Chris Packham - being called disabled is “abominable insult”

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ASPartOfMe
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04 Aug 2019, 1:20 am

Chris Packham sparks furious Twitter debate on Aspergers

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Naturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham is no stranger to controversy.

Earlier this year he and his family received death threats and he was recently been banned from talking at the Game Fair shooting festival after apparent fears for his safety.

Now, he has sparked a heated Twitter debate after asking a tweeter not be refer to him as disabled.

Packham has Aspergers syndrome, a form of autism, which is considered by many to be a disability

Packham initially posted on Twitter about the Game Fair shooting festival, but the situation quickly escalated to become a dispute about whether autism should be considered a disability.

In response to Packham's Game Fair post, one tweeter said: ''It just confirms what most people are thinking; you are ill-informed and ageist; and of course all the blame you can put on your ''disability''-your often used word not mine-very convenient-far better than telling the truth.''

Packham hit back at the critical tweet writing:''Please don't refer to my condition as a disability- I don't as you suggest. On the contrary it enables me in many ways and honesty and injustice are critical aspects of it.''

The naturalist also posted saying that being called disabled was ''an abominable insult beyond any comprehension.''

He continued: ''We must not tolerate this division when we are striving to implement a wider understanding and awareness of autism.''

Packham's comments on disability have been met with mixed reactions from Twitter users. Some people, including those that identify as autistic or with autism, have reacted to his comments with outrage. Others sided with Packham

What is abominable are Packham’s remarks. These celebrity Aspie ableists are disabling to the neurodiversity movement. Acknowledging the strengths of autism and society's role in impeding Autistics does not negate the disabilities involved with many autistics and how disabled many autistics feel. Acknowledging the impediments and difficulties involved does not make us cursed or broken or less deserving. If you don’t agree with the previous two sentences IMHO you are part of the problem.

Up until now I have admired his public advocacy because it had done a lot of good. At the moment I feel he has thrown it all away.

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04 Aug 2019, 2:00 am

I identify with him in many ways. He has that controlling aspect and brutal honesty. I highly respect his honesty of himself. I put people down like he seems to too and I don't see it until I analyse it in my head afterwards (by repeatedly going over body language, what was said etc. over and over again).

I'm glad he exists. I admit I dislike it when he's off to that other Springwatch presenter. But I can be like that. It seems to be a part of me.

I see AS as a hidden disability, personally. It's up to him what he wants to say. I think more people should come out with controversial stuff like he does. I think everybody should learn to accept everyone else as individuals. Many people assume autism is a strict set of symptoms and characteristics and that all autistics are the same, and I think that type of mindset needs to change.

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League_Girl
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04 Aug 2019, 2:44 am

More Twitter drama and I can't even understand what they are arguing about. :roll:

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04 Aug 2019, 5:09 am

Is 'impairment ' ,a qualifier for being on the spectrum, synonymous with 'disability ' or not?

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05 Aug 2019, 2:31 am

I personally prefer to say that autism "entails disability" rather than that it "is a disability." For some of us it entails unusual abilities as well as disabilities.

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05 Aug 2019, 3:05 am

It makes me wonder why Packham embraced the diagnosis so much. Was it just a case of giving him a 'passport ' to say "I have Asperger's.I'm special." while ignoring the less 'special ' bits ?

If people just think they have something that makes them 'special' , and it's very much pluses as opposed to minuses , then is an Asperger's/ASD dx really appropriate for them?

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05 Aug 2019, 4:48 am

ASPartOfMe wrote:

Chris Packham sparks furious Twitter debate on Aspergers

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He didn't bring up the term disability, the other chaps did as a tactic in the arguement.

I'm not surprised that he doesn't view his experience of autism as a disability, he is rather certain about particular things and has had quite a lot of good fortune.
Also his environment might not have many barriers.

