I contacted the person who made the T Shirt when he showed up on the WP home page.
A Trademark relates to one product in one class, It cannot be Copyrighted, Using a Trademark to threaten someone with a product not covered, another class, The Ford Popsickle, would void the Ford Trademark. Misuse of Trademark, USC 37.
Bringing a Trademark action and losing, voids the Trademark.
A Cease and Desist Letter, has the weight of the paper it is on. A Summons and Complaint is meaningless, until it is filed in court.
Where they do have meaning is the Court filing must follow the threats, and they could not prevail.
A Trademark is nothing but some papers filed, fees paid, until it has been tested and upheld in Court.
The T Shirt guy never replied. USC 37 is one of my hobbies.
The Autism of which Autism Speaks is real, a very disabling condition that involves lifetime care, and is very expensive.
Even in a lighter form I have been told by parents that they had to use a harness and a leash on their child, a runner, who would just take off and pay no mind to traffic.
"If my child was an aspie, I would be overjoyed." At least that family still has hope.
In the drug store I heard some strange sounds behind me, a woman with a boy, he was biting his shoulder, she calmly told him they would be back in the car, he could have his juice back, as soon as they got the prescriptions. She ignored the whole world to keep her job running, She lived in hell and did a great job of it. She was as banished from life as he was, but she would not quit. I did manage to give her a smile, so few know.
There are those who will sit and rock, those who might be able to live in a group home, and there are families suffering. Their life, income, other children, all suffer. It does not end. There is never a day off.
Then there are the fortunate, AS, HFA, who may qualify as disabled, but they do not need 24/7 care, most can live independantly, or with minor support.
All of the above come with a high social cost, some higher than others.
Then comes the functional but geeky with quirks. They are autistic, but they also will get educated, work, have social problems, have a hard time starting in life, but most get better at it. They are not disabled, just weird. Comic Book Guy on the Simpsons. Weird, unemployable, but runs his own business, making living from his obsessions.
The next cut are also autistic, but work jobs, almost fit in, except all the things they never notice and everyone else does. There are lots of versions of this one, They can dress well, but never right, have a scripted exchange with coworkers, that almost works, with a bit of luck they can become a spouse.
They are almost normal people. Almost.
Then there are take the obsession and run types, Science, Art, Music, Engineer, where they can be great at one thing, and hope it covers the rest. Living all of life in part of life works, almost, sometimes.
It is all autism, but I would rather pass for wierd. I have a mixed skill set, 100 there, 0 there,
Out of 100 autists, 90 are Broader Autism Phenotype. They have some traits and problems, life could be better, maybe, some things I lack wiring for, don't even know what I am faking.
10 might be DSM grade, and one or two of those is going to cost more than all the rest.
They are what should be studied, the fullest case, the highest cost in lifetime care, and in the effects on their family. But for one epigenic switch, there goes any of us.
The other eight with some care will go on and get an education, may do something useful, or can be kept at public expense, but caring for themselves.
So of all of the spectrum 1-2% are a lifetime problem that cost billions, 8% will have some minor adjustment costs, Depression is much more common, same deal.
90% just have to live here, out in the world, making the best of it they can. They should all join Wrong Planet, the problems are just as real. They will get no other help, and most don't know it is a form of autism.
Public awareness will do harm to most, we have nothing to gain from it.
I have compassion for the famiies who drew the short straw. Thier need is the greatest, and all funding of science is good for it might help. It might not help, it is a complex field, but progress is coming, slowly.
One thing that will always help is to stand with the families and offer what support we can, be it just a smile, and I don't smile often.
The families have a much worse problem than your Lego addiction, it does not compare.
I would like to say that WP is not autism, but it is, and a lot more who don't know, but for the problem part, everyone knows.
We can only have one focus, and this promoting autism as a spectrum is true, yet can weaken the research we need to happen. We are in a boat, on one side it has a pinhole leak, on the other a fist size hole, which do you plug?
If we work together, even with that other person you did not like, we may survive long enough to discuss the pinhole.
If one person is getting wet, another is drowning, who do you help?
Pointing out how many people are wet is not helping.
17 Feb 2010, 7:33 am
