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Jun. 12th, 2014
@likearumchocolatesouffle replied to your post:okay but autistic craft mages
What’s a craft mage? A mage whose skill is in creating physical objects?
okay so there’s this book series by Tamora Pierce called the Circle of Magic (with a secondary series and additional books in the same universe) which is amazing and one of my favorite childhood fantasy serieses to reread, and in it she distinguishes between the stereotypical “academic” kind of magic and mage and what she calls “ambient” (or often, in her afterword about how she got the idea, “craft”) magic. The Tamora Pierce wiki explains it better than I can:
Ambient Magic is a form of magic known only in the Emelan Universe. It is not as well known as the traditional Academic Magic, and in fact is only one fourth times as common as Academic magic. Ambient Magic takes different forms depending on the mage and the craft he or she performs––common ones include stone, carpentry, healing, cooking, thread and needlework, pottery, fire, and weather.[1] Ambient glass magic is described as “middling rare.” Ambient stone magic is common, as stones are said to make the containers for power. Ambient Magic doesn’t draw on the mage’s self-created power like Academic Magic, but from the surroundings and craft items of the mage (e.g. a thread mage will get power from clothing and other woven things).Because of this, Ambient mages have difficulty controlling a great deal of power constantly flowing into them, whereas Academic mages struggle with building up their power.
Because their power is naturally tied into a craft or aspect of nature, the physical aspects of their craft, such as thread, stones, or even lightning, feel as if they are “alive” to the Ambient mage. These physical components are attracted to the Ambient mage, and from the descriptions in the books, seem to “talk” to the mage.
Now the especially cool thing about four young ambient mages who are the protagonists of the Circle of Magic series is how weird they are in how they do magic, even in comparison to other ambient mages!
For example, Sandry is a ‘stitch witch’ - her magic is tied to thread and cloth and the acts of crafting them. Her mentor is also a stitch witch - but while Lark has to work her magic through a physical medium, Sandry can craft the actual magic itself.
All ambient mages are drawn toward the sources of their magic, whether they know they have magic or not - everything about the craft will fascinate them and draw them in - a sort of built in special interest, you might say. :)
And in addition to their tendency to absorb themselves almost completely in their affined craft, they also have very different and individual ways of interacting with the materials of their craft, which can lead to atypical sensory responses to things.
For example, different fibers feel different to Sandry - not just physically, but in their magic, even their ‘personality’, so to speak. Daja, one of the other young mages, one with an affinity for metal and smithwork, ‘hears’ different metals sing differently. A cloth that objectively speaking was soft and smooth could potentially feel harsh and rasping against Sandry’s skin, if it was an unfriendly sort of thread. A flawed metalworking might have painfully discordant notes. etc.
Socially, they’ll sometimes act strangely or against propriety because of what their magic demands - people tend to find it strange and disquieting when you treat ball lightening as a tame animal to be pet, for example.
I’m not saying that the protagonists in the Circle of Magic are autistic, but I do think it wouldn’t take much at all to write them that way.
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1loIosS
What’s a craft mage? A mage whose skill is in creating physical objects?
okay so there’s this book series by Tamora Pierce called the Circle of Magic (with a secondary series and additional books in the same universe) which is amazing and one of my favorite childhood fantasy serieses to reread, and in it she distinguishes between the stereotypical “academic” kind of magic and mage and what she calls “ambient” (or often, in her afterword about how she got the idea, “craft”) magic. The Tamora Pierce wiki explains it better than I can:
Ambient Magic is a form of magic known only in the Emelan Universe. It is not as well known as the traditional Academic Magic, and in fact is only one fourth times as common as Academic magic. Ambient Magic takes different forms depending on the mage and the craft he or she performs––common ones include stone, carpentry, healing, cooking, thread and needlework, pottery, fire, and weather.[1] Ambient glass magic is described as “middling rare.” Ambient stone magic is common, as stones are said to make the containers for power. Ambient Magic doesn’t draw on the mage’s self-created power like Academic Magic, but from the surroundings and craft items of the mage (e.g. a thread mage will get power from clothing and other woven things).Because of this, Ambient mages have difficulty controlling a great deal of power constantly flowing into them, whereas Academic mages struggle with building up their power.
Because their power is naturally tied into a craft or aspect of nature, the physical aspects of their craft, such as thread, stones, or even lightning, feel as if they are “alive” to the Ambient mage. These physical components are attracted to the Ambient mage, and from the descriptions in the books, seem to “talk” to the mage.
Now the especially cool thing about four young ambient mages who are the protagonists of the Circle of Magic series is how weird they are in how they do magic, even in comparison to other ambient mages!
For example, Sandry is a ‘stitch witch’ - her magic is tied to thread and cloth and the acts of crafting them. Her mentor is also a stitch witch - but while Lark has to work her magic through a physical medium, Sandry can craft the actual magic itself.
All ambient mages are drawn toward the sources of their magic, whether they know they have magic or not - everything about the craft will fascinate them and draw them in - a sort of built in special interest, you might say. :)
And in addition to their tendency to absorb themselves almost completely in their affined craft, they also have very different and individual ways of interacting with the materials of their craft, which can lead to atypical sensory responses to things.
