tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post2513301873725552834..comments2023-05-09T06:00:19.599-04:00Comments on Autistic Hoya — A blog by Lydia X. Z. Brown (2011-2020): On Ableism in the Autism and Autistic CommunitiesLydia Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484063914873791571noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-82689635547247011142014-06-14T20:26:29.278-04:002014-06-14T20:26:29.278-04:00You're going to hate me, but I have to admit t...You're going to hate me, but I have to admit to using the word retard about someone who is stupid by my definition*, though I never use it about people with intellectual disabilities because even they are aware of the insult, even those who cannot understand what the insult actually is. I feel that there's really not much point in 'taking back' words that will always be easy to Sheogorathhttps://archiveofourown.org/users/sheogorathnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-63645978952828738502012-10-16T22:54:55.049-04:002012-10-16T22:54:55.049-04:00That would be "a lot of autistics", plur...That would be "a lot of autistics", plural, thanks to autocorrect and not being able to edit the comment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-88076766538334566932012-10-16T22:47:50.562-04:002012-10-16T22:47:50.562-04:00I am late running across this post, much less repl...I am late running across this post, much less replying, but thank you Lydia for writing it.<br /><br />These usages are also hurtful to me, and probably a number of others with similar histories, because I am just old enough to have spent years in the psych system under an alphabet soup of labels before anyone knew to call it autism. (With added layers of PTSD and diabetes from some of the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-35547190698158626872012-08-18T20:21:13.389-04:002012-08-18T20:21:13.389-04:00"For insulting people's intelligence:
..."For insulting people's intelligence:<br /><br /> Unintelligent<br /> Ignorant<br /> Ignoramus<br /> Asinine<br /> Insipid"<br /><br />Any idea of the credibility of insulting intelligence, in a fuller autism community that is comprised of approximately 38% of individuals with intellectual disability, is unsettling to me, as I have seen this happen over and over againKatie Mia Frederickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01336627766755378406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-64113696209156814302012-08-12T10:18:27.760-04:002012-08-12T10:18:27.760-04:00As the parent of a child with autism and another w...As the parent of a child with autism and another with bipolar disorder, I thank you for this post! My daughter is just as hurt by uneducated remarks about a criminal's likely mental health issues as my son is about such references regarding autism.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-2077453450169599902012-07-30T21:11:12.557-04:002012-07-30T21:11:12.557-04:00Many defined/described diseases, illnesses and dis...Many defined/described diseases, illnesses and disorders are legally identified and defined as disabilities, per US code that enforces the American's with disabilities act, including Autism Spectrum disorders.<br /><br />If you don't live in the US, this may not be applicable, by technical legal standard, but it is in the US.<br /><br />The legal definition of Autism per disability per USKatie Mia Frederickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01336627766755378406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-17215762589223382352012-07-30T15:40:01.227-04:002012-07-30T15:40:01.227-04:00I am autistic but I am not disabled. Saying this i...I am autistic but I am not disabled. Saying this is not true is just as insulting as when Autism Speaks says that we all need to be cured. In fact it is playing right in to the hands of curebies because a disability is a movement away from normal health with the body which is not a disease, and I am not disabled, but different.<br /><br />I am not disabled. Understanding that I don't have a Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-72712007456183940182012-07-29T19:34:33.671-04:002012-07-29T19:34:33.671-04:00I have 3 thoughts (at least!) in response to this:...I have 3 thoughts (at least!) in response to this:<br /><br />1) To Hannah, above, I tend to think like you do, but I recently read this wonderful quote that made me think twice about publicly using ablist language that I and my friends are comfortable with having reclaimed: <br /><br />"...when we talk about language usage, it’s worth considering how our use of language impacts others. Not abailinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06865785181402417307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-31378333504956995472012-07-29T18:45:22.067-04:002012-07-29T18:45:22.067-04:00I agree with you that using ableist slurs to speak...I agree with you that using ableist slurs to speak up for autistics is particularly wrong and hypocritical. That is why I was chastising the poster at LBRB who was complaining that autistics are not mentally ill, therefore that is the only reason it is wrong for Morning Joe to say what he said.<br /><br />I also try not to use ableist slurs in everyday life.BiolArtisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16330367623093253412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-91615258921767730012012-07-28T14:55:28.905-04:002012-07-28T14:55:28.905-04:00Sorry but bleach enemas ARE crazy.Sorry but bleach enemas ARE crazy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-36620183726865834082012-07-28T10:52:24.200-04:002012-07-28T10:52:24.200-04:00My brother speaks a dialect where 'insane'...My brother speaks a dialect where 'insane' and 'crazy' are highly complimentary descriptors or modifiers, usually for food, music or art. "Dude you have to come, their nachos are insaaane, perfect prelude to the crazy good Blue Man Group." What would you make of this usage? I am sincerely asking.Elizabeth J. (Ibby) Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08330631899371657005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-92218001253247785972012-07-28T06:25:53.207-04:002012-07-28T06:25:53.207-04:00Thanks Stephanie,
That's more my meaning.
