But given that I am too obsessive to give up my babies, however runty they may be, I wanted to still share them. For what it’s worth, here is a random sampling of these random thoughts:

-          Happiness is not about what you have; it’s about the ability to appreciate...

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Posted on 14 Aug 2015
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Smooth rocks and plastic rings

SMOOTH ROCKS AND PLASTIC RINGS
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Why do we always seem to come home from vacation with a pocketful of smooth rocks or seashells we picked up at the beach or cheap plastic rings we bought at an amusement park? I don’t know about you but I have a stack of them.

I was seven years old the first time I went to Italy to visit my grandparents’ farm. It was quite an experience. No running water, no electricity… and no toilet. Yikes! I was invited to use the great outdoors for all my toileting needs. Are you kidding me? There are bugs out there! I...

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Posted on 22 Jul 2015
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