For example, different fibers feel different to Sandry - not just physically, but in their magic, even their ‘personality’, so to speak. Daja, one of the other young mages, one with an affinity for metal and smithwork, ‘hears’ different metals sing differently. A cloth that objectively speaking was soft and smooth could potentially feel harsh and rasping against Sandry’s skin, if it was an unfriendly sort of thread. A flawed metalworking might have painfully discordant notes. etc.
Socially, they’ll sometimes act strangely or against propriety because of what their magic demands - people tend to find it strange and disquieting when you treat ball lightening as a tame animal to be pet, for example.
I’m not saying that the protagonists in the Circle of Magic are autistic, but I do think it wouldn’t take much at all to write them that way.
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1loIosS
newleasemylove replied to your post:don’t think about it don’t think about it don’t…
*sends hugs* if you do need to talk to someone about it my askbox is always open bb
(thanks, love.)
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1qxcQSm
*sends hugs* if you do need to talk to someone about it my askbox is always open bb
(thanks, love.)
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1qxcQSm
ohmy-gingersnaps:
This gif has increased my level of happiness exponentially. The more I watch it, the happier I get.
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1s795Yd
This gif has increased my level of happiness exponentially. The more I watch it, the happier I get.
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1s795Yd
okay! so let’s move on from the earlier probably-not-reasonable panicking to the panicking about work and cleaning instead!
ON MONDAY:
new boss “partner”: hey, so these things you’ve spent so much time on all are terrible and should be better! and these people you’ve spent so much time and effort trying to train are clearly untrained!
me: …
new boss ”partner”: here are some things I want you to do!
me: okay, I can -
new boss ”partner”: get them to me by the end of the week?
me: …yeah, okay. I can do that.
ON WEDNESDAY:
new boss ”partner”: so do you have these things done yet? I want to implement these changes by the end of the week!
new boss ”partner”: oh, and this completely new thing I want to launch tomorrow, so get your team up to speed on that.
me: …okAY?
me: *thinking* you uh. do realize that my team works shifts. like. all hours of the day. and that I like. need sleep, right?
me: *thinking* and also time to actually figure out not only how to implement processes for these changes but also how to train people on the processes and then also time to actually train them???
me: …I will get right on that?
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1v1pPhG
ON MONDAY:
new boss “partner”: hey, so these things you’ve spent so much time on all are terrible and should be better! and these people you’ve spent so much time and effort trying to train are clearly untrained!
me: …
new boss ”partner”: here are some things I want you to do!
me: okay, I can -
new boss ”partner”: get them to me by the end of the week?
me: …yeah, okay. I can do that.
ON WEDNESDAY:
new boss ”partner”: so do you have these things done yet? I want to implement these changes by the end of the week!
new boss ”partner”: oh, and this completely new thing I want to launch tomorrow, so get your team up to speed on that.
me: …okAY?
me: *thinking* you uh. do realize that my team works shifts. like. all hours of the day. and that I like. need sleep, right?
me: *thinking* and also time to actually figure out not only how to implement processes for these changes but also how to train people on the processes and then also time to actually train them???
me: …I will get right on that?
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1v1pPhG
Tags:
- also yay migraine fucking me up yesterda,
- and my grandparents showing up this frid,
- and my headache just keeps coming back,
- early morning,
- i know i need to eat real food but it's,
- in my copious spare time,
- in the morning,
- it's actually not that big of a mess but,
- mkp whines a lot,
- so i need to finish cleaning the house b,
- via:tumblr,
- you know
GLITTERRRRR OMG YES
Jun. 12th, 2014 04:33 amTICKLE FIGHT WITH POKING GLUE ON EACH OTHER’S FACES AND THEY GET COVERED IN GLITTER AND SEQUINS AND GIGGLES AND SOMEONE WALKS IN, BLINKS, AND THEN JUST NOPES AND WALKS BACK OUT WHILE KLAINE GIGGLES MADLY ON THE FLOOR
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1lg9S4k
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1lg9S4k
newleasemylove replied to your post:@newleasemylove replied to your post “GLITTERRRRR…
HAHAHAHA MY BRAIN WENT IMMEDIATELY TO SANTANA BUT BURT. BURT!!!!! oh help
LIKE IT’S WEIRD BECAUSE HE’S KURT’S DAD BUT LIKE IF IT’S OOPS I ACCIDENTALLY AGEPLAY THEN YOU AVOID THE SQUICK AND IT’S JUST ADORABLE
BECAUSE HE REALLY WOULD JUST LIKE. OKAY. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE. I DO NOT NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE. I AM GOING TO GO ELSEWHERE AND TRUST THIS WILL GET CLEANED UP LATER.
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1pK9bkd
HAHAHAHA MY BRAIN WENT IMMEDIATELY TO SANTANA BUT BURT. BURT!!!!! oh help
LIKE IT’S WEIRD BECAUSE HE’S KURT’S DAD BUT LIKE IF IT’S OOPS I ACCIDENTALLY AGEPLAY THEN YOU AVOID THE SQUICK AND IT’S JUST ADORABLE
BECAUSE HE REALLY WOULD JUST LIKE. OKAY. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE. I DO NOT NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE. I AM GOING TO GO ELSEWHERE AND TRUST THIS WILL GET CLEANED UP LATER.
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1pK9bkd
@newleasemylove replied to your post
Jun. 12th, 2014 04:33 am@newleasemylove replied to your post “GLITTERRRRR OMG YES”
dchjbsc omg yes. the “nopes and walks out” is the best part of this
bonus points if it’s burt or santana.
