a disturbing trend in this forum favoring autism speaks

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I've cleaned up this thread and members are now free to post to it.

However; note the following:
if discussions about drama involving other sites, suggestions for or discussions about attacking any other site, personal attacks or insults do re-occur then it will be locked permanently.

Please make sure you are familiar with WP's rules, here:
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt73836.html

Not sure if KenG would want to, but I do recommend him for a spot. I saw his response to the Autism Speaks interview and he's the best candidate to restore balance.

Here's his response to the Autism Speaks interview: http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/showthr ... ?tid=23271

Seconded.

Could you transfer my last post in Aspie48's civility thread over here? I accidentally double posted it, and it belongs here anyway.

thirded. i'm not the right person to do it because i don't know him but someone should give him a pm about this.

Autism Speaks recently released this article about their involvement with China...

http://blog.autismspeaks.org/2011/11/08 ... rom-china/


Here's the thing...

Autism Speaks is not an "it." Autism Speaks is a "they."

You can say that you hate America because of the treatment of homosexuals, native Americans, and African Americans that was allowed and condoned. If America was an "it" you could easily assert that our country is terrible, evil and unjust. However, America is not an "it." America is a "they." America has changed because of the individual Americans within this country who fought for civil rights.

Are there some corrupt individuals within Autism Speaks? Probably. Are there some good apples? Sure. Are there some corrupt good apples? Of course.

Autism Speaks is changing because individuals within it are pushing for change. Some Muslim extremists call America "the Great Satan." Some autistic extremists call Autism Speaks "evil Nazis." Nazism is a tragic philosophy. Ideas have consequences. But you can't allow the shadow of Nazism to determine your opinion of entire country of Germany and every individual citizen within it.

Likewise, the "cure" movement was misguided. It was a well-intentioned goal based on limited medical knowledge. A blanket cure is no longer the goal, because Autism Speaks has to face scientific facts. The mistakes of the past must be remembered but we can't allow them to become roadblocks to our own progress.

As Robison said, Autism Speaks was founded by grandparents - frightened grandparents who opinion of autism was shaped by their severly autistic son. There is now fresh blood in the organization, and it is up to us to add fresh autistic blood.

The truth is that Autism Speaks, like America, is not one single unit. Autism Speaks is a group of individuals. Are all Americans bad because some Americans owned slaves in the past? Of course not.

The "Autism Speaks is evil" view is a result of that classic, black and white thinking, forrest/trees problem that we autistics sometimes have.

"It" isn't evil. "They" are a mixed bag. They do some wonderful things, and they've made some terrible mistakes.

Now is the time to get involved and keep pushing for change. Be an activist, not a terrorist.

For of against, does not cover it. A Media Machine on Message, and those who say everything they say is wrong.

Both are locked into a point of view, and the questions in the middle, What is Autism? If broken into groups what would they be like, how many in each group, what types of treatment are possible for each?

Self Advocates seem to be verbal, Internet rude, seek conflict, and have no data to back up their view.

Autism Speaks throws out lots of data to back their ever changing message, that everything is Autism, and even if we stop using Cure, Eradicate, you know what we mean.

Before these Political Wars spilled over onto Wrong Planet, we used to discuss What is Autism, at our various levels of function and understanding, from rules of Social Interaction, to some debates about Human Genetics.

Mostly it was good spirited with an actual willingness to learn from each other, and respect for other points of view.

We had earned a reputation for being one of the most polite, intelligent, and helpful places on the web.

Avocacy disturbed our world, demanding that we march over grandmothers in the street, for the greater glory of their psychopathic ego.

As of late, it seems threads are being hyjacked by endless two person fake arguments, hair spliting about word use, or what might have been posted on some other site years ago. As I recall the TOS, discusing other sites, bringing in their dirty linen, was forbidden.

It is disruptive, and always erupts on threads of some political topics.

This thread, Stop Bashing Autism Speaks, are over run with pages of off point two person blanking out of the local content.

The tactic is common, keep a political consensus from forming by off topic misdirection.

I do not think much of Advoactes or Autism Speaks, Autism Speaks does come a bit closer to the real world, where Autism is a social, personal, Genetic, differance, with a wide range. I still think they miss the point that nothing they are talking about is going to do any of us any good, and our concerns were dismissed, because there was real important work to be done by thier Science Staff. Now they want to be seen as listening to select hand picked Autistics.

They will even let us help, give our ideas to HP, known for being idea short, for export to China. Anything that would be good for autistics, would also sell in many other markets.

I have often said we are a natural think tank, our long term value to the species, and now they want to harvest that for free.

All I have for HP is the question, Why is your Market Cap down by half?

To our years of trying to speak to them were rejected. Our questions about how all of their brain power and money could improve our lives were ignored, and we were told we were not the Real Autism, because we could speak.

All of these people, Advocates of one form of terror or another are not my friends, they just want to harness me to thier plow, to till their field, for their benefit.

We do not need self elected leaders, Corportions to claim us, for they have had years and produced nothing. There is not a single idea to improve our lives from any of them. All they have are ideas for improving their lives, image, income, by manipulating us.

Well, Ken G. Said he would love to do something for the homepage. I'll have to call Alex and ask him about, but I'm sure he will be fine with it if there is plenty of support. We'll see...

Try PMing Tambourine-Man?