Just because you may like being part of a group, does not mean that I have to.

This website is an inanimate website where people can correspond and share ideas and experiences.  It is no more a 'group' that Facebook or World of Warcraft.

Open, co-ordinated activism may work, but it is not something that Aspies seem 'wired' for.  Many of the traits that define us as Aspies may get in the way of a socially-organized group effort.

I said, "We are Aspies, not lemmings -- we're not group-oriented" because that seems to be one of the traits that defines us as Aspies.  By the way, my statement is in agreement with yours, so you should have no objections about it.

By working separately and pooling our experiences.  This whole "Groupthink" concept will not work with people who are unable to perceive another person's point-of-view and accept it as valid -- Aspie traits.

[sarcasm]Oh, I am SO honored to have your approval, your Highness![/sarcasm]

Actually, seeing as how I have successfully been doing things this way for over 20 years, your approval is both irrelevant and meaningless.

Certainly.  If other people wish to blindly follow other people over a virtual cliff, that is their choice.  I used to do that, too.  It's what led to my time of homelessness, poverty and unemployment.  But if that's what other people want for themselves, then don't let me stand in their way.

If you can motivate Aspies to openly and effectively oppose Autism Speaks as a group, then have at it.  If you can keep them motivated long after the first limerance has worn off, then more power to you.  And if you can actually succeed in bringing Autism Speaks to its knees, then I will applaud you.

Until then, I'll be satisfied with my own little victories, and hope that by reaching the teachers who teach the children, that those children -- Aspie, Autie and Neurotypical -- will have grown up to treat each other as human beings, rather than their labels.

This post was last modified: 09-25-2010 12:54 AM by Fnord.

I do agree with being cautious about groups specifically seeking autistic people. Another thing to be cautious of are groups that are relatively private like non-mainstream political or religious groups. Such groups have a legitimate need for privacy, but it is a great environment to take advantage of people since doors are closed. And of course we have corporate "charities" trying to trick people into being figure heads, often without the person having a real understanding of what they're doing.

I think working in groups can be stressful, but it doesn't have to be. It depends on the group culture, how well one can communicate in that environment, how understanding they are, etc. I also personally find working in large groups very hard, but I am okay in some smaller groups. Sometimes a larger group is composed of lots of small groups and I'm okay then too since everything is spaced out.

I'm not trying to make an argument for or against working in groups here, even though I do have my opinions, but this can be a realistic option. Another option is independently supporting a group of people- so you are not really "in," but they are still thankful for any help you can contribute.

I am going to ignore the "aspie versus autie" thing since I've made it clear clear in the past that I don't believe in such a distinction and that's a topic unto itself.

This post was last modified: 09-25-2010 01:56 AM by q w e r t y.

Fnord I am glad you explained what you meant and I agree to an extent but I also think that even in this respect that someone who when doing something self-directed gets half the effect as doing things but themselves working with 3 like-minded people will get more down purely as a mathematical equation.
I DO agree with what you have said though. Don't get me wrong. I think that there is definitely room here for single forays and one person campaigns.
What I would actually like is something just above bare minimum efforts from a handful of people IF well thought out initially and correctly applied. to lend significant enough volume of efforts concentrated over the long haul to give a sustained effort, hence the term "termite them".
Over and above this I recognise I can well tell people to make these efforts their life's efforts and hell I would not want to.
More other and above this I don't want this to be seen as much  work or a bother. I think if someone can set it up right initially and spend maybe an hour a week over a long period of time and the rest of their life is theirs.
It will require it is set up well initially. I am trying to gauge who is likely to be in or out and moreso who has thoughts in what they are up for or wanting to do. I have thoughts but I was hoping to hear from others.

I think we should make a anti-Autism Speaks logo, people can add as avatars around the web. Like, something you could put on your Facebook or Myspace, then perhaps out of curiousity conversations can start. A handy website to link people to with info against Autism Speaks would also be a good idea. I think it should be similar to this site in format:

http://www.bigfatfacts.com

Then people could link there, and let people read about why Autism Speaks isn't a good organization, and form their own opinion.

This post was last modified: 09-25-2010 09:17 AM by violet_yoshi.

Sorry this doesn't make much sense s I was being distracted by my boy at the time.
What I am saying is that some one doing something by themselves will do far better than doing it as a collaborate effort in terms of one on one return for effort. But if they individually get half the return for effort and at least 2 others get the same return then between them they are doing more than what he could do by himself. A dozen people? Over a sustained terms and well directed and approached? Paydirt as long as it doesn't exclude them from having a life or choosing to do their own thing as well.