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1pK9bAR
dchjbsc omg yes. the “nopes and walks out” is the best part of this
bonus points if it’s burt or santana.
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1pK9bAR
On Autism, Autism $peaks, and Google
Jun. 12th, 2014 04:49 amspeak-like-a-sunrise:
(warnings for: eugenics, mentions of abuse and murder, lots of capslock)
HEY!
Something happened recently. You may have heard of it. You may not have heard of it. You may not know why it’s important. But it is.
GOOGLE is now partnered with an organization called AUTISM $PEAKS* on a project to create a DATABASE of the GENOMES of AUTISTIC PEOPLE and their FAMILIES.
“Why is this important?” you may ask. “Why should we care?”
YOU SHOULD CARE BECAUSE:
This database will include TWELVE THOUSAND people’s genetic data! It will be available to researchers, scientists, and maybe even the general public (2). That’s a huge breach of PRIVACY! But that’s not the worst part!
This database will be used to find a “CURE” for autism (3)! “But why is that bad? Isn’t autism that one thing where you can’t speak and act like a weirdo? Wouldn’t not being autistic make everything easier?”
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER is actually a diagnosis based on a collection of TRAITS that result from experiencing the world in a DIFFERENT WAY. There are many autistic traits, such as: being non-verbal; having something called a special interest; info-dumping; being really good at something (being a savant); not understanding social cues, body language, or sarcasm; doing something called stimming (which is short for self-stimulation, and before you get dirty means flapping arms, tapping fingers, bouncing, rocking, humming, basically soothing behaviors that make us look autistic!); or having comorbid disorders which often come with autism, like ADHD, bipolar disorder, sensory processing disorder, alexithymia, dyslexia or dyspraxia. There are also many more traits associated with autism! (8) (9) (10)
Autistic people are all different, and all have different combinations of these traits to different degrees, but we all have being autistic in common. The important thing to remember is that AUTISTIC PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE TOO, and just because we think differently does not mean there is something wrong with us! We think non-autistic people, who we call allistic people for the sake of simplicity, are weird too! The problem is that allistic people have a lot of POWER over autistic people’s lives and choices, and think that some autistic people using assistive devices or requiring care means those autistic people are INCAPABLE OF MAKING THEIR OWN DECISIONS.
Autistic people are MURDERED, often by their families or other caregivers, and allistic people excuse that by saying that it must be so hard for the families to deal with their child being autistic (12)! Autistic people are ABUSED into acting like allistic people using something called APPLIED BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS (ABA), and allistic people excuse that by saying that it’s for their own good, really, that they won’t be able to function without learning to be allistic (11)!
I know this all sounds really scary! And it is! You might be thinking, “But I would never do that!!” And that’s GREAT! The problem is that a lot of people WOULD do that, and DO do that, and think it’s OKAY TO HURT THEIR CHILDREN to make them seem “NORMAL”.
The thing is, “treatments” for autism DON’T WORK. Autistic people are autistic, and it’s something inherent in every one of us (13). Trying to “cure” autism generally means trying to KILL AUTISTIC PEOPLE so there are less of us!
This is very similar to developing a PRE-NATAL TEST for autism, which this database will also be used for (2). A PRE-NATAL TEST means you would know before your child is born whether or not they’re autistic.
Raising an autistic child is not that different from raising an allistic child. They are just different from you, and will need things that maybe you didn’t need. They also might not need things that you needed. Most importantly, autistic babies are not very different at all from allistic babies! You wouldn’t need to know before the baby is born if you need to set up special autistic things. You would only need to know if your child was autistic when they needed extra support!
So WHY do we need a pre-natal test?
The answer can be found in the statistics about Down Syndrome pre-natal tests.
If a baby has Down Syndrome, they are WAY MORE LIKELY to be ABORTED than a baby without Down Syndrome (7)! Abortion is a controversial issue, and I am not saying anything about abortion itself. But aborting a child JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE DISABLED when otherwise it would be a wanted pregnancy is very close to eugenics (which I will explain more about later) and ableism (the oppression of disabled people). You may think that disabled people have such a hard time in life that just not having them is a better idea than having them! And I will talk about that later. But many of these abortions are pushed for by doctors who give their patients all of the bad information and none of the good! The pregnant people in question don’t get to know the whole story, and they don’t get to hear the stories of those who are disabled in this way. They don’t get to give INFORMED CONSENT about their abortion because they are NOT INFORMED! They are just told how sad it is that their child will be disabled, and how terrible it will be for them and for society. They are encouraged to abort their disabled child instead of inflicting them on the world (5). This is related to something called eugenics.
Eugenics is the idea of improving the genetic quality of the human race by promoting the production of positive traits and reducing the production of negative traits. It began in Europe in the mid-eighteen-hundreds, and advocated (and performed) the sterilization and removal from the gene pool of people with negative traits. These negative traits were often things related to having mental illness, being physically disabled or neurodivergent/neuroatypical (being different mentally), being of non-white races, or being gay. Eugenics as a philosophy has resulted in the forced STERILIZATION, ABORTION, EUTHANASIA, and GENOCIDE of millions of people! It was one of the main things ADOLF HITLER was trying to do (6)!
I know bringing up Hitler will end a conversation. But HEAR ME OUT.
