Traveling Show

iamthethunder:

TW mention of what we see on the tags

Welcome to the autism-related tags. We are its autistic denizens. We use this as a safe space to meet and talk about our lives. Here are some helpful pointers:

• If you use autism as an insult, someone will chew you out. If you are…

I do not think the angry mob thing is always an exaggeration.  Have you seen what happens to people when they say something offensive, even inadvertently?  You said you were new.  Things have been quiet lately, so you might not know about it.  One angry, explanatory reblog is what they will get from me.  My policies are here:

http://iamthethunder.tumblr.com/expect

I spend more of my time sending them out than I probably should.  I discourage it.  I have unfollowed for it.  However, a mob mentality develops occasionally around particularly egregious statements.  Allistic newcomers deserve a warning.  I have seen some receive harsher treatment than I think they should get.  I believe in giving people fair warning with the worst case scenario as they enter a potentially hostile environment.  The only people I actively harass are trolls, which has happened once in the ten months I have been on Tumblr.  I do that mostly because I am not triggered by Internet people.  They cannot hurt me, so I can keep them too busy to bother those they can.  The ignorant deserve civil explanations as expressed in the link.  Warning them is important because what they deserve and what happens are different.

I agree that the autism tag is not a space for us yet.  However, no space ever will be unless we claim it.  Here is a post on that: 

http://iamthethunder.tumblr.com/post/13418943559/the-tag

I hate both scenarios, but I would rather see a parent or sibling occasionally run off Tumblr than silence in the face of prejudice.  This space has our label on it.  That means it belongs to us or should.  Others can be there, too, but we should be the dominant voices constructing the narrative of autism here and in every space.  We must become those voices if we plan to avoid dying out through genetic testing.  If we do not speak up, Autism Speaks will.  It bothers me when someone’s mother is treated like Hitler, but we need to take up space if we are to have it.

You are right that I should have clarified that last line.  I was trying to talk about intrusive questions.  I may go back and fix it.

You may have read snarkiness into it.  It was there.  However, the post really comes out of this: I have a mother.  She loves me.  She sometimes says those egregious things.  It hurts me.  I still love her.  I see her in every person chased out of here by the blasting torrents of obscenity that make us look like barbarians.  I want there to be a warning for people like her.  

Thank you for disagreeing civilly.  I hope my response is coherent, though I am tired and under the weather.