Tags
ableism, American conservatism, american politics, autism, cheap talk, disability, left wingers, paul wallis, politics, right wingers, stupidity
Dear Mr. Paul Wallis, writer of Op-Ed in The Digital Journal “Is American Conservatism A Type of Autism?”,
I am not a big fan of bashing autism and using common misconceptions about it as some kind of twisted simile for your political bête noire. It’s a bipartisan tactic, that’s for sure, but to read it from the keyboards of American left-wingers, who claim to be champions for the marginalized, is especially horrifying to me. In your worthless piece of trash article, you did not say anything factual about autism, but you did reveal a lot about your own ignorance of my disability, particularly when you wrote that autism was characterized by “a medical condition whereby people are self-centred, uncommunicative and at a remove from their social environment.” You called conservative denial of reality “social autism”, and called a laundry list of traits which show extreme lack of compassion and detachment from reality “autism incarnate”, including a mentality whereby “anything which doesn’t directly benefit or relate to oneself” is ignored.
Mr. Wallis, I happen to be autistic. I am not detached from reality, I am not heartless, I do not subscribe to an ideology which erases or belittles the experiences of the poor, women, or sick people. In fact, I am a poor woman myself who suffered at the hands of the American medical system while trying to receive treatment for various conditions directly related to my autism. In fact, I’d say that the traits you describe are more fitting of someone like you: You are detached from the reality that autism is not equivalent to being a complete and total monster, that autism is not particular to any social or political ideology, and that there are actual autistic people out there who get hurt by having their disability appropriated to make a crass and poorly-written op-ed about the writer’s own projections against politicians he disagrees with.
If you are interested in finding out more about what it is actually like to have autism, I encourage you to talk to some actual autistic people. We do exist, you know. You can scroll through the autism tag on my blog to see posts where I have written about my experiences with autism. While you’re at it, you might want to read up in the ableism tag too, that seems like a good place to get a much-needed education. Before you even begin though, I assure you that you won’t find anything to suggest that I am heartless, ignorant, or wilfully oblivious towards social issues, because none of those things have anything to do with the autistic experience, just the autistic strawman, which your article nicely props up.
The next time you are going to appropriate somebody’s disability in order to score cheap rhetorical points, think about who is the truly heartless and self-centred one here: Assholes like you, or the disabled people you’re throwing under the bus?
With sincere contempt,
Leah Jane, Autistic Self-Advocate
A few months ago, one of my “friends” from undergrad (whom I was actually friends with my first year, because he was my only real intellectual equal on the floor, and we could actually converse and enjoy our conversations), posted this picture of a car with a religious bumper sticker, and basically said “fuck you and your idiot autistic self for fucking up the country.” – I immediately got very annoyed and said something along the lines of “don’t say that, that’s completely unfair and doesn’t actually describe autism or autistic people at all. Don’t blame this person’s beliefs on my disability and identity” – then tried to JUSTIFY himself by claiming all of the things that the author of this editorial said, claiming that the belief in god was delusional, and that it would take a very messed up mind that is a “one-track” mind to even consider it, and the fact that they felt they could have a bumper sticker was even more offensive and obviously someone who had no social awareness at all, etc. etc.
That was when I hit the “block” button, but not before firing off a nasty message describing some of what my parents did to me all because they shared that view of autism… Anyway, it is really frustrating to me that this has come out as a more public ideal
I think the most ridiculous version of this I’ve experienced is someone using autistic to mean “cruel and clueless to others” and justifying it by saying that was the pre-disability/pre-Leo Kanner definition of it, so that’s okay.
What part of “this shit doesn’t occur in a vacuum” do people not get?
This again?!
I actually have several posts on my own blog* from whenever I would see someone using “autism” in this way. It was almost always liberals using it to mock/psychoanalyze conservatives.
They mostly used it in the same way this guy you’re writing about did: “autism” as an extreme form of self-centeredness. One guy went a different way, choosing instead to mock Republicans’ philosophical inflexibility and repeating of catchphrases, comparing the latter to echolalia.
I have also seen the word used in literary criticism, with one critic calling Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialism “autistic” (in contrast to Albert Camus’s “empathetic” existentialism).
So, yes, all of those instances are of people using “autistic” to mean “cruel and clueless to others.”
Before seeing all of this, I would’ve thought this was a ridiculously outdated idea of what autism is that no one holds anymore. But apparently using “autistic” as an insult is becoming more common these days.
*Looks like you blogged about this one, too.
Oh, look, the little prick posted a “clarification” at the end of the article:
“I just received a very courteous request to take down this post from a father of an autistic child. I explained to this gentleman that the entire purpose of this article was to hit the conservatives with their own standards, portraying them as afflicted with a disability. I am absolutely baffled that this piece, which is intended to be an attack on the mindset which appears determined to destroy millions of lives and make poverty, healthcare and social disadvantages worse, could possibly have been construed as any sort of vilification or attack on autistic people. I’m getting attacked by the people I’m trying to protect, and there’s not one single word attacking autistic people in the entire 1200 words plus. There are no disparaging references to autistic people at all, anywhere in the text. All references refer to conservative policies and statements on record and proven incidents.
There was and is no intent to vilify autistic people. If there’s an explanation for the idea that there is, I’d like to hear it. I’ve since contacted L.E.A.N.onUS on Facebook to ask for clarification of their position, which was copied verbatim by Ms. Gammicchia. Until I see adequate information to explain how this article has been so utterly misconstrued, that’s my final word on the subject.”
Nothing quite like a member of an oppressor class demanding that members of a marginalized class explain why his behaviour is offensive. Or sorry, demanding that FAMILY MEMBERS of a members of a marginalized class explain why behaviour is offensive.
Attitudes like this are why I hate American liberals…
What? That’s so weird! He insulted Republicans by saying they are like autistic people. As in, being like us is BAD and something to be ashamed of, as well as something that makes you disqualified for politics.
How can he not see that that’s insulting to autistic people, too?
(I actually think he probably *CAN* see it, he just wants his critics to shut up and go away so he’s playing dumb. More plausible than that he really is incapable of parsing the very words he wrote …)