It is important to be kind and generous. It is the only way to feel the true evil that the world has

[georgegrasser]

It is important to be kind and generous. It is the only way to feel the true evil that the world has to offer you.

[cornerstone]

Commiserations on your woes George.

(Is it a wise move to have all that stuff on YouTube in the circumstances? )

[georgegrasser]

Commiserations on your woes George.

(Is it a wise move to have all that stuff on YouTube in the circumstances? )

What videos should I be concerned with? My videos show both my natural and staged interaction with the children.

I personally am not fearful of court. Alas my body does not want to cooperate. Interstitial Cystitis is a horrible disease and I have had to go once evey 3 to 5 minutes. A real workout, especially with the pain.

They are prosecuting a sick disabled man for wanting to share his knowledge with people young enough to take that information to the master level. Age is very important in learning chess. I had expected the call to be from

CNN Heroes about my nomination. Teaching children for free is very noble. Instead it was the Police wanting to put me in jail.

Very shameful.

[cornerstone]

What videos should I be concerned with? My videos show both my natural and staged interaction with the children.

I personally am not fearful of court. Alas my body does not want to cooperate. Interstitial Cystitis is a horrible disease and I have had to go once evey 3 to 5 minutes. A real workout, especially with the pain.

They are prosecuting a sick disabled man for wanting to share his knowledge with people young enough to take that information to the master level. Age is very important in learning chess. I had expected the call to be from

CNN Heroes about my nomination. Teaching children for free is very noble. Instead it was the Police wanting to put me in jail.

Very shameful.

George, respectfully (and I hope helpfully), it's not going to be about who is right or who is wrong, it's going to be about one tiny little factual detail and right now all the information they have is coming from your own lips. It's common sense not to have any public videos of you in or near a library or talking about libraries for a few days.

Like any game there are rules, and they're the only ones that matter when it comes to winning. In chess there are no prizes for making machine guns noises when you move the pieces, say, or trying to throw or slam dunk the pieces through a hoop. And court cases have rules too. Their job is not to assess fairness, nor sickness, nor nobleness. It's as irrelevant to the outcome as making noises in a chess game.

Can they establish if you've done anything against their local ordinances? Let them do the hard work. Don't make it easy for them. Play smarter is my respectful suggestion.

[georgegrasser]

Cornerstone: Of course I appreciate your input. As I am disabled and in chronic pain, I do not think and behave as an abled bodied person. I have to do things much faster and oftentimes by myself.

I wanted them to have any and all information on me. My point is even if I did break an ordinance, once they found out I was a kind teacher, and one that taught in a state of pain, and they still wanted me prosecuted, then I would know that they are evil.

This is the second time I have been harassed for teaching chess. It was time to put all the cards on the table and make a stand. This is America after all, and all I did was talk. If I plead guilty to talking on a public street, I might as well never speak again.

Edited August 2, 2010 by georgegrasser

[cornerstone]

Cornerstone: Of course I appreciate your input. As I am disabled and in chronic pain, I do not think and behave as an abled bodied person. I have to do things much faster and oftentimes by myself.

I wanted them to have any and all information on me. My point is even if I did break an ordinance, once they found out I was a kind teacher, and one that taught in a state of pain, and they still wanted me prosecuted, then I would know that they are evil.

This is the second time I have been harassed for teaching chess. It was time to put all the cards on the table and make a stand. This is America after all, and all I did was talk. If I plead guilty to talking on a public street, I might as well never speak again.

George: they're unquestionably and undoubtedly petty. What a waste of money, time and resources to spend it on chasing up a guy offering free chess lessons. It's pathetic.

But, that applies whether you win or lose. So you might as well win the battle and live to fight another day than go down in flames trying to win the war.

Better to win or minimize any fine and show them up for wasting local resources. Or even better, once it's over, shrug it off and get back to your passion. You've got plenty on your plate as it is. Screw them, life it too short to waste it on worrying about people like that, they'll reap what they sow all on their own.

All the best with it, and with your health recovery.

[georgegrasser]

Why do I post my trobles on RWG? Am I in search of fame and fortune? Yes, of course just like any one else.

Do I contribute on RWG? Not much. But that is only because when I look at my $108 Explorer or WackoBirdkeepers Seamaster or Josh's IWC 3717 I don't see the need for modifications like you guys do. I feel like a beginner lost in a sea of masters that know exactly what they are doing.