Telling people that it’s so sad that their child will be disabled, that their child will never be “normal” (whatever that is supposed to be), that their child will lead an unhappy life — that is NOT THE WHOLE STORY! Many disabled people have led happy, fulfilling lives! The problem is that new parents are often told nothing about how their child could be happy, and all about the possible difficulties they’ll face, some of which can be avoided or mitigated (14).
Developing a pre-natal test for autism will only cause more autistic babies to be aborted for being autistic, and continue the OPPRESSION, SILENCING, and DEHUMANIZATION of a group of people. HUMAN PEOPLE. Who are KILLED just for being WHO THEY ARE.
That is what Autism $peaks is advocating and has advocated for years (15). They recently pressured Congress not to pass a bill giving autistic people more voice (1). They say they speak for us when in reality, they speak to silence us (15). Autistic people are the only ones who can make decisions about their lives. Can you imagine your parents taking total control of your whole life? Can you imagine them deciding that, because of something inherent to you, you aren’t able to make the choices that will impact your life most? Can you imagine not being told about relationships or sex because it’s expected that you will never have those things? Can you imagine having tape put over your mouth every time you try to speak up, because you couldn’t possibly understand what they’re talking about? These are all things that have happened to autistic people.
Can you imagine going to another planet and being expected to instantly understand everything — the language, the body language, what’s an insult and what isn’t, what’s a joke and what isn’t, what people think of you based on what kind of things they do or say? Can you imagine being completely alone on that planet, with no one who understands why you do the things you do, with no one who understands you and your language, and no one who will make the effort to? Even if you spend years pretending to be from the planet you traveled to, you will always be different, and even if you act like the people from that planet, you will never really have an intuitive understanding of things and you will never be from that planet. That’s what being autistic is like when no one understands.
Autistic people, no matter what they can or cannot do, are people. By saying they want a cure for autism, Autism $peaks is saying they want to kill me and people like me. By compiling this database of autistic genes, Google and Autism $peaks are furthering a cause that will end me and the people who understand me.
That’s why you should care.
“So?” you ask. “What can we do?”
WELL.
Boycotting Google is pretty much impossible! They have made themselves part of everyone’s lives! Boycotting Autism $peaks is already happening, but doing that is good too! The problem is that boycotts aren’t making enough impact! What we really need to do is make this a HUGE DEAL.
Post on Twitter. Post on Facebook. Post on Tumblr. Look for stuff written by autistic people about being autistic! There is a starting list at the bottom of this. Read all you can about autism and Autism $peaks! Raise awareness about this!
Organize a rally! Talk to your government representatives! Use the privilege of being listened to that you have because of being allistic to raise up the voices of autistic people!
We cannot do this alone. We are but a small fraction of the population that those who hate us and discriminate against us and abuse us are already used to silencing. The sad truth of it is, if it’s allistic people talking, allistic people listen to them. Please, speak up. Speak up to those who would eradicate us. Speak up and use your voice to trumpet our truths to the world.
We are autistic, we are disabled, but most importantly we are human. And we are not alone.
*Autism $peaks gains traffic from people using their name — thus, this solution, of being clear without generating traffic for them. The name of the organization is actually with an S.
RESOURCES:
goldenheartedrose’s post about A$ is a lot more eloquent than I would be about why they’re terrible, aside from this incident. (Their blog in general is a lot about autism, but be warned about swearing! You can check their tag for autism as well as their Autism 101 page and their list of resources!)
queerability is also a pretty cool blog, specifically about the intersection of disability and qu**rness!
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network, also known as ASAN, one of the only autism organizations made of autistic people
Ask an Autistic, a blog where you can ask questions regarding autism!
Radical Neurodivergence Speaking, blog posts written by autistic people. specifically this.
Just Stimming…: The Obsessive Joy Of Autism - This post especially, but the rest of their blog too!
Musings of an Aspie, a blog by a woman with autism. Start with her Essential Reading page.
Awareness versus Acceptance: Do Words Matter?
Autistic Hoya
CITATIONS and other INTERESTING STUFF (general trigger warning on these links for the terrible things that happen to autistic people):
http://ift.tt/1xFDddz
http://ift.tt/1s1zdnz
http://ift.tt/1pBuDbg
http://ift.tt/1pCHY2Z (please note this link and the link before lead to A$, so proceed with caution!)
http://ift.tt/1gvhRIH
http://ift.tt/MbdC0X
http://ift.tt/1ipFjoa
http://ift.tt/1iEr1Pg
http://ift.tt/1oQBjTu (this website uses a lot of gendered language, a lot of which is not really relevant, but it’s very useful!)
http://ift.tt/1pDf6aT (please note this site in general may contain swearing, but this page does not)
http://ift.tt/1oQBmyv
http://ift.tt/1oQBjTx
http://ift.tt/1dCOzrY
http://ift.tt/1ipFjo9
http://ift.tt/1loJmEg
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1ipFj7K
(warnings for: eugenics, mentions of abuse and murder, lots of capslock)
HEY!
Something happened recently. You may have heard of it. You may not have heard of it. You may not know why it’s important. But it is.
GOOGLE is now partnered with an organization called AUTISM $PEAKS* on a project to create a DATABASE of the GENOMES of AUTISTIC PEOPLE and their FAMILIES.
