My privilege

[aspieextrodinare]

Before I start off let me say that I am white (half English, 1/4 Swedish, 1/4 German roughly), male (checks again, yep still male), upper-middle class as of the time of leaving home (am 26 now, and still live what might be considered an middle class lifestyle thanks to student loans and working as much as I possibly can), and hetro (through throughout my life I have had 0 success with girls). I also happen to be autistic, which means that I don't see any of the advantages that I am supposed to see in such.

I look around here, and it seems that the only struggle that is worth mentioning here is black and white (not even really minority and white). I get that this has to do with the Trayvon case, but that really isn't the only issue going on. Why do even we on the left not care about what happens to other disenfranchised people.

In the past month there have been a couple cases involving the disabled, that seem to be swept under the rug, even here. For example, while it has lead to disability rights advocates addressing it, there has been nothing of the George Hodgins murder. Now this is one I can't blame anyone here for as everyone is ignoring this. The media hasn't addressed it. Autism Society mentioned it... but left out the word "George" anywhere on it. I think I am the only one who cares. Why could this be other than the fact that autistic murders seem to be okay in society. If I was ever to try to go home again, and live with my parents (considering my lack of sustainable income it is quite possible) it is quite possible the same could happen to me, with the same no punishment we see in many of these cases.

More recently a video came out about the Judge Rothenburg Center that shows a child repeatedly being electrically shocked by someone who is supposed to be caring for him. As of yet as far as I know charges have yet to be filed (and probably never will be as it was state sanctioned). I had the same problems as many people there growing up... how lucky was I to avoid a hellish place like this (there is more than one out there). Scares me to even think about it.

More personally my advantage has afforded me the right to know I might never need to worry about getting a real high paying job, because no one would hire me. I have recently been from 2 student teaching placements, in special education no less, because as both teachers put it, "Teaching is not the right job for autistics". What ever happened to, "You can be whatever you want to be!" for my kind it is you can be whatever we think you should be. ADA doesn't really help us here (or autistics wouldn't be unemployed at the rates they are, I have heard anywhere from 75 to 95%... and tend to believe the later more than the former), and I know that it is quite possible I will never be able to get and keep a real paying job, I am thankful that I have been able to have a 10-20 hour a week job for as long as I have had, but most people don't want to hire a male autistic to take care of their kids so it is likely it will stay at 10-20 hours, except for hopefully the summer.

I hope nobody sees this as whining, because this is very real to me. I just wish this struggle was able to receive some real attention, at least from us. We are starting to become more than 1% of the population, we have to be noticed sooner or later.

[mactime]

1. Thank you for posting this.

I don't see anything you have said as whining, you made some very powerful points.
I think a lot of people get lost in their own self-pity that they don't see that there are others that are up against real disadvantages.

[PA Democrat]

2. Welcome to DU, aspieextrodinare.

I have a child with autism and I am very much aware of the challenges of employment. What is so frustrating is that many of the programs to help people on the autism spectrum find meaningful employment have had drastic cuts in funding over the past several years.

Have you checked out the Asperger's/ PDD Group on DU? General Discussion tends to be a free-for-all and many topics, while important, can get lost in the shuffle.

Here is a link to the Asperger's/ PDD Group in case you haven't checked it out yet:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1145

I hope to see you around.

[Wait Wut]

3. Not whining.

It's a tough call, aspie. I know you might see it as some type of "favoritism" or "bigotry", but it's really all up to the media. Saying that makes me sound like I don't give a damn about Trayvon, though, doesn't it? He's just one young man. But, if you're lucky, you'll see how the fight for justice in his case could help all of us. It doesn't take away the pain of feeling slighted by society, but do what you can to see that this isn't just about black vs white. It's about tolerance, understanding and humanity. We can all benefit from changes in attitudes.

I go through similar moments of anger when I hear non-stop talk about breast cancer. I'm so sick of the color pink I could puke. I'm a woman. I totally understand that breast cancer is something we need to cure and prevent. But, what about child abuse? What about all of the other childhood diseases that shorten innocent lives? Children don't have the funds nor ability to speak for themselves. They can't organize marches and fundraisers.

You see, there are only so many battles the human race can fight at once. Use those battles to your advantage. Find the common thread. Don't feel slighted or ignored. There were a lot of people murdered this week. We don't know their names, either. It doesn't make it okay, it makes it reality. We have Trayvon to join us all together against violence...period.

As far as your autism goes and it's effect on your employment options, I don't even know what to say. I was tested in 1st grade, before they really knew what it was. They said I was "just extremely shy, but very smart". Maybe my benefit was never getting the label. Attitudes are changing towards autistics, and at a pretty damned quick pace, lately. Someone is paying attention. That's a start.

Don't give up. Go ahead and feel like shit once in awhile, but just once in awhile. It helps you clear out the cobwebs. The rest of the time, fight. If you let us, we'll fight with you.