Trigger Warning: Discussion of abuse, murder of autistic people FOR being autistic
It's not safe. That's what we all have to remember.
Our lives really might be on the line. That's what we all have to remember.
It means that "Don't listen to them" isn't really an option. When something comes up that includes more stereotype of who we are, when we are called burdens and tragedies and epidemics again, even when something that a casual observer might think is small, it can't be ignored.
You can tell us not to listen if you want, but this is what response you'll get:
There is a list of corpses. Our corpses, of those of us who were murdered by our caregivers, and it's not even complete. It' a partial list of what got reported, and people keep trying to frame them as mercy killings. That's what telling people our quality of life is reduced by being Autistic does. (well, by having autism in their words, since the people who think this want to believe our autism somehow separate from ourselves, which just isn't so. You want to separate someone from their brain? I've gone through several traits of mine I thought had nothing to do with my being Autistic... let's just say I was wrong and they do.) That's what calling us vaccine injured does. That's what calling us a disaster, a crisis, an epidemic, a tsunami does. In the end, it's what the awareness you are probably proud of does- conventional awareness kills. (Awareness a la Autism Speaks is a good example of this.)
With lives on the line and the legitimate fear that ours could be next, from a caretaker or from a healthcare system that thinks saving us is somehow harmful or from simply being allowed to starve while awaiting services, "don't listen to them" isn't a legitimate option. It's the option of covering our ears and closing our eyes and pretending not to notice as Rome burns down around our ears.
It's not safe. That's what we all have to remember.
Our lives really might be on the line. That's what we all have to remember.
It means that "Don't listen to them" isn't really an option. When something comes up that includes more stereotype of who we are, when we are called burdens and tragedies and epidemics again, even when something that a casual observer might think is small, it can't be ignored.
You can tell us not to listen if you want, but this is what response you'll get:
"When the law is written to make murdering us for being autistic a hate crime, only then will not listening be an option. Until then, every word or turn of phrase designed to poison minds against us must be answered."- Dean McIntoshI don't even trust that, though it is a necessary condition. Discriminating against Autistic people for healthcare is illegal, and it happens. Discriminating against Autistic people in the workforce is illegal, and it happens too. I need it written that murdering us for being Autistic is a hate crime, I need it written that abusing us for being Autistic is a hate crime (if it would be abuse to do it to a non-disabled person for the same offense, it is abuse to do it to an Autistic person as therapy.) And I need it to be prosecuted as a hate crime, every time. All too often, even things that legally are hate crimes aren't handled as such because no one cares about the group it was a hate crime against, and seeing that happen while our murder is legally classified as a hate crime is nowhere near sufficient. Hate crimes against us need to be treated as such, and now many are not even recognized as crimes.
There is a list of corpses. Our corpses, of those of us who were murdered by our caregivers, and it's not even complete. It' a partial list of what got reported, and people keep trying to frame them as mercy killings. That's what telling people our quality of life is reduced by being Autistic does. (well, by having autism in their words, since the people who think this want to believe our autism somehow separate from ourselves, which just isn't so. You want to separate someone from their brain? I've gone through several traits of mine I thought had nothing to do with my being Autistic... let's just say I was wrong and they do.) That's what calling us vaccine injured does. That's what calling us a disaster, a crisis, an epidemic, a tsunami does. In the end, it's what the awareness you are probably proud of does- conventional awareness kills. (Awareness a la Autism Speaks is a good example of this.)
With lives on the line and the legitimate fear that ours could be next, from a caretaker or from a healthcare system that thinks saving us is somehow harmful or from simply being allowed to starve while awaiting services, "don't listen to them" isn't a legitimate option. It's the option of covering our ears and closing our eyes and pretending not to notice as Rome burns down around our ears.
You hit the nail on the head. I became homeless after neglect and abuse as a child from the effects of being on the spectrum yet undiagnosed. I became addicted to I.V. meth use for the twenty years following to compensate for social rejection from society and the inability to hold a job for more than nine months. I became an inmate in prison for five years plus as society's(rightful?)answer to the theft crimes I committed to keep myself alive. I became a victim of ostracization and a target for abuse at the hands of violent criminals for five potentially deadly years. I was released to find homelessness again while awaiting services (mainly social security determinations) to the tune of three years now. I was the victim of neglect and intimidation tactics by the contract medical provider in a jail as I awaited drug & alcohol "treatment" (where I almost was given a parole violation for claiming I was a victim... it was firmly against the state's adopted curriculum to take that stance.)
ReplyDeleteI'm currently crammed into a halfway house with the same criminal thinkers as roommates... five of them in one tiny apartment... as I try to plead my cases. Can I get the attention of Social Security? No. Am I intimidated daily? Yes. Do I have anywhere to turn if I'm victimized? No.
I'm ill from the permanent symptoms I endure as the result of my neurology being battered by this belief system that some people with autism disorders are just fine. I'm intimidated and scared everyday about what trauma will come next. I'm tired of being told to believe that I'm no different and am in no way a victim. I've been the recipient of people's frustration far too long as the person in the weaker role in some social circles. I consider it all hatred by people for whatever reason they purpose to claim. It's time we get a bill to congress.
(Open disclosure from me: Anyone may cut & paste my response to use openly for the purposes of awareness to this issue... but please give me the credit for writing it, in hopes that one day someone will see this and call with some help. I live in Boise Idaho; my name is Ernest Weaver, and my phone number is 208-353-0760. I'm 43 years old and have been crying out for help all of my life.)
Thank you.
Ernest E. Weaver II