A while back, a bunch of Autistic advocates and activists did a flashblog to get Google to remove hate speech from its automated search completion, remember?
It had to do with the fact that before this, searching for "Autistic people should" gave suggestions such as "be killed". And. And and and.
We were successful. In a sense. But this is not what I intend to talk about right now. But it is related.
What I intend to talk about was those commenters during that drive that claimed that our worry about these things, our anger at our murderers getting the sympathy, our fear of violence, was unreasonable. Because people don't think that way. The search suggestions is a result of autistics talking about those opinions and not actually a representation of what people think.
Autistics aren't getting abused and killed. And people aren't sympathetic to our murderers.
It doesn't happen.
Except it does.
Alex Spourdalakis was murdered by his mother, and go look at the comments, if you think you can stomach it.
A fourteen year old boy was murdered. By his mother. A fourteen year old boy with the name Alex Spourdalakis was found murdered in his bed. Stabbed multiple times in the chest. By his mother. Who is trying to claim that she was overwhelmed. That he was such a burden. That she couldn't care for him.
His mother was offered services, and declined them. And then she murdered her son.
The story as it is right now suggests that she made multiple attempts before succeeding.
She tried to murder her son multiple times.
And then, the person that is supposed to love him, who is supposed to care for him, who brought him out of hospital because of treatment disagreements, stabbed him in the chest. Multiple times. Whilst he was in his bed.
SHE MURDERED HER SON, and in those comments? People are sympathetic to her. They understand her actions.
I am lost and sad and angry.
I grieve for Alex.
One day, you lot have to stop murdering us!
Showing posts with label I Really Shouldn't Engage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label I Really Shouldn't Engage. Show all posts
Friday, June 14, 2013
Friday, April 5, 2013
In which Anonymus Maximus talks about Good Intentions and How They Are Not Enough
1.
It is not “just a bear”. It is “just a bear that, by buying it, you give money to an organisation that thinks me being born was a mistake, and works to make sure no more people with my type of brain are born and believes people with my type of brain are such tragedies to our families that I am something that is being inflicted upon them and our lives have so little worth that when we come to a hospital in need of lifesustaining procedures that are standard, rather small in comparison to everything else, and reversible we should still consider DYING as a valid, preferable, medical alternative.”
2.
It is truly a very cute bear. BUT IT GIVES MONEY TO A EUGENICS ORGANISATION THAT SUPPORTS TORTURE-AS-THERAPY.
3.
Yes, it was very sweet of your mother to get a bear for you. You can think that and like the bear, AND be aware that by buying that bear for you, your mother gave money to an organisation that’d rather you didn’t exist.
4.
How, exactly, does kids learn about autism by being given a blue teddy bear?
5.
“They did bad things in the past”? Not six weeks ago, but sure. That’s the past.
I’m sure they’ve tidied up their attitudes and their campaigns and their rhetoric since then.
6.
Most don’t know that A$ wants autistics to no longer exist.
Most don’t know that they don’t really help.
Most don’t know that the “awareness” they promote is a fear rhetoric that gets people killed.
It’s all well and good to want to do something good. PROBLEM IS THAT A$ IS NOT GOOD. And most don’t know it.
7.
No. It’s not just a bear.
That bear is a gesture within your family that is truly very sweet, with nothing but good intentions and loving gift giving, mother to daughter.
That bear is ALSO an unfortunate monetary donation to an organisation that doesn’t want you to exist.
It’s not just a bear.
Or maybe it is.
Just a bear.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
In which Anonymus Maximus flashblogs about what Autistic People Should... (part 2)
Autistic people should be heard.
Our voices should be listened to. The things we have to say about our own lives respected.
Popular discourse around autism is focused on the parent, the sibling, the caretaker, the teacher, the therapist, the doctor, and the actually autistic people are left out.
And when we try to make our voices heard, we are silenced with "you are not like my child" [Obviously not. Your child is a child. I am not.], implying that because we can advocate for ourselves and other autistics we are not autistic enough to know anything about the difficulties of our disability.