ASPartOfMe
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05 Aug 2019, 7:23 am

Amity wrote:

ASPartOfMe wrote:

Chris Packham sparks furious Twitter debate on Aspergers

Quote:

I and and the some others agree or disagree about his view that autism is not a disability, what we find offensive is his statement that being called disabled “an abominable insult beyond comprehension”

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05 Aug 2019, 7:44 am

ASPartOfMe wrote:

Amity wrote:

ASPartOfMe wrote:

Chris Packham sparks furious Twitter debate on Aspergers

Quote:

It had the same effect on me too, I thought fling the book at him... he is very individualistic, it just seemed out of context for him to say such a broad sweeping statement.
When I tried to find the context for this statement, I couldn't access the previous discussions he mentions in his first reply/tweet attempt to clear up what he claims is a misunderstanding. He still hasn't cleared it up though...
I dunno I have a few questions, also not fond of the idea that death threats have been made towards him and his family in response to his campaigns to protect animals.

ASPartOfMe
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05 Aug 2019, 7:52 am

Amity wrote:

ASPartOfMe wrote:

Amity wrote:

ASPartOfMe wrote:

Chris Packham sparks furious Twitter debate on Aspergers

Quote:

I dunno I have a few questions, also not fond of the idea that death threats have been made towards him and his family in response to his campaigns to protect animals.

Two wrongs do not make a right.

Amity
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05 Aug 2019, 8:01 am

Who said anything about two wrongs?
I said questions, maybe more than two though.

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05 Aug 2019, 8:30 am

Quite a few, like him , think it's not a disability . If it's not a disability for those people , why do they want a diagnosis in the first place ?

ASPartOfMe
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05 Aug 2019, 9:24 am

Amity wrote:

Who said anything about two wrongs?
I said questions, maybe more than two though.

I did.
It is wrong to threaten him and his family.
It is is wrong to say what he said.

firemonkey wrote:

Quite a few, like him , think it's not a disability . If it's not a disability for those people , why do they want a diagnosis in the first place ?

This question is often discussed here on Wrong Planet. I agree and disagree with points made by both sides of the disability vs different way of being debate. Some people are offended by the different way of being theory thinking it is insulting to people with “real autism”. That does not offend me. What Packham wrote does. It is not only offensive to autistics who are or think they are disabled, it is highly offensive to anybody who has any type of disability. All of this talk here about Packham’s view of Autism deflects from the horrible thing he wrote.

It is also harmful to the neurodiversity cause which I support because it unnecessarily links an opinion about autism with ableism. The two at already too often incorrectly linked by too many people. In my almost 6 years here I don’t know how many times I have tried to debunk people saying neurodiversity proponents are all about elitism, ableism, or supremacism. And along comes notable celebrity proponent seemingly validating them.

Last edited by ASPartOfMe on 05 Aug 2019, 9:52 am, edited 1 time in total.

Amity
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05 Aug 2019, 9:47 am

ASPartOfMe wrote:

Amity wrote:

Who said anything about two wrongs?
I said questions, maybe more than two though.

I did.
It is wrong to threaten him and his family.
It is is wrong to say what he said.

I couldn't agree with anyone who would say/believe that.

I would need more detail about the context of the original conversations he refers to, to be certain that he does hold this belief.

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05 Aug 2019, 9:55 am

ASPartOfMe wrote:

I agree, it is not nice to disabled people and must be hurtful for them.

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ASPartOfMe
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05 Aug 2019, 10:04 am

Amity wrote:

ASPartOfMe wrote:

Amity wrote:

Who said anything about two wrongs?
I said questions, maybe more than two though.

I did.
It is wrong to threaten him and his family.
It is is wrong to say what he said.

I couldn't agree with anyone who would say/believe that.

I would need more detail about the context of the original conversations he refers to, to be certain that he does hold this belief.

As you said earlier the understandable anger may have caused him to say something he did not believe or it could have been the anger made his true feelings come out. What is needed is an unconditional apology plus a statement showing his understanding how bad what he said is. As of this writing it this has not happened. If it does not I will assume he stands by what he wrote and judge him accordingly.

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