“Why is this important?” you may ask. “Why should we care?”
YOU SHOULD CARE BECAUSE:
This database will include TWELVE THOUSAND people’s genetic data! It will be available to researchers, scientists, and maybe even the general public (2). That’s a huge breach of PRIVACY! But that’s not the worst part!
This database will be used to find a “CURE” for autism (3)! “But why is that bad? Isn’t autism that one thing where you can’t speak and act like a weirdo? Wouldn’t not being autistic make everything easier?”
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER is actually a diagnosis based on a collection of TRAITS that result from experiencing the world in a DIFFERENT WAY. There are many autistic traits, such as: being non-verbal; having something called a special interest; info-dumping; being really good at something (being a savant); not understanding social cues, body language, or sarcasm; doing something called stimming (which is short for self-stimulation, and before you get dirty means flapping arms, tapping fingers, bouncing, rocking, humming, basically soothing behaviors that make us look autistic!); or having comorbid disorders which often come with autism, like ADHD, bipolar disorder, sensory processing disorder, alexithymia, dyslexia or dyspraxia. There are also many more traits associated with autism! (8) (9) (10)
Autistic people are all different, and all have different combinations of these traits to different degrees, but we all have being autistic in common. The important thing to remember is that AUTISTIC PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE TOO, and just because we think differently does not mean there is something wrong with us! We think non-autistic people, who we call allistic people for the sake of simplicity, are weird too! The problem is that allistic people have a lot of POWER over autistic people’s lives and choices, and think that some autistic people using assistive devices or requiring care means those autistic people are INCAPABLE OF MAKING THEIR OWN DECISIONS.
Autistic people are MURDERED, often by their families or other caregivers, and allistic people excuse that by saying that it must be so hard for the families to deal with their child being autistic (12)! Autistic people are ABUSED into acting like allistic people using something called APPLIED BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS (ABA), and allistic people excuse that by saying that it’s for their own good, really, that they won’t be able to function without learning to be allistic (11)!
I know this all sounds really scary! And it is! You might be thinking, “But I would never do that!!” And that’s GREAT! The problem is that a lot of people WOULD do that, and DO do that, and think it’s OKAY TO HURT THEIR CHILDREN to make them seem “NORMAL”.
The thing is, “treatments” for autism DON’T WORK. Autistic people are autistic, and it’s something inherent in every one of us (13). Trying to “cure” autism generally means trying to KILL AUTISTIC PEOPLE so there are less of us!
This is very similar to developing a PRE-NATAL TEST for autism, which this database will also be used for (2). A PRE-NATAL TEST means you would know before your child is born whether or not they’re autistic.
Raising an autistic child is not that different from raising an allistic child. They are just different from you, and will need things that maybe you didn’t need. They also might not need things that you needed. Most importantly, autistic babies are not very different at all from allistic babies! You wouldn’t need to know before the baby is born if you need to set up special autistic things. You would only need to know if your child was autistic when they needed extra support!
So WHY do we need a pre-natal test?
The answer can be found in the statistics about Down Syndrome pre-natal tests.
If a baby has Down Syndrome, they are WAY MORE LIKELY to be ABORTED than a baby without Down Syndrome (7)! Abortion is a controversial issue, and I am not saying anything about abortion itself. But aborting a child JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE DISABLED when otherwise it would be a wanted pregnancy is very close to eugenics (which I will explain more about later) and ableism (the oppression of disabled people). You may think that disabled people have such a hard time in life that just not having them is a better idea than having them! And I will talk about that later. But many of these abortions are pushed for by doctors who give their patients all of the bad information and none of the good! The pregnant people in question don’t get to know the whole story, and they don’t get to hear the stories of those who are disabled in this way. They don’t get to give INFORMED CONSENT about their abortion because they are NOT INFORMED! They are just told how sad it is that their child will be disabled, and how terrible it will be for them and for society. They are encouraged to abort their disabled child instead of inflicting them on the world (5). This is related to something called eugenics.
Eugenics is the idea of improving the genetic quality of the human race by promoting the production of positive traits and reducing the production of negative traits. It began in Europe in the mid-eighteen-hundreds, and advocated (and performed) the sterilization and removal from the gene pool of people with negative traits. These negative traits were often things related to having mental illness, being physically disabled or neurodivergent/neuroatypical (being different mentally), being of non-white races, or being gay. Eugenics as a philosophy has resulted in the forced STERILIZATION, ABORTION, EUTHANASIA, and GENOCIDE of millions of people! It was one of the main things ADOLF HITLER was trying to do (6)!
I know bringing up Hitler will end a conversation. But HEAR ME OUT.
Telling people that it’s so sad that their child will be disabled, that their child will never be “normal” (whatever that is supposed to be), that their child will lead an unhappy life — that is NOT THE WHOLE STORY! Many disabled people have led happy, fulfilling lives! The problem is that new parents are often told nothing about how their child could be happy, and all about the possible difficulties they’ll face, some of which can be avoided or mitigated (14).
Developing a pre-natal test for autism will only cause more autistic babies to be aborted for being autistic, and continue the OPPRESSION, SILENCING, and DEHUMANIZATION of a group of people. HUMAN PEOPLE. Who are KILLED just for being WHO THEY ARE.
