Official International Wrong Planet Conference / Festival

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I'm still coming to Israel, you know. I'm hoping to come around May time.

Sorry for that interruption. Normal service now resumes as usual.

Oh, but what if the culture includes parents, family and people who are not themselves autistic?

I'm not good at being politically correct. I get all the words mixed up. Ha ha. Thanks for the heads up.

I do try to avoid anything exclusive or elitist. I like to recognize autism as a vital element of society and human evolution. None of that "separate but equal" or "separate but superior" stuff. We are all together. The world needs all kinds of minds.

Neurodiversity is about all kinds of minds, not just autistic or NT. It is about neurological equality.

Anyway, that's how I see it. There is definitely some fringe elitism in the culture, and it rubs me the wrong way.

This is so exciting! If you need my help, I'm just a PM away!

Here's how I can help:
- Conceptualize the event itself
- Make some design studies for promotional, branding, and marketing paraphernalia
- Make some video presentations (specifically, post-production)
- Organize the local WP community and head the local gathering in case it pushes through

Ok, promotion and branding? We need a visual team. You can get that organized, if you'd like.

As my team and I provide written content, tag lines, and so forth, we will need lots of logos, photos, etc... We have to emphasize quality, creativity, and professionalism throughout this whole thing.

I'm heading up PR. I will focus on marketing, promotion, content, etc... I will be providing engaging, memorable, and marketable words.

I would like the visual team to work very closely with my team. Actually, I would like us to be together on one team.

My Team:

We will be focusing on creative content, viral promotion, longterm marketing strategies, branding, etc...

So far, my team includes...

Sunshower
SC 2010
Peripatetic
ImperiousDork

Who else is creative, visually or otherwise? Who wants to join my team?

We're going to need lots of teams. I need you guys to be contacting each other and breaking into teams based on your common strengths and interests. We will have to work together and utilize chain of command. Nobody is the star of this show - we are all equally vital to the success of this venture.

Alright! In that case, it's a deal. Count me in!

Also, I really, really like...


The Right Planet:
Autistic Minds Working Together to Create a Better World

The world needs all kinds of minds. Celebrate diversity, and create a world big enough for everyone.

---
What if the the commonly accepted social design,  with it's arbitrary laws and etiquette, imaginary lines drawn in the sand, and countless divisive ideologies, was simply... tossed out. What if we started from scratch, constructing a society with room enough for everyone, a society that did not exist to herd humanity like mindless cattle, but to celebrate and accommodate our wonderful diversity?
     
     Many of you reading this are doubtlessly humming the tune of of John Lennon's "Imagine" and scoffing at my gum ball sweet optimism. Well, I've been called much worse than an idealist, and as far as I'm concerned, you cynics can go smoke behind the bleachers with the cool kids. How many social revolutions began with the words, "I don't have a dream..."? 

- From my article "All God's Children: Celebrating Diversity in Neurology"

What do you guys think? Alex?

Also, I'm going to need a logo pronto! Who can provide one? Something fun, fresh, quirky, and abstract, something that symbolizes worldwide neurological equality?

I need people to get on this and start sending me submissions! My email is [email protected].

I want to be helpful, but I don't really have any skills that would be useful for this And I have finals coming up, so it'd be good if I could wait a few more weeks to get started on anything.

I'll make some logo studies and rough drafts shortly. I'll send them to you.

For future reference, the email I'll be using for this project is [email protected]. Feel free to ask questions if there are any.

I'm toying with some of my previous writing, looking for catchphrases, and establishing a consistent theme.

What if there was no right or wrong way of thinking? What if we tossed out the commonly accepted social design, with its arbitrary laws and etiquette, imaginary lines drawn in the sand, and countless divisive ideologies? Could we not start from scratch, constructing a society with room enough for everyone, a society that did not exist to herd humanity like mindless cattle, but to celebrate and accommodate our wonderful diversity?

Many of you reading this are doubtlessly humming the tune of John Lennon's "Imagine" and scoffing at my gumball sweet optimism. Well, I've been called much worse than an idealist, and as far as I'm concerned, you cynics can go smoke behind the bleachers with the cool kids. How many social revolutions began with the words, "I don't have a dream..."?

There are as many minds as there are individuals. No two human beings are exactly alike – that is the beauty of the human race. We are like snowflakes. People have a natural tendency to classify and categorize, but every snowball is nothing more or less than countless beautifully unique snowflakes, clumsily lumped together for strength and durability. When the snowball fight is over, the warmth of the sun returns all of us to our wonderful, original state of fluid diversity.

Some of us cannot be neatly be clumped in with the rest... yet we survive, and more importantly, we contribute.

I will not suggest that it is easy to be different - neither, however, will I suggest that it wrong to be. Homosexuality was once considered a mental disorder in our country and there are still many areas throughout the world in which it is, indeed, debilitating. Why? Because its practice is feared, misunderstood and punishable by law. Likewise, autism is often portrayed as a socially crippling disease. In a society tailored to meet the needs of the majority, autism is often very disabling... but is it wrong? Who is to say that unusual ideas and behavior are the result of organic inferiority or moral defiance? History has repeatedly taught us that, while the majority may rule, their ruling is not always just.

Besides, great minds do not think alike... they think differently.

The culture includes anyone who wants to join it, but the culture revolves around Autistics.
It seems the culture itself is Autistic. (Cultures behave a bit like humans).
Historically, it was always called the "Autistic culture" and it was always inclusive. Autreat and Autscape always included anyone who wanted to participate in them - family members, professionals, whatever. They still do.

Thanks! I appreciate your guidance.

So would Tony Attwood or Simon Baron Cohen be a part of autistic culture, or autism culture?

Me too. I think "All kinds of minds" is good, personally.

This is good too. I like the illustrative language used in your article quotation, and also I think "celebrate diversity" should definitely be included in the main descriptor somewhere.

Prior to AutWorld -
Join the PR team.
Join the program team.
Help organize a local concurrent event here in Israel, which would be video linked to the main event.

During AutWorld -
Display the Autistic posters I make.
Play CDs of the music I make.
Recite the Autistic poems I write.
Read the Autistic stories I write.