Monday, August 11, 2008

retard vs. house autistic and more nonesense from the neurodiversity movement

Well, I see that neurodiversity has a new cause celebre'. The use of the nasty slur 'retard' in this new movie that is coming out called Tropic Thunder. Ironically enough, Christ School, the producer of the hate film using the term 'house autistic' to describe autistics who want a cure, has made this new video trying to show what an awful term retard is. I am not sure what context retard is being used in this movie, but from what I have been able to gather at the very worst it is just an issue of poor taste among those who have produced the movie. There was no deliberate attempt to insult people with developmental disabilities by the people who have produced this movie as far as I can tell. If someone can show me evidence to the contrary, I will certainly stand corrected and I will denounce those who made tropic thunder as well. I would certainly never condone someone calling developmentally disabled people retards as a form of malice. I have been called this term many times in my relatively long life. If this is not the case however, the same argument could be made for banning The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in high school and college literature classes and from public libraries or possibly even from private book stores because it uses the word nigger multiple times. For some reason, I don't see the NAACP and other similar organizations trying to ban this book. Certainly the context Samuel Clemens was using this word in was not to demean black people.

If one goes back to my previous post showing Christ School's house autistic film one can see that there is no question that this gentleman's goal is nothing short of being abusive and insulting to those who disagree with him about a cure for autism. The term 'house autistic' is unquestionably used as a slur with malice being the only purpose. When I posted a link to this individual's hateful video, he posted a bunch of vitriolic and abusive invective towards me in the comments section and threatened me with physical violence. Though I don't know how to link to this post and Mr. Christ School's comments, the interested reader can go back on autism's gadfly and see them. Normally I would delete such viscious and personal attacks but I kept them intact so that people who give a shit can judge the neurodiversity movement in general and the autism hub and ASAN in particular by the company they keep. The fact that ASAN would have such an association with an individual like this and promote a video like this only diminishes their credibility. It is certainly hypocritical of ASAN and Christ School to produce a film trying to show what a hateful expression 'retard' is, yet find it okay to call me and Marty Murphy "house autistics". I really don't understand why calling people with autism who desire a cure house autistic is any different from calling a black person a nigger or a developmentally disabled person a retard. Perhaps someone can explain that to me.

What is ironic is that Christ School tries to imply that I and others like me are house autistics and he and other neurodiversity adherents are field autistics. He implies that the reason I state that I want a cure for autism is to somehow please parents of autistic children and other neurotypicals and that I am somehow trying to ingratiate myself with these people. It should not even be necessary to comment on such absurd baloney but here goes anyway. I have certainly not advocated the status quo in any of my writings. I have called for abolition of the IDEA, constantly criticized ABA, certain types of occupational therapy which I underwent as a child to help my fine motor and perceptual motor problems. Criticized generation rescue, safe minds and other groups who have claimed that vaccines cause autism. You can also see the posts about my questioning the 1/10,000 number espoused by groups claiming there is an "autism epidemic" Whatever parent or NT groups interested in autism that I am cowtowing to is certainly a mystery to me. I wonder what field autistic Christ school and his other field autistic pals in the neurodiversity movement know about the real problems that a lot of us face. Christ School apparently only found out he had Asperger's as an adult when his son was diagnosed as autistic. He is able to apparently make a good living, make these videos which I am too low functioning to make and get married and support a child. I doubt he spent a minute of his life in a special education school and that goes for the majority of those in the ND movement. What do these "field autistics" really know about autism from the inside out?

Again ASAN is claiming to be doing something for autistic people. They and other disability groups have succeeded in getting part of the trailer of this movie that uses the term retard killed. When this movie comes out, there will be more urges to boycott it. But what will this accomplish? Recently a young woman sent an email both to me and my mom asking us how she could help her autistic son, who is finishing up kindergarten, breaking crayons, getting in trouble in his kindergarten for talking out in class and other behavioral problems. and all the problems she has to face as a mother of even a high functioning autistic child. How is this latest crusade by ASAN and other groups accomplishing anything to help someone like this. How did the absurd ransom notes campaign last year, help anyone with autism, except for helping Ari Neeman and some other "field autistics" satisfy their egos? Ari Neeman says that he is opposed to curing autism. He says that does not mean he is opposed to progress. How is this progress and how is an association with someone like Christ School who spits out vicious hate making progress?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

As is typical you got nothing right. But thanks for the plug.

Anonymous said...

Dena Gassner here.
While I don't want to get into the CS debate, I did want to speak to the use of the R word.
The reason schools still allow the use of the N word is certain classic literatures is to lift it up as a wrong doing. It is to allow children and our society to learn that marginalizing and defaming others was brutal and unacceptable in that time and from that time on. My son just studied that book last year and the teacher used a huge civil rights, historical approach which was very meaningful for him and appropriate. (Note that my son is very learning disabled with his ASD and will barely graduate at 20).
Likewise, we have an obligation to be the "civil rights" movement for our generation. For our generation, racism continues to marginalize people. For our generation, the R word represents the baby steps to stop the marginalization of individuals with disabilities.
Back in the day, people thought that being angry about the N word was stupid. We are fighting that new battle. It is because the R word no longer simply describes an individual with a disability; it is used to demean, dehumanize and defame people who are different.
Jus' one aspie opinion...
Dena

John Best said...

Where's the post about Christschool calling you a "house autistic"?

jonathan said...

actually, he did not directly call me a house autistic. He called Marty Murphy, another pro-cure autistic a house autistic. you can do a search on youtube with the word 'house autistic' to find christ school's absolutely delightful video. I also linked to it in one of my previous blog entries. But in the video and in his previous comments to me he implies that I and all other autistics who want a cure are just out to please our NT masters.

In the comments section of my blog entry in showing that the autism speaks T-shirt cause celebre' of neurodiversity was completey bogus christ school left some nasty comment about me and my NT masters which I deleted. I have kept his posts calling me a fascist, bigot, internet rambo and where he threatened with violence intact in the house autistics blog section just show people can judge the autism hub and neurodiversity movement by the company they keep. I am sure you can find them. I wish i was savvy enough with blogger to link to them directly for you but unfortunately I am not.

Though he never really called me a house autistic directly but just called marty murphy that, you can see from his venom that he pretty much intimates that any autistic who wishes would be cured is a house autistic whose only desire is to ingratiate their NT masters.

Larry Arnold PhD FRSA said...

I am neither a house autistic nor a field autistic.

I am feral, and be careful I bite!!!

(Do anti rabies shots contain thimerosal I wonder)