That is what Autism $peaks is advocating and has advocated for years (15). They recently pressured Congress not to pass a bill giving autistic people more voice (1). They say they speak for us when in reality, they speak to silence us (15). Autistic people are the only ones who can make decisions about their lives. Can you imagine your parents taking total control of your whole life? Can you imagine them deciding that, because of something inherent to you, you aren’t able to make the choices that will impact your life most? Can you imagine not being told about relationships or sex because it’s expected that you will never have those things? Can you imagine having tape put over your mouth every time you try to speak up, because you couldn’t possibly understand what they’re talking about? These are all things that have happened to autistic people.
Can you imagine going to another planet and being expected to instantly understand everything — the language, the body language, what’s an insult and what isn’t, what’s a joke and what isn’t, what people think of you based on what kind of things they do or say? Can you imagine being completely alone on that planet, with no one who understands why you do the things you do, with no one who understands you and your language, and no one who will make the effort to? Even if you spend years pretending to be from the planet you traveled to, you will always be different, and even if you act like the people from that planet, you will never really have an intuitive understanding of things and you will never be from that planet. That’s what being autistic is like when no one understands.
Autistic people, no matter what they can or cannot do, are people. By saying they want a cure for autism, Autism $peaks is saying they want to kill me and people like me. By compiling this database of autistic genes, Google and Autism $peaks are furthering a cause that will end me and the people who understand me.
That’s why you should care.
“So?” you ask. “What can we do?”
WELL.
Boycotting Google is pretty much impossible! They have made themselves part of everyone’s lives! Boycotting Autism $peaks is already happening, but doing that is good too! The problem is that boycotts aren’t making enough impact! What we really need to do is make this a HUGE DEAL.
Post on Twitter. Post on Facebook. Post on Tumblr. Look for stuff written by autistic people about being autistic! There is a starting list at the bottom of this. Read all you can about autism and Autism $peaks! Raise awareness about this!
Organize a rally! Talk to your government representatives! Use the privilege of being listened to that you have because of being allistic to raise up the voices of autistic people!
We cannot do this alone. We are but a small fraction of the population that those who hate us and discriminate against us and abuse us are already used to silencing. The sad truth of it is, if it’s allistic people talking, allistic people listen to them. Please, speak up. Speak up to those who would eradicate us. Speak up and use your voice to trumpet our truths to the world.
We are autistic, we are disabled, but most importantly we are human. And we are not alone.
*Autism $peaks gains traffic from people using their name — thus, this solution, of being clear without generating traffic for them. The name of the organization is actually with an S.
RESOURCES:
goldenheartedrose’s post about A$ is a lot more eloquent than I would be about why they’re terrible, aside from this incident. (Their blog in general is a lot about autism, but be warned about swearing! You can check their tag for autism as well as their Autism 101 page and their list of resources!)
queerability is also a pretty cool blog, specifically about the intersection of disability and qu**rness!
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network, also known as ASAN, one of the only autism organizations made of autistic people
Ask an Autistic, a blog where you can ask questions regarding autism!
Radical Neurodivergence Speaking, blog posts written by autistic people. specifically this.
Just Stimming…: The Obsessive Joy Of Autism - This post especially, but the rest of their blog too!
Musings of an Aspie, a blog by a woman with autism. Start with her Essential Reading page.
Awareness versus Acceptance: Do Words Matter?
Autistic Hoya
CITATIONS and other INTERESTING STUFF (general trigger warning on these links for the terrible things that happen to autistic people):
http://ift.tt/1xFDddz
http://ift.tt/1s1zdnz
http://ift.tt/1pBuDbg
http://ift.tt/1pCHY2Z (please note this link and the link before lead to A$, so proceed with caution!)
http://ift.tt/1gvhRIH
http://ift.tt/MbdC0X
http://ift.tt/1ipFjoa
http://ift.tt/1iEr1Pg
http://ift.tt/1oQBjTu (this website uses a lot of gendered language, a lot of which is not really relevant, but it’s very useful!)
http://ift.tt/1pDf6aT (please note this site in general may contain swearing, but this page does not)
http://ift.tt/1oQBmyv
http://ift.tt/1oQBjTx
http://ift.tt/1dCOzrY
http://ift.tt/1ipFjo9
http://ift.tt/1loJmEg
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1ipFj7K
copperbadge: Sam's Guide to Job Hunting
Jun. 12th, 2014 05:24 amEVERYONE PARTY, it’s time for Sam’s Guide to Job Hunting!
Woo.
I got an email from someone this morning who wanted to ask me about my system for jobsearching, so I wrote them a probably overlong letter and then realised, yes. It is time. I’ve been jobsearching for six months and I’ve reached the deadline where I switch over from “find a new job” to “find housing closer to where my current job is moving to”. And I have learned a lot from being able to jobsearch while not having to stress about actually having a job, because I have one already, so I thought I would share my system.
It’s important to note at the outset, though, that the specifics of this system may not work for everyone. You have to find what works for you. That being said, this system is designed to minimize the amount of a) work and b) thinking you have to do. The latter is important because thinking is hard and causes anxiety and if you have depression, you are likely to find any reason you can not to think. This isn’t a character flaw; it’s brain chemistry. So. Minimal thinking required. Whatever your system, spend each day wondering “how can I do less work?” and you will find yourself getting more done.
I’ve got an outline at the end for people who don’t want to read every damn thing I say.
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/SBe2rK
Woo.