You can say that I am wrong, thusly I am not autistic enough, low-functioning enough, to have anything of value to say.
Autistic people should be heard.
The actually autistic people are left out of the conversation about our disability.
It is focused on mice "developing autistic behaviours" as if mice could be autistic. (I'm not actually sure, maybe they can be, but I fail to recognise how behaviours that are considered autistic in humans would be the same behaviours a potentially autistic mouse exhibited.) It is focused on pre-natal testing, to make sure autistic children won't be born. It is focused on the great burden it is for a family to have an autistic family member. It is focused on how eye-contact is so very important and absolutely devastating if it isn't done. It is focused on everything but the actually autistic people, and what we have to say.
Autistic people should be heard.
And not just when we say things you agree with. We should be listened to when we say that you are being ableist, we should be listened to when we say that you are wrong, we should be listened to when we say that you are perpetuating stereotypes, we should be listened to when we say that there is hope, we should be listened to when we say that we don't want cures, we should be listened to when we say that we don't want to be Not Autistic, we should be listened to when we say that passing for allistic isn't a good thing. We should be listened to when we are challenging your beliefs, because we speak from a lived experience.
Autistic people should be heard.
I don't care if your brother is autistic, you are not the authority on the autistic experience.
I don't care if you work with autistic children (sorry, children with autism. Nevermind that the autistic community prefer identity first.), you are not the authority on the autistic experience.
I don't care if you have an autistic classmate, you are not the authority on the autistic experience.
I don't care if you have studied autism in school, you are not the authority on the autistic experience.
I don't care if you used to date an autistic person, you are not the authority on the autistic experience.
I don't care if you are the parent of an autistic child, you are not the authority on the autistic experience.
I don't care if you are studying neuroscience, you are not the authority on the autistic experience.
I don't care if you are otherwise neurodivergent, you are not the authority on the autistic experience, just as I'm not the authority on your divergence.
It turns out that the reliable authorities on the autistic experience are the autistic people themselves.
Autistic people should be heard.
Our voices should be listened to. The things we have to say about our own lives respected.
Popular discourse around autism is focused on the parent, the sibling, the caretaker, the teacher, the therapist, the doctor, and the actually autistic people are left out.
And when we try to make our voices heard, we are silenced with "you are not like my child" [Obviously not. Your child is a child. I am not.], implying that because we can advocate for ourselves and other autistics we are not autistic enough to know anything about the difficulties of our disability.
You can say that I am wrong, thusly I am not autistic enough, low-functioning enough, to have anything of value to say.
Autistic people should be heard.
The actually autistic people are left out of the conversation about our disability.
It is focused on mice "developing autistic behaviours" as if mice could be autistic. (I'm not actually sure, maybe they can be, but I fail to recognise how behaviours that are considered autistic in humans would be the same behaviours a potentially autistic mouse exhibited.) It is focused on pre-natal testing, to make sure autistic children won't be born. It is focused on the great burden it is for a family to have an autistic family member. It is focused on how eye-contact is so very important and absolutely devastating if it isn't done. It is focused on everything but the actually autistic people, and what we have to say.
Autistic people should be heard.
And not just when we say things you agree with. We should be listened to when we say that you are being ableist, we should be listened to when we say that you are wrong, we should be listened to when we say that you are perpetuating stereotypes, we should be listened to when we say that there is hope, we should be listened to when we say that we don't want cures, we should be listened to when we say that we don't want to be Not Autistic, we should be listened to when we say that passing for allistic isn't a good thing. We should be listened to when we are challenging your beliefs, because we speak from a lived experience.
Autistic people should be heard.
I don't care if your brother is autistic, you are not the authority on the autistic experience.
I don't care if you work with autistic children (sorry, children with autism. Nevermind that the autistic community prefer identity first.), you are not the authority on the autistic experience.
I don't care if you have an autistic classmate, you are not the authority on the autistic experience.
