Note For Anyone Writing About Me

Guide to Writing About Me

I am an Autistic person,not a person with autism. I am also not Aspergers. The diagnosis isn't even in the DSM anymore, and yes, I agree with the consolidation of all autistic spectrum stuff under one umbrella. I have other issues with the DSM.

I don't like Autism Speaks. I'm Disabled, not differently abled, and I am an Autistic activist. Self-advocate is true, but incomplete.

Citing My Posts

MLA: Zisk, Alyssa Hillary. "Post Title." Yes, That Too. Day Month Year of post. Web. Day Month Year of retrieval.

APA: Zisk, A. H. (Year Month Day of post.) Post Title. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://yesthattoo.blogspot.com/post-specific-URL.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Sometimes we don't want you to say something because that something has been used as justification for killing us.

Trigger Warning: Discussion of ableist terms and dehumanization of disabled people.
``You have the rights to safety and security person, not freedom of offensiveness. 
Whine about real problems and maybe persons with disabilities will be treated with equal dignity and respect able-bodies persons, don’t just police language and expect social change to happen because of a minor choice in adjectives. "
 If they had said ``Whine about real problems and we'll fix them," it'd be at least a little better. But requiring that we complain about things you think are worth complaining about in order to get basic human dignity and respect? I don't think so. I think you need to check that privilege. You have the physical ability to call people stupid and retarded. I know. You even think that it's just offense. I know. Here's the thing: When you use retarded as an insult, you also say that being retarded is inherently less. That's reinforcing the idea that it's LESS HUMAN, and therefore less deserving of human dignity and respect. That's a problem. You are essentially saying that they're not really people, and that is tacit approval of treating them (and us) as not really people. You know what happens when a group is seen as not really people? All kinds of things become OK, sometimes up to and including killing them. And I am aware of FIVE autistics who have been killed THIS YEAR for being autistic, two of them toddlers and one not much older than that. Kind of like if you were a decent person, you wouldn't insult a person by saying that they aren't really a person and that it would be OK to abuse them? Well, that's what you're saying when you insult them by calling them a retard or by calling them autistic, given what people are doing to both groups.
And if you want me to whine about real problems? Ok, I'll whine about the fact that PEOPLE KEEP KILLING US and then OTHER PEOPLE EXCUSE THIS BECAUSE WE ARE SUCH TRAGEDIES and then YET OTHER PEOPLE SAY WE DON'T DESERVE DIGNITY BECAUSE WE GET ANGRY ABOUT REINFORCING THE LANGUAGE THAT THE PEOPLE MAKING EXCUSES USED. Real enough for you?

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