I got an email from someone this morning who wanted to ask me about my system for jobsearching, so I wrote them a probably overlong letter and then realised, yes. It is time. I’ve been jobsearching for six months and I’ve reached the deadline where I switch over from “find a new job” to “find housing closer to where my current job is moving to”. And I have learned a lot from being able to jobsearch while not having to stress about actually having a job, because I have one already, so I thought I would share my system.
It’s important to note at the outset, though, that the specifics of this system may not work for everyone. You have to find what works for you. That being said, this system is designed to minimize the amount of a) work and b) thinking you have to do. The latter is important because thinking is hard and causes anxiety and if you have depression, you are likely to find any reason you can not to think. This isn’t a character flaw; it’s brain chemistry. So. Minimal thinking required. Whatever your system, spend each day wondering “how can I do less work?” and you will find yourself getting more done.
I’ve got an outline at the end for people who don’t want to read every damn thing I say.
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/SBe2rK
LINK: http://ift.tt/1pUKRP5
She was beautiful, intelligent, talented, successful – and not very nice about it. Clearly, other women must hate her. 7,300 words. PG-13. Written for the 2007 femgenficathon. September 2007.!fic, site:archiveofourown, fandom:harrypotter-rowling, rating:teenandupaudiences, ~author:snegurochka, .shouldalreadybetagged, genre:gen, theme:gender-themes, character:fleur.delacour, genre:five-times/five-things
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She was beautiful, intelligent, talented, successful – and not very nice about it. Clearly, other women must hate her. 7,300 words. PG-13. Written for the 2007 femgenficathon. September 2007.!fic, site:archiveofourown, fandom:harrypotter-rowling, rating:teenandupaudiences, ~author:snegurochka, .shouldalreadybetagged, genre:gen, theme:gender-themes, character:fleur.delacour, genre:five-times/five-things
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LINK: http://ift.tt/1jV3HRb
“This year we are slaves; next year we will be free.” Kitty and Erik host a seder for Passover at the Xavier School.!fic, site:archiveofourown, fandom:x-men-allmediatypes, fandom:x-men, fandom:x-men:firstclass, rating:generalaudiences, ~author:metonymy, genre:gen, theme:religious-themes, religion:judaism
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1oR6VZ0
“This year we are slaves; next year we will be free.” Kitty and Erik host a seder for Passover at the Xavier School.!fic, site:archiveofourown, fandom:x-men-allmediatypes, fandom:x-men, fandom:x-men:firstclass, rating:generalaudiences, ~author:metonymy, genre:gen, theme:religious-themes, religion:judaism
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writing tip #804:
Jun. 12th, 2014 09:04 amgr8writingtips:
it’s a metaphor; you put your fingers on the keys but you don’t actually do any writing
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1l3NrjY
it’s a metaphor; you put your fingers on the keys but you don’t actually do any writing
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1l3NrjY
pretendsleep:
I do not own any of the audio. All content belong to Walt Disney Pictures. Original Video
Autieri, Serena, Anna Buturlina, Elke Buyle, Gisela Croatian, Anaïs Delva, Ana Encarnação, Annika Herlitz, Kasia Laska, Takako Matsu, Idina Menzel, Marsha Milan, HU Wei Na, Füredi Nikolett, Nadezhda Panaytova, Hye-Na Park, Maria Lucia Heiberg Rosenberg, Carmen Sarahí, Lisa Stokke, Jobelle Ubalde, Willemijn Verkaik, and Gam Wichayanee. “Let It Go - Multi—language “Behind The Mic” Version.” YouTube. YouTube, 22 Jan. 2014. Web. 22 May 2014.
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1pLpYmY
I do not own any of the audio. All content belong to Walt Disney Pictures. Original Video
Autieri, Serena, Anna Buturlina, Elke Buyle, Gisela Croatian, Anaïs Delva, Ana Encarnação, Annika Herlitz, Kasia Laska, Takako Matsu, Idina Menzel, Marsha Milan, HU Wei Na, Füredi Nikolett, Nadezhda Panaytova, Hye-Na Park, Maria Lucia Heiberg Rosenberg, Carmen Sarahí, Lisa Stokke, Jobelle Ubalde, Willemijn Verkaik, and Gam Wichayanee. “Let It Go - Multi—language “Behind The Mic” Version.” YouTube. YouTube, 22 Jan. 2014. Web. 22 May 2014.
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stayy0ungandwild:
stayathomechic:
No flavor key on your box of chocolates? Maybe this will help:
•Caramels are usually square.
•Chocolates with soft centers, such as truffles and whips, are round.
•Rectangular candies are typically filled with nougat.
•Oval candies most often contain butter fudge.
•Nut Clusters are usually round and have a chunky surface.
SIGNAL BOOST EVERYONE
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/SChYIP
stayathomechic:
No flavor key on your box of chocolates? Maybe this will help:
•Caramels are usually square.
•Chocolates with soft centers, such as truffles and whips, are round.
•Rectangular candies are typically filled with nougat.
•Oval candies most often contain butter fudge.
•Nut Clusters are usually round and have a chunky surface.
