Thank you so much for this! I often don’t know what to say, although I try, to my fellow autistic people who say something like this. I’m especially chagrined by the misunderstanding of autistic justice sensitivity. Yes, it can make some of us more sensitive to certain social justice issues but it just means that we’re more upset about the concept of injustice within whatever moral framework we already have and that can be around personal fairness, or any spectrum of political ideas of justice.
I also think that Asperger the person was problematic even in the charitable view of him: “Some accounts of him describe a person who used his power and position to save the lives of many children - arguing that Disabled children had gifts that meant they could be productive and useful, contrary to Nazi beliefs around Disability.” Because this sounds like he only saved kids based on their value in a capitalist system and that’s the ableism that’s deadly for disabled people with higher support needs.
Thanks again for help navigating these conversations and self-reflection resources.
One of the most frustrating truths I've learned over the years is how inclined we all are to believe that if we are marginalized in any way, we can't also be oppressors. That's another aspect of the binary approach that causes harmful attitudes about the very nature of isms. I consider it my responsibility to maintain a practice of rigorous self-inquiry, which includes questioning my own attitudes and beliefs. This can get really uncomfortable, and I think that's probably why most people aren't willing to go there. I have to be willing to sit with the discomfort of learning things about myself that I don't like, because otherwise there's no way I'll know I need to grow or unlearn in specific ways. I'm not sure, but I think this unwillingness to be uncomfortable is a product of how all of us raised in supremacy-based cultures have been socialized, so that we don't feel overly inclined to "rock the boat." Specifically, for me as a white Autistic, I have to be willing to acknowledge and hold myself accountable when I either realize or am told that I am acting or expressing racism. While many white people are overtly racist, those of us who perpetuate or enable racism unintentionally are allowed by society to excuse ourselves for our lack of intention; therefore, the onus is on us to not take that culturally approved out, and instead to hold ourselves to a more eqitable standard. I'm using myself as an example, here, to try to avoid sounding preachy and self-righteous. That being said, I really do believe most of us have this challenge to some degree, and thus we have issues like what you describe here, where a certain subset of virtually any marginalized group will convince themselves their both better than their oppressors, and superior to more marginalized members of their own group. Thank you for writing the subjects you do!
Thank you for this! You articulated the thoughts that have been bumping around in my brain. I especially was struck by this "We don’t need to be better than non-autistics, we need to be better than the systems of harm that raised us".
Thank you so much for this! I often don’t know what to say, although I try, to my fellow autistic people who say something like this. I’m especially chagrined by the misunderstanding of autistic justice sensitivity. Yes, it can make some of us more sensitive to certain social justice issues but it just means that we’re more upset about the concept of injustice within whatever moral framework we already have and that can be around personal fairness, or any spectrum of political ideas of justice.
I also think that Asperger the person was problematic even in the charitable view of him: “Some accounts of him describe a person who used his power and position to save the lives of many children - arguing that Disabled children had gifts that meant they could be productive and useful, contrary to Nazi beliefs around Disability.” Because this sounds like he only saved kids based on their value in a capitalist system and that’s the ableism that’s deadly for disabled people with higher support needs.
Thanks again for help navigating these conversations and self-reflection resources.
You're welcome, Amy! Thank you also for your excellent addition, would you mind if I edit the piece to include this, crediting you?
That would be lovely. Thank you.
One of the most frustrating truths I've learned over the years is how inclined we all are to believe that if we are marginalized in any way, we can't also be oppressors. That's another aspect of the binary approach that causes harmful attitudes about the very nature of isms. I consider it my responsibility to maintain a practice of rigorous self-inquiry, which includes questioning my own attitudes and beliefs. This can get really uncomfortable, and I think that's probably why most people aren't willing to go there. I have to be willing to sit with the discomfort of learning things about myself that I don't like, because otherwise there's no way I'll know I need to grow or unlearn in specific ways. I'm not sure, but I think this unwillingness to be uncomfortable is a product of how all of us raised in supremacy-based cultures have been socialized, so that we don't feel overly inclined to "rock the boat." Specifically, for me as a white Autistic, I have to be willing to acknowledge and hold myself accountable when I either realize or am told that I am acting or expressing racism. While many white people are overtly racist, those of us who perpetuate or enable racism unintentionally are allowed by society to excuse ourselves for our lack of intention; therefore, the onus is on us to not take that culturally approved out, and instead to hold ourselves to a more eqitable standard. I'm using myself as an example, here, to try to avoid sounding preachy and self-righteous. That being said, I really do believe most of us have this challenge to some degree, and thus we have issues like what you describe here, where a certain subset of virtually any marginalized group will convince themselves their both better than their oppressors, and superior to more marginalized members of their own group. Thank you for writing the subjects you do!
You're welcome!
Thank you for this! You articulated the thoughts that have been bumping around in my brain. I especially was struck by this "We don’t need to be better than non-autistics, we need to be better than the systems of harm that raised us".
You're welcome, J. Thank you for sharing what struck you, also, I'm glad to know this resonated.