I don't care if you have studied autism in school, you are not the authority on the autistic experience.
I don't care if you used to date an autistic person, you are not the authority on the autistic experience.
I don't care if you are the parent of an autistic child, you are not the authority on the autistic experience.
I don't care if you are studying neuroscience, you are not the authority on the autistic experience.
I don't care if you are otherwise neurodivergent, you are not the authority on the autistic experience, just as I'm not the authority on your divergence.
It turns out that the reliable authorities on the autistic experience are the autistic people themselves.
Autistic people should be heard.
In which Anonymus Maximus flashblogs about what Autistic people should...
Autistic people should get to live.
Autistic people should get to lead their lives without fear of violence.
Google search has really rather unfortunate auto-complete for the partial sentence "Autistic people should", and this is text is a part of a larger organized attempt at not getting told that we should be killed.
Autistic people should get to live.
Autistic people should get to lead their lives without fear of violence.
Here and now, today, if a parent murder their child, it is considered a heinous crime.
Here and now, today, if a parent murder their autistic child, it is considered a tragedy. The poor parent. Of course killing is wrong, but it is such a hardship to have an autistic child. It is understandable that they commited a cold blooded murder. Somehow. And people forget that a person lost their life. A person is dead now. And this is not noteworthy, because the person had a different brain.
Autistic people should get to live.
Autistic people shoud get to lead their lives without fear of violence.
I am a person. I am here, I think, I feel, I do, I dream, I love, I learn. And I want to live. I want to be the best me I can be. I want to be happy. I want to bring happiness to others. And I should get to do that, without having to know that most people want me dead.
Autistic people should get to live.
I should get to live. I, an Autistic person, should get to live.
We are here, and we can hear what you are saying about us. You want -people- to be exterminated. Why?
I should get to live.
Autistic people should get to live.
Autistic people should get to lead their lives without fear of violence.
I should get to lead my life withour fear of violence. I, an Autistic person, should get to lead my life without fear of violence.
I am here. And I am forced to lead my life knowing that people would rather I was dead. I am forced to lead my life knowing that parents would rather their child died than being like me. I am here, and I am forced to lead my life knowing that violence against me would be considered justified, and that the person getting the sympathy if I were to be murdered wouldn't be me. It would be my murderer.
Why?
I should get to lead my life without fear of violence.
Autistic people should get to lead their lives without fear of violence.
Autistic people should. Indeed.
Autistic people should get to lead their lives without fear of violence.
Google search has really rather unfortunate auto-complete for the partial sentence "Autistic people should", and this is text is a part of a larger organized attempt at not getting told that we should be killed.
Autistic people should get to live.
Autistic people should get to lead their lives without fear of violence.
Here and now, today, if a parent murder their child, it is considered a heinous crime.
Here and now, today, if a parent murder their autistic child, it is considered a tragedy. The poor parent. Of course killing is wrong, but it is such a hardship to have an autistic child. It is understandable that they commited a cold blooded murder. Somehow. And people forget that a person lost their life. A person is dead now. And this is not noteworthy, because the person had a different brain.
Autistic people should get to live.
Autistic people shoud get to lead their lives without fear of violence.
I am a person. I am here, I think, I feel, I do, I dream, I love, I learn. And I want to live. I want to be the best me I can be. I want to be happy. I want to bring happiness to others. And I should get to do that, without having to know that most people want me dead.
Autistic people should get to live.
I should get to live. I, an Autistic person, should get to live.
We are here, and we can hear what you are saying about us. You want -people- to be exterminated. Why?
I should get to live.
Autistic people should get to live.
Autistic people should get to lead their lives without fear of violence.
I should get to lead my life withour fear of violence. I, an Autistic person, should get to lead my life without fear of violence.
I am here. And I am forced to lead my life knowing that people would rather I was dead. I am forced to lead my life knowing that parents would rather their child died than being like me. I am here, and I am forced to lead my life knowing that violence against me would be considered justified, and that the person getting the sympathy if I were to be murdered wouldn't be me. It would be my murderer.