SIGNAL BOOST EVERYONE
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/SChYIP
fic writers, I understand that age play and its related kinks can be confusing, but let me clear some things up for you:
It’s not actually daddy!kink if it’s, you know, father/son incest.(I’m looking at you, One Direction fandom)
It’s not actually age play if, you know, any one involved is actually a child. (Still looking at you, One Direction fandom)
please stop making the age play tag on the AO3 such an unhappy and sad place to visit if I want to read about children being molested by their parents I can find that myself thanks.
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1v3LQwc
It’s not actually daddy!kink if it’s, you know, father/son incest.(I’m looking at you, One Direction fandom)
It’s not actually age play if, you know, any one involved is actually a child. (Still looking at you, One Direction fandom)
please stop making the age play tag on the AO3 such an unhappy and sad place to visit if I want to read about children being molested by their parents I can find that myself thanks.
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1v3LQwc
liver-and-chianti:
mountainboats:
did mulder and scully ever even solve a single case. they must’ve had the worst record in the Bureau. every case report was just “mulder thinks it’s aliens, the evidence is inconclusive and we have no proof.” how did they not get fired.
#the real x file is how they kept their jobs
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mountainboats:
did mulder and scully ever even solve a single case. they must’ve had the worst record in the Bureau. every case report was just “mulder thinks it’s aliens, the evidence is inconclusive and we have no proof.” how did they not get fired.
#the real x file is how they kept their jobs
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1v4Y8EA
REC: slightestwind - prompt:
Jun. 12th, 2014 06:24 pmLINK: http://ift.tt/1pUKPXl
klaine + subby bottom!blaine fic based on this nsfw (but gorgeous!) art. NC-17, takes place a little while after TFT.!fic, fandom:glee, pairing:kurt.hummel/blaine.anderson, site:tumblr, ~author:slightestwind, rating:R-NC17, genre:porn, kink:d/s, sweet
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1poNAAh
klaine + subby bottom!blaine fic based on this nsfw (but gorgeous!) art. NC-17, takes place a little while after TFT.!fic, fandom:glee, pairing:kurt.hummel/blaine.anderson, site:tumblr, ~author:slightestwind, rating:R-NC17, genre:porn, kink:d/s, sweet
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1poNAAh
persephonesidekick:
shamelesslymkp:
you know what one of my biggest problems with accepting persephonesidekick's proposition of me being on the spectrum is?
that if that’s true then I’ve been writing Blaine as on the spectrum too without ever knowing it.
like.
no.
Yeah, I had acccidentally autistic characters too, post diagnosis but pre-understanding/identifying with it. I don’t know Blaine or why this would be particularly ridiculous. Why would it be so weird if your Blaine is accidentally autistic?
Because I didn’t know it! Are all of my characters neuroatypical??? It’s just . what have I been saying without realizing I’ve been saying it?
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/SDHgq4
shamelesslymkp:
you know what one of my biggest problems with accepting persephonesidekick's proposition of me being on the spectrum is?
that if that’s true then I’ve been writing Blaine as on the spectrum too without ever knowing it.
like.
no.
Yeah, I had acccidentally autistic characters too, post diagnosis but pre-understanding/identifying with it. I don’t know Blaine or why this would be particularly ridiculous. Why would it be so weird if your Blaine is accidentally autistic?
Because I didn’t know it! Are all of my characters neuroatypical??? It’s just . what have I been saying without realizing I’ve been saying it?
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/SDHgq4
Tags:
- and it just does not compute on my end??,
- and she kept trying to explain it to me,
- but my feels are not like her feels,
- imagining what they'd do in certain situ,
- in an unrelated but still similar-feelin,
- kate and i had a big discussion the othe,
- like i have glee and all of the glee cra,
- mkp isn't neurotypical,
- mkp loves her kate,
- via:tumblr,
- we just kept hitting a brick wall,
- weirdest sensation,
- you know
@newleasemylove replied to your post: okay but autistic craft mages
Oh man I had never thought about this but IT SO FITS
it literally came to me this morning, like a fully formed thought - just that sentence and I was like ho shit it really does
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1qBHSZm
Oh man I had never thought about this but IT SO FITS
it literally came to me this morning, like a fully formed thought - just that sentence and I was like ho shit it really does
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1qBHSZm
LINK: http://ift.tt/1tXhxoG
Margaret would rather write the same thing a hundred times.!fic, site:archiveofourown, fandom:harrypotter-j.k.rowling, rating:generalaudiences, ~author:dee_laundry, awesome, theme:disability-themes, disability:autism, warning:original-characters, trope:epistolary!fic, genre:gen, genre:character-study
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Margaret would rather write the same thing a hundred times.!fic, site:archiveofourown, fandom:harrypotter-j.k.rowling, rating:generalaudiences, ~author:dee_laundry, awesome, theme:disability-themes, disability:autism, warning:original-characters, trope:epistolary!fic, genre:gen, genre:character-study
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darklittlefaun:
I believe in body positivity, feminism, and always using your turn signal.
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1lkNPJG
I believe in body positivity, feminism, and always using your turn signal.
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thedisneysongsblog:
We Rock // Camp Rock
Come as you are you’re a super starWorld in your pocket and you know itYou can feel that beat running through your feetHeart’s racing fast, you’re rock and rolling
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1mOI2ZC
We Rock // Camp Rock
Come as you are you’re a super starWorld in your pocket and you know itYou can feel that beat running through your feetHeart’s racing fast, you’re rock and rolling
via:Tumblr http://ift.tt/1mOI2ZC