Mea...Thanks Stephanie, <br />That's more my meaning.<br />Meaning is socially constructed, so the meaning that my siblings and I create when we laugh about how we are all mental is one of shared experience and belonging. <br />It would not be appropriate for a news reporter to describe a public suicide the same way, not in a million years. <br />I would not use language that belongs to a strictly Hannahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08819262159652755479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-54133432497085139132012-07-27T16:10:57.381-04:002012-07-27T16:10:57.381-04:00But reclamation refers to using words *differently...But reclamation refers to using words *differently* than their original pejorative use, most famous case "nigga" from "nigger." Hannah (correct me if I'm wrong) does not seem to view the words as pejorative, but descriptive with no power connotation. I'm inclined to agree that the words' meanings are strong enough that negative connotations are secondary.<br /><br Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-88232167672489774232012-07-27T15:34:44.591-04:002012-07-27T15:34:44.591-04:00Thanks.Thanks.Pi-Nerdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02186992750389820644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-70169982477338007002012-07-27T14:01:20.936-04:002012-07-27T14:01:20.936-04:00You can use it that way, but the reason the word i...You can use it that way, but the reason the word is used to describe drunk people is because "they are acting like a stupid person," i.e. a person with an intellectual disability. That's the connotation of the term when used that way.Lydia Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13484063914873791571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-69885238156636988122012-07-27T13:48:13.557-04:002012-07-27T13:48:13.557-04:00Could stupid also be used to describe someone in a...Could stupid also be used to describe someone in a drunken stupor?Pi-Nerdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02186992750389820644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-25280222192171025792012-07-27T12:19:20.557-04:002012-07-27T12:19:20.557-04:00Oh, I got that and I completely agree.Oh, I got that and I completely agree.Alicenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-65268724927193540372012-07-27T12:06:32.538-04:002012-07-27T12:06:32.538-04:00Nuts is used to describe people with mental illnes...Nuts is used to describe people with mental illness or mental or psychiatric disabilities (i.e. "gone nuts"). Stupid means "in a stupor," that is, having an intellectual disability. <br /><br />Idiot, moron, and imbecile were actually diagnostic terms used by professionals and clinicians to describe people with intellectual disabilities. Specifically, people with a tested IQ Lydia Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13484063914873791571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-17084930711603282352012-07-27T11:57:13.859-04:002012-07-27T11:57:13.859-04:00"But I do believe in actively educating peopl..."But I do believe in actively educating people about where these words come from--crazy, insane, loony, nuts, stupid, idiotic, moron, imbecile, retarded" I was hoping that you would cover that in this post, as I don't know the origins of most of those. Crazy, insane, and retarded I know; loony just reminds me of "loony bin", so I can guess as to an original meaning; but Pi-Nerdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02186992750389820644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-10922574563701612442012-07-27T09:21:39.525-04:002012-07-27T09:21:39.525-04:00The point is not that "mental illness" i...The point is not that "mental illness" is different from "developmental disability." It is. And it's fine to acknowledge that. The problems arise when the distinction is made with the underlying connotation that it's better to be Autistic than to have mental illness, and that people with mental illness are an undesirable other in and of themselves.Lydia Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13484063914873791571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-43452458005129371252012-07-27T09:20:23.550-04:002012-07-27T09:20:23.550-04:00My point is that making an otherwise good and nece...My point is that making an otherwise good and necessary point using ableist language completely dilutes your point. I loathe Autism Speaks and what it stands for. I'm appalled and horrified that anyone would think giving a child a bleach enema would be a good idea. But using ableist language to attack those things is full of such irony and hypocrisy that it's incomprehensible.Lydia Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13484063914873791571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-55529075615245400932012-07-27T09:19:06.925-04:002012-07-27T09:19:06.925-04:00I'll take just a moment to address one of your...I'll take just a moment to address one of your points--when referring to yourself in that way, that's not ableism so much as language reclamation. Prod me if you want a response to the rest later.Lydia Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13484063914873791571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-86521281784993581882012-07-27T06:08:06.460-04:002012-07-27T06:08:06.460-04:00Yeah, I also have mental health issues and am on t...Yeah, I also have mental health issues and am on the spectrum. And I feel like the assumption is that people who use ableist language like "crazy" don't actually have mental health issues themselves, when the reality is that a lot of us are self-hating, unaware, or just don't care. A large number of the people I've heard say "crazy" or "insane"---not in aNainoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-60727653828392503392012-07-27T04:08:03.712-04:002012-07-27T04:08:03.712-04:00This is really problematic. I'm autistic. I al...This is really problematic. I'm autistic. I also have had several mental illnesses at different points in my life. I don't really consider autism to be a mental illness but the distinction for me isn't that people with mental illnesses is somehow worse or less valuable, but that I want to get rid of my mental illnesses but not my autism. Because the former is hurting me.<br /><br />Alicenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338581633491322703.post-23132494424377054532012-07-27T04:02:47.345-04:002012-07-27T04:02:47.345-04:00Interestingly, I just posted at LBRB chastising a ...Interestingly, I just posted at LBRB chastising a poster for complaining about autism being lumped in with mental illness and allegedly leading to Joe Scarborough's ignorant remarks.<br /><br />I try really hard to avoid using mental-health labels as slurs. I've been on the receiving end enough to know it hurts. <br /><br />If someone's being irrational, I can say they aren't BiolArtisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16330367623093253412noreply@blogger.com