Oscar Buzz

At the end of the London Olympics in August 2012, I wrote this on my blog about South African double-amputee runner Oscar Pistorius, whose "blade runner" artificial legs made him famous: "Special recognition goes to . . . Oscar Pistorius, for his breakthrough for disabled athletes everywhere."  Well, of course, he's been charged with murdering his girlfriend since then, and there's no doubt that he shot her; the question is whether he mistook her for an intruder or knew it was her and so knew what he was doing.

The is becoming the South African equivalent of the O.J. Simpson trial, with the media frenzy and all, though the circumstances are somewhat different.  As far as Simpson goes, I remember that I started out believing his story and I had to be convinced that he was guilty.  This time, though, I have no idea whether Pistorius is telling the truth about what happened. But his unhealthy obsession with firearms - his gun apparently went off accidentally in a Johannesburg restaurant - isn't re-assuring. 

So, no, Oscar Pistorius is hardly a role model for anyone, least of all the disabled.