I was convicted today and fined $500. I have 20 days to file an appeal. All I did was tell a kid that I taught Chess and where the Chess Club was located and for him to have his parents call me. If our Government is OK with having a disabled man defend himself without the aid of an Attorney or Disabled Advocate and feel the need to tell me that it does not matter if I am a kind man or not and it only matters if I violated the letter of the law or not.

That is not the America I learned about in school. I posted it only to raise awareness and maybe get some assistance.

In my mind I felt it important to RWG. What happens the day when Rolex et.al says enough! What do we do when our reps are illegal to wear in public? As of today I am fearful to speak to anyone. Tomorrow will I be fearful to tell the time?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-avs_HFSLiE

Grasser is wearing a Tourneau Safari Chronograph.

[TeeJay]

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles and the outcome, but surely you understand the need for people who work with children in any capacity to be vetted and registered? Please do not take that as any kind of insult or slur, as I know your intentions are nothing but honorable, but the fact remains that there are predators in the world, and children must be protected from them as much as possible. Best of luck with any appeal you may decide to launch, and of course, best of luck with your condition. Just remember that they are not having a go at you on a personal level, but a bureacratic one, which, as petty as it may seem at times, exists to protect children.

[cornerstone]

It was nothing to do with children TeeJay, nothing whatsoever. It could have been a crowd of bodybuilders, it wasn't the issue they had.

Good news that it was just a fine. George is too pretty for prison

[TeeJay]

It was nothing to do with children TeeJay, nothing whatsoever. It could have been a crowd of bodybuilders, it wasn't the issue they had.

Good news that it was just a fine. George is too pretty for prison

I thought that the issue was something to do with not being registered in some way, if I'm mistaken, then my sincere apologies. In the UK, people working in schools must be police checked, and I believe that legislation also extends to those such as scout leaders, taxi/bus drivers who operate school runs etc, so I thought that there might be similar legislation in the US which might have been the issue: Not a matter of impropriety or any inappropriate behavior on George's part, but simply a bureaucratic matter of him having not gone through the proper channels with regards registering himself as a tutor. Apologies again for any misunderstanding on my part.

[lanikai]

Life ... Being what it is is never fair nor Just.. Apperances can be misconstrued and the most honourable of intntentions often mistaken for the worst possible scenario..

We can never be too cautious with our children.. If I were a parent and saw the vid. I would be very sceptical and err on the side if caution ..

Understand what is happening on the world net with children these days.. It is far removed from our parents days.. Children are targets for the predators of the world.

Put yourself in the parents "shoes" .. If you have ever lost a child (for whatever reason or circumstance, you would have a little more empathy towards the feelings of being over protective)

the issues are NOT about you as a person nor your rights George.. Wrong place wrong time my freind..

I have never viewed "my space" for the simple reason that a middle aged man has no reason to be on a space where it is predominately filled with adolecences and kids.. For what reason would a single adult male be doing there .. And if I were there I should not be offended if I were asked why I was posting ..

I just joined face book only so I could locate some buddies that I trained with for years and since the old gym closed .. I have not seen in a few years .. Yup they are all on facebook.. And I found a freind .. Actually I was in charge of a rich kid's safety some years ago yhe he is living in Japan now with his family whom I was very close too..his Mom and sister .. I wa with them more than their father and mentored them .. So for those reasons I joined facebook.

My point is I would not post anything advertising anything to so with kids on a world wide web site ..

You should not be offended.. If you really love kids .. Then you should feel content that they're safety is being looked at..

Your intentions may be honourable but there needs to be strict parameters when it comes to the welfare of children

move on away from advertising anything asking for children's participation

just my opinion

R

[deniz21]

facebook ?? add me bro

ups, sorry for the off topic

[nyquiz]

I think the main reason for this lawsuit was probably due to the fact that you were holding these lessons in a public library. If, as you said, the library was less than happy to have you there teaching lessons then this was probably the retaliation, or message that they wanted to send. I think that offering up your time is a fantastic idea, especially since I am a chess fan myself. I wouldn't take this too personally and if you still love to teach then talk to people at a local boys and girls club or some other organization where you could have the space you need and not fear for prosecution.