Autism related organization with cringe-worthy motto

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A few weeks ago, i saw in the register area of our local Kroger store what was an organization seeking donations. I was happy to see that finally there was awareness and people loved to donate money to this cause that i have felt so passionate about for years, when the puzzle pieces with the name of the donators that were stuck to the front window of the store caught my eye. On each of those pieces there was the official motto of the organization, which said 'let's fight autism together'. I felt outraged, wanted to file a written complaint, but i was paralyzed by my anger about an offensive motto like this.

This Autism Speaks-ish approach to making the public aware is poisonous and needs to stop. I mentally prepared a long monologue in which i asked the clerks whether they would like to fight me then, since i am on the spectrum as well, but i was not brave enough to say what was necessary to convey my emotions


What would you have done? Is this just an over-reaction, or is it indeed offensive?

It has nothing to do with the clerks but management which is where your justifiable objections should be brought to.

Well, i was reacting emotionally rather than logically, and since i don't know how to regulate my emotions properly the clerk would have been the first person to listen to me venting. Not smart, i know, but i felt absolutely offended and didn't know what to do.

Leaving was the best solution, i thought, because i was not able to verbalize my strong feelings about this

Vote with your dollars. Let the store manager know that sign is offensive and until they romove the dign that you will take your business elsewhere. Those slogans feel like ignorance and a lack understanding for the issue.

Perhaps you could:

1 draft a letter to the Manager
2 post the draft here for member input on how to make it as direct and concise and impactful as possible
3 Post the letter
4 Advise on response received, or if no response was received in a reasonable time
5 Check to see if the Manager removed the offence
6 If it is removed, write a letter thanking him or her for taking time to consider and act on the matter
7 If manager makes no response of any kind, post the name and address of the store and invite interested WP members to send a letter in their own name like the original one.
8 Consider writing an article under a pen name about what happened and the outcome for a local paper, and why you objected to the ignorant assumption of AS elimination.

I should do this, yes.

Since English is not my first language, drafting a letter and not having the pressure of direct interaction, time, and a language barrier working against me might just be the better solution.

I posted this, because i was curious to know if i am really just overly sensitive about this, or if this is really something that we, as autistics, should worry about. We are not terminally ill, and i, for my part, don't want to be cured.


Thank you

I'm sorry you had to see that.

It was one strand in the complex of the ways that AS people are dehumanised. We have had many threads on those strands here.

Until AS people themselves generally understand - and wish to learn and understand - how the dehumanisation process works, and what its impacts are, and name what is happening in effective public ways, there will be no or little meaningful progress in the daily lives of AS people.

I will start reading myself into the topics about the dehumanization process. When this was being mentioned in the book 'Neurotribes' i was already intrigued to learn more about it, but now that i have seen a fraction of this myself it is necessary to find out why it is around and how it can be, at least to some degree, diminished.


@BAP_Buddy

There is nothing to feel sorry about! I am actually glad it happened.

This shatters my assumption that autism awareness and acceptance are much better in the US than they are in Germany, but i can work on this now and maybe change a thing or two about this bias that has been a problem for such a long time

I would have been fuming too.

I think you should say something. Autism is not cancer, and fund raising and awareness campaigns should not represent autism as if it were a fatal disease to eradicate, like cancer. Autistic people are inseparable from our neurology, so to "fight autism" means to eradicate autistic people. Once the people who chose that slogan are made aware of this perhaps they will be willing to rethink their slogan and choose something less dehumanizing to autistic people.

I will go to the store tomorrow anyway, so i will say something. I won't be ranting, i will just calmly state my issue and will draft a letter to the manager separately.

Absolutely!
I don't know how it is for you, though, but whenever i feel aggravated i cannot seem to be able to channel my emotions properly and go into a state where everyone around me has to deal with me venting, responsible or not.
And i am not good at venting. I have destroyed multiple friendships with this.