So, I got to thinking after WordPress had repeatedly warned me that I was approaching a hundred posts. And I think I have been thinking about this in some manner or other since the very day I stopped failing at starting a site (I will write more about this shortly) and actually started one. I needed to write a statement of the reasons and purpose that lie behind this site. Please do not take this as an expression of endorsement of the man, but Adolf Hitler did, after all, have statements of intent and purpose like Mein Kampf. Fear not, though. I have (partly) read Mein Kampf. Whilst both Adolf and I might come across as rambling lunatics a lot of the time, at least I paid attention when a teacher “teaching” me how to write in abstract form within my own language tried to teach me that making complete sense was a requirement.
This site you see before you now… it was not exactly easy to get started. Right from the get-go, I knew I wanted to use an offline editor for posting articles. Partly because I wanted to have local backup copies of my posts in case a bunch of curebies got too power-mad with their misbegotten money. But mostly because the flexibility and power of offline editors in terms of formatting and editing options will always put online authoring programs to shame. But I digress. Originally, I tried to start this journal as an account on the Google-owned site Blogspot. Part of the reason was because Autistic Hoya, the journal of one activist by the name of Lydia Brown, was hosted on Blogspot. But I hate the word “blog” (as I have written), and the system by which offline editors work with these sites has problems of its own. Blogspot proved to be impossible to properly access my account on.
But that also turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Like all Google (or Googoo as I like to deride it at times) sites, Blogspot has this nasty habit of appending the “.au” suffix to any site in its family when it is accessed using a computer that is connected in Australia. So after embarrassing myself with requests for help in figuring out how to get this going on Blogspot, and finding the WordPress setup exponentially easier, here I am. Sorry, Google, but when I type a particular URL into a browser, I want that URL exactly as I typed it.
Having said all of that, it is now time to turn to the question I started with. Why am I writing here, and why should I write about the things I do? This necessitates a mission statement or a statement of purpose. Pick the clichéd expression that suits you better. In any case, the reason I began this journal is the same reason I made this video more than five years ago (and by the way, the site it originally was part of predates YouChoob by a noticeable margin). That is, I felt that I was being denied a voice in the horrible miasma that is the discussion of autism and the reality of life on the autistic spectrum on the Internet. So I decided that, however feebly it might come out, I would open my mouth and shout and until I could shout no more, and see what happened in terms of who listened. The response to that video was fairly encouraging, and it continues to attract some measure of response even though more than five years have passed. The response to this site, though fairly minimal so far and vague at times, has also been encouraging. And as I continue to tell myself whenever I write a new post, if what I write to the world here prevents one case of an autistic individual being abused by someone they should be able to trust, it is all worth it.
That is the first point of why I write this journal. The media has tried to popularise autism and high-functioning autism in particular as some cute and cuddly Care Bears type of world to live in. This journal exists because we need a voice out there to remind the world that nothing, in fact, could be further from the case. So whenever I have something to say about the fact that autistic adults who are capable of tying their own shoes can be and frequently are abused by those they should be able to trust, my mission both in life and in the creation of this journal is to say it. Regardless of what the consequences may be.
Like my videos on the subject, and to a small degree this journal, you just cannot post assertions that autistic individuals have rights without attracting inbreds whose IQs never exceed room temperature. All of them, of course, keen to tell us how we autistic adults should not be allowed to speak for ourselves, or about topics that they think we should not be speaking about, and so on and so forth. Of course, it never occurs to them that if they feel so strongly about it, they would do better to start a journal of their own and post about it there. Because another critical part of my mission statement is this. I will never allow my work, whether it be in video, written, or audio format, to used to promote the curebie agenda. Never. So if you feel an urge to click on that comment button and tell me how I need to be cured of what makes me me, or that autistic people do not/should not write about this or that, do not bother. It will never appear here, except maybe to become the subject of ridicule in a later post.
An important part of writing about the agenda and view of a Powell Aspie, however, is making it clear to the audience that other people out there have things to say. Even if they only agree with five percent of what you or I have to say, it is important to point at them and say “look at this person, we agree on this particular point”. Because contrary to what a conservative shithead will tell you, scientific consensus is actually a very good and important way to discern the truth. Whilst my oft-repeated statement that if you try to remove my autism, I will remove you from the planet may be an extreme position on the matter, Autism Speaks know full well that they cannot maintain what little credibility they have in the face of all the opposing voices. So when I read or see something that I concur with, you can believe it will be written about or linked to on this journal.
Now, it has occurred to me that there are a lot of posts in this journal about things relating to the entertainment industry, or stories. It goes back to the old Jello Biafra quote. Do not hate the media, become the media. Whilst the overlords of the old media are determined to make the new media just like the old (a corrupt, lawless fight in which the strongest or richest trample everyone else), we still have the power to make this media a positive force for good in our world. As much an educational and communication tool as it is entertainment, just like television was going to be in the early days. But that also means that keeping the audience informed as to what they should take a good look at is a good idea. And if one person reads something on this site, and discovers a slice of the available media that benefits them as a result, then it is all worth it.
From time to time, sadly, I will see something printed on the Internet that is just flat-out wrong or malicious towards the autistic. And sometimes, just what would otherwise be a perfectly innocent, well-meant statement needs correcting. A good example of the latter is when the IMDB saw fit to put a gallery on its front page of celebrities at an Autism Speaks event. I went straight to their forum and told them, plainly, that the entire autistic population either hates Autism Speaks like the entire black population of South Africa seems to hate everyone who is not black, or does not yet know they hate Autism Speaks. Thanks to this and some other posts by autistic adults, the Autism Speaks publicity got removed from the IMDB’s front page. But the point is that one post in response to mine, trying to be polite, conceded the existence of “some controversy” about Autism Speaks. So I corrected them that there is no controversy. Controversy implies that there are two or more sides to the issue, and that it is not entirely clear which side has the most validity. No controversy exists with Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks are plain wrong. The only controversy is whether Fox should merely be stripped of their tax exempt status, or (insert a lot of mid-range ideas here), or executed for crimes against Humanity. I will leave you to guess which position is mine.
So this is my mission statement. My mission is to give a voice to the voiceless, to make sure that those whose view of the world converges with mine to a greater degree are represented, and to provide a different angle on the things I write about. Irrespective of what you believe about my mission or how I am going about it, I thank you for taking the time to take a look at both.
Powered by Qumana
I Still Find It So Hard... 