Why?
I should get to lead my life without fear of violence.
Autistic people should get to lead their lives without fear of violence.
Autistic people should. Indeed.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
In which Anonymus Maximus talks about Mary Sue and her qualities
I heard once that the most common 'negative' characteristic of a Mary Sue is clumsiness.
And then I thought: "Ohmigod. I am a Mary Sue. I am a badly written female character!"
And I have multiple things to say about this.
1.
I will never not find it unintentionally hilarious that we are talking about Mary Sues in a world that has textual works in which the main protagonist is Batman.
2.
Why is Batman a protagonist, but a seemingly female character with the same characteristics is a Mary Sue and should be purged by fire?
3.
Also, Superman?
4.
Exactly what is it that is so objectionable about self-insertion?
5.
How come that these 'clumsy' Mary Sues never actually are clumsy?
I don't know. I am clumsy, and work hard on negating that. And most people around me probably wouldn't describe me as clumsy. But clumsy, isn't that when you use an inappropriate amount of force when handling things? Pulling to hard, not holding on hard enough, constantly pondering if there really is a hole in you chin because you keep spilling your drinks out of your mouth? Somehow requiring more than a year to learn how to get in and out of a specific car gracefully without hitting yourself?
6.
Why is 'clumsy' a character trait that is somehow not negative enough, and therefore the negative character trait of a Mary Sue?
7.
Why can't women be terrifyingly awesome?
8.
I'm going to go about my day and be terrifyingly awesome, thankyouverymuch.
Therefore I am a Mary Sue and a badly written female character.
9.
Also, I am not.
If we're gonna be technical about it I'm not a woman. If you want to force me, your gracious host, your author this evening, to use words, I'd say that I am genderqueer, and that I have the weirdes passing issues.
But.
Because the idea of Mary Sues exist. Because I am a badly written female charater, and because men are the default, I use feminine pronouns about myself, I don't mind [terribly] to be gendered as female by others. Because there is this political implication for me to remain in the fold of the female human on a scale that has opposed and binary genders.
10.
Can people stop being douches?
And then I thought: "Ohmigod. I am a Mary Sue. I am a badly written female character!"
And I have multiple things to say about this.
1.
I will never not find it unintentionally hilarious that we are talking about Mary Sues in a world that has textual works in which the main protagonist is Batman.
2.
Why is Batman a protagonist, but a seemingly female character with the same characteristics is a Mary Sue and should be purged by fire?
3.
Also, Superman?
4.
Exactly what is it that is so objectionable about self-insertion?
5.
How come that these 'clumsy' Mary Sues never actually are clumsy?
I don't know. I am clumsy, and work hard on negating that. And most people around me probably wouldn't describe me as clumsy. But clumsy, isn't that when you use an inappropriate amount of force when handling things? Pulling to hard, not holding on hard enough, constantly pondering if there really is a hole in you chin because you keep spilling your drinks out of your mouth? Somehow requiring more than a year to learn how to get in and out of a specific car gracefully without hitting yourself?
6.
Why is 'clumsy' a character trait that is somehow not negative enough, and therefore the negative character trait of a Mary Sue?
7.
Why can't women be terrifyingly awesome?
8.
I'm going to go about my day and be terrifyingly awesome, thankyouverymuch.
Therefore I am a Mary Sue and a badly written female character.
9.
Also, I am not.
If we're gonna be technical about it I'm not a woman. If you want to force me, your gracious host, your author this evening, to use words, I'd say that I am genderqueer, and that I have the weirdes passing issues.
But.
Because the idea of Mary Sues exist. Because I am a badly written female charater, and because men are the default, I use feminine pronouns about myself, I don't mind [terribly] to be gendered as female by others. Because there is this political implication for me to remain in the fold of the female human on a scale that has opposed and binary genders.
10.
Can people stop being douches?