Rest kinda made sense.

Furthermore I do think that people should not look at much campaign approach *** the one option. Throw ideas out, think over them, find best delivery method and the like. If you were able to contribute positively to mine and come up with others to do solo or in a group, bloody great!

This post was last modified: 09-25-2010 09:21 AM by Bloke.

OK this thread had to be put on hold obviously whilst Marcia was busy maligning my vcharacter and telling people I was not interested in activism.


He is using AFF for his own ends, which seems to be the pursuit of a personal vendetta against Amy and Gareth, and me as well it seems.  For some reason, he has decided to come back here and rake over things which happened two years ago.  I don't think his reasons for being here are in any way altruistic and I don't think he is interested in activism.  He is pursuing some agenda of his own.

Rossco says I'm "righteous, moralistic and opinionated".  I say he is a deceitful liar who thinks he is entitled to bully, harrass, intimidate and silence by smear and mockery those whom he dislikes or disagrees with.

Now here is how I figure. Autism Speaks is bloody huge and there is NO one play that, as a one off, is going to impact them or reduce their influence. However sustained action in various forms will have an impact.

They have been built on many levels and expand on many levels. For instance they win the game with political machinations, through grants allocation, through PR through event management and through Google search rankings. None of this is through accident and none of this is going to stop improving or diminish without any action. All of this won't be seriously changed through one action.

For different ideas to add and to expand on I will open a new thread. This will be for the more constructive brainstorming whilst this thread will be for general talk about what action against Autism Speaks is a good one.

Here it is here

http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/showthre...?tid=20530

If I had a choice then I would support the view that autismspeaks are well-meaning but misguided. I don't think that they are evil, at least not by design, and I don't think that anyone will get very far by trying to convince austismspeaks that they are evil, or by trying to convince society as a whole that autismspeaks are evil. I can totally see how hard it would be for most NT parents to have an aspie or autistic child with behaviours that they simply cannot relate to. My son is like a more active version of myself at that age in many ways, and I find it hard to cope with him sometimes.

I'll post later my ideas on activism.

I don't think I would try to convince them they were evil or even suggest it openly. However I do think that "The way to hell is paved with good intentions"

Would really appreciate those ideas. Have a look at the thread I linked here if you like as a place to brainstorm out this idea. Love the input.

Things like organised protests are not a good idea IMHO.  The main issue is credibility, if you do a protest and it goes wrong then you lose.  Everyone who is on the Spectrum has problems in convincing people when meeting them in person, so any Aspie or Autie who stages a protest will risk convincing the NTs that they are weird in a bad way.

The best thing to do is to mention your diagnosis in ways that can be associated with good things that you do.  If you have a blog then mention your diagnosis so the people who like your blog content will know that people on the Spectrum are capable of doing good things in that area.  Tell all your friends too.

The more people there are who know that there is a huge number of people who are Autistic by DSM-V criteria who are successful and independent the less credibility Autism-Speaks will have.

YES!!!!

I agree.

The reason this matters is this. (Well how see it)

What is the net effect they have on MY life. Next to nothing TBH.
My son...maybe it will impact. They are fast becoming THE VOICE in Autism affairs.
My children's children if they have any and if they too are on the spectrum...THAT is what I fear.

So a world where Autistic forums that newly diagnosed are run or sponsored by Autism Speaks?
Where the powerful government and religious bodies endorse their stance?
Where scholarships and research grants are sponsored by them.
Where all media runs through them solely.

Where if we do nothing now we will be in a position only to say "Well what can we do now?"
The resistant line will necessarily be dismiss and minimised and the flaws that hey have swept away in censor and the sands of time.

I don't want that. Worth more effort than discussing it solely and not being brave enough to do something. I think it is worth some effort now even if we try our best and fail. I can live with that.

Autism Speaks does not represent the intrest of auspies or Aspies and we as members of the Autism spectrum should be active in an all-out attempt to shut down Autism speaks for their mission (if it sucseeds) will only lead to selective abortions. this represents a grave threat to a thriving autistic community.... perhaps the greatest threat we ever faced since the mental insitutions of the 1950's.

Agreed

http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/showthre...?tid=20537

I agree. (wonder how many negative replies this guy got as an aspie, vs negative replies I'd get saying the same thing as an NT?)