Capt SpaceBat

Dear Mr Obama,

I am writing in the hope that you will consider recalibrating your government’s stance over the proposed extradition of the UK citizen Gary McKinnon.

You will not doubt be aware that people with Asperger Syndrome are often far more vulnerable than initial appearances would suggest, frequently isolated, often bullied and sadly many experience severe mental health problems if they do not get the right support.  Many consider that his extradition is unnecessary, avoidable and disproportionate as such a process has not taken place in other similar cases.

I too am one of those people.  I have Asperger Syndrome, co-morbid with other mental health issues, and like Mr McKinnon, have a deep fascination and extreme skill with technology.  Were it not for my heightened sense of clinical paranoia, I too would probably have done just what Mr McKinnon did in his search for what he perceived to be the truth.

The fact that a number of the systems that he accessed had default passwords - that is a blank field - shows recklessness on the part of the systems administrators responsible for your national security, all the way up the chain of command.

Without a wholesale overhaul of these systems and censure of those responsible, your government’s actions appear to be persecution of one of the most vulnerable members of our or any society for highlighting the failures of others.

Mr McKinnon is now a scapegoat for pointing out that the Emperor’s new clothes were in fact illusory and so I implore you to reconsider your government’s request for his extradition.

Yours sincerely,

Ian Springham

Apologies to my followers and readers for being out of the loop for so long, but I have been - finally - working on my autobiography.

“Between the Cracks” is a bit of a (so far!) life-long work in progress, having undergone a range of name changes, abortive starts, diversionary tactics and writers’ blocks.

Synopsis: I am an adult survivor of extended childhood abuse.  I only started addressing these issues in 2005, undergoing psychotherapy and taking legal action against the local authority responsible for my childhood “care”.  They settled out of court in 2008.  I have obtained access to most, if not all, of my early life records and am compiling them into a book – along with my thoughts and recollections, art and photographs – to highlight how easy it is to fall “between the cracks” and be failed by the social and other services.

This is in part to encourage the others as well as to help me continue to come to terms with the pervasive after-effects of such neglect, oversight and exploitation.