Monday, April 9, 2007

Help Wanted: Talking Head

Dear David Byrne,

Did you really mean it when you wrote:
And if so, do you feel like a burden on society? A "scourge" or a catastrophe? Hey, me neither! And there is a large and growing community of people like us, perfectly fine with being who we are. Many, like you, are writers, artists, thinkers, and yes, we can speak for ourselves. The thing is, it's hard to be heard over the screeches of cure charities like Autism Speaks. They have a lot of money and the ear of the media, and many celebrity spokespersons, none of whom knows a thing about being autistic. And they are saying we shouldn't exist. No more like me or like you should be born. And even if we do get to take up space on earth, we should surely learn to behave ourselves like normal folks. Do you see the problem here?
So are you one of us? Or did you start a conversation you can't even finish?

1 comment:

  1. I see a pattern with people like David Byrne, Bill Gates, Thomas Edison, Sir Isaac Newton, Temple Grandin... They all became their own person and reached a high degree of autonomy, therefore ultimately they are no longer dependent on neurotypical bosses for their success, as they have become pretty much their own boss. And when you're the boss, more people will be willing to put up with our eccentricities. A subordinate is less likely to play stupid games or even attempt bullying, for example. And there will be much fewer people to hold us back.

    In my experience, occasionally there have been bosses that recognize my strengths and value me for who I am. In these cases, things have gone "swimmingly". But, that is not the norm. That is not "typical". And it would stand to logic that most bosses are "neurotypical" so... ...more often than not, when working under a hierarchical structure, times might not be so good. Especially since there isn't yet a general acceptance of who and what we are.

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