01/04/2021
A message from Rogue Panda about Autism Acceptance Month.
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Hi everyone, I'm Rogue Panda, and I have autism. April is upon us and certain parties want us to "celebrate" or observe Autism Awareness Month. This. Is. A. Travesty.
National Autism Awareness Month was put together by a "charity" that has brainwashed neurotypicals for years. This company has shilled for contributions for autism awareness and a means to "cure" autism. These cures include behavioural modification, sweeping people away from societal norms, and even promoting abortions or sterilization to autistic would-be parents.
I am, of course, talking about Autism Speaks, a for-profit "charity" who is pocketing your donations to further an arguably anti-autism agenda.
They have no regard for autistics and just want to see us go away. They want us sterilized and isolated. If it were up to them, my two cubs might not have been allowed to be born.
For the longest time, there was zero representation on their Board. Finally, they added an autistic member who resigned within a year because of the practices going on behind closed doors.
So what do we do to fight back?
Take what's theirs and make it ours.
This April, I ask you to join me in observing National Autism Acceptance Month.
Why Acceptance and not Awareness?
We already know what autism is. We are aware of it. Autism $peaks has made sure we all know what it is and either laugh at it or be afraid of it. Because of this awareness, we have shows like Big Bang Theory, Bones, and The Good Doctor. We have characters like Boo Radley and Rain Man. We have been trained to see autism and, really, any sort of neurodivergent behaviour and laugh at it or belittle it or, at the very least, pity it for being so weak, defenseless, and inferior.
Now we need to move past that and grow.
Look, I'm going to be honest here. At the risk of losing any respect from others, I will say this here and now.
I used to see autism. I saw it in my uncle. I saw it in students who were in the specialized classes at school. I saw it in myself, in lack of social graces, in specialized preferences, in an inability to really relate to people or understand their emotions. And... I hated it. I hated that I couldn't fit in fully. I hated others who exhibited those same things. I hated that people with more obvious symptoms than I had received special treatment while I was left to twist in the wind at the end of a figurative noose. I hated humans for creating that world which I had no place in.
That is what Autism $peaks wants. They want an emotional reaction to rid the world of autism by painting autistic people, autistic children as a bane to our society. They want us to hate us so they can get rid of us.
I got past it. I don't live in that world of hate anymore, the world A$ wants us to be in. I still have self-loathing issues, for not being able to do these things the normies can do with ease, but it serves as a reminder that all of us have to try that hard. To some degree or another, we are fighting to be seen, to be heard, to be cared for.
So we move to acceptance. The autistic community has been shunned for too long, laughed at because of our habits, compared to caricatures and stereotypes that are hurtful and unfeeling. We are seen as weird, even when we are very good at our jobs or schoolwork. We are punished.
I'm no expert. I've lived with my mind as it is for over thirty years, and I still can't understand it. I don't promise to have all the answers. Dealing with people is not my forte by any means. But I am here for you. Yes, you. Whether you have autism or not, whether you're "normal" or not, whether your neurodivergent or neurotypical, I'm here for you. I want to help if you need it.
So don't Light it up Blue this April. Don't spread the hate already seeded in our society.
Light it up gold at autisticuk.org/going-gold-for-autism-acceptance/
Or Choose red, instead, at walkinred.weebly.com/ by autistics for autistics.
As for me, I have my autism acceptance panda emote, available to subscribers to this channel and puzzle piece for those at tier two (and for all upon hitting 15 subscribers). For the month of April, all subscriptions and bits will be donated to Autism-Society.org.
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