Autistic Hedgehog

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Posts tagged with "neurotypical privilege"

Mar 16

Hi, do you have a link to anything about the guy getting booted off skepchicks following the whole majorly problamatic ableism issue? I've gone from not knowing about this site to being obsessed with the issue (I'm not sure is obsessed is the right word, horrified is probably better). I realise that you may not be directly connected but you are the only person I follow who is posting stuff around this.

musicismysubsitute

ischemgeek:

neuroatypically-speaking:

goldenheartedrose:

ischemgeek:

goldenheartedrose:

I don’t, I’m sorry.  

K (sherlocksflataffect) probably knows more.

Hi,

I don’t know you but I do know the writer in question. I told him about your request, and he gave me permission to link you to his FB page address, which includes his announcement of Skepchick booting him. 

And in case your browser hates hyperlinks, here’s the address for copy-paste: https://www.facebook.com/kit.partin.54

hope that helps

Ooh more information. Thanks!

Was he an actual contributor? Did they boot an actually autistic contributor? I no longer use Facebook or have an account (because I don’t want my family using it to reach me), so I can’t see the actual announcement. 

Kit was a writer for Teen Skepchick.

And, yes, he’s actually autistic.

And he was the only writer there brave enough on the blog network to explicitly call out the higher ups on their toxic ableism and abusive tactics back in February. For which they gaslighted him to the point that it aggravated his depression and induced a several-days-long meltdown. And also pretty much made fun of him for having a meltdown and ageismed at him (he’s a teenager).

And then the disability post went live and the autistic parent bloggers thing happened, and Kit spoke up in support of me and autistichedgehog and voiced the concerns of the autistic community in the comment thread, and they booted him.

And there’s even more stuff he confided privately that was jaw-droppingly ableist to me, but AFAIK, he hasn’t disclosed it publically and has something in the works on that front so I’ll let him decide when & how to disclose that part of it. This is just the stuff he’s made public via FB or what else have you.

But, yes, they actually booted an actually autistic writer for conveying the concerns of the autistic community and for calling out ableism. On a supposed social justice blog network. In a supposed anti-ableism project. 

I’m just gonna leave that at that because it really says more than I ever could.

I can’t even words right now. I’m just like o.o except for when I’m like D:

Reblogged 2 years ago from ischemgeek

38 notes

autism, actually autistic, actuallyautistic, ableism, skepchick, neurotypical privilege,

Mar 14

PLEASE SIGNAL BOOST: Warning about Disabled Skepchicks Blog and Call for Help

sherlocksflataffect:

autistichedgehog:

merinnan:

autistichedgehog:

Hedgehogs, I need your help. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say that we need our help.

A few days ago, my husband brought to my attention that the popular skeptic blog Skepchick was planning a sister site for disabled people. This…

OH BREAKING NEWS.

The ONE openly Autistic contributor to any of the Skepchick sites, the ONE person who had any connections to actual disability activists?

They just booted him for “undermining” (read as: stating concerns FROM THE COMMUNITY) this project. And apparently for sharing private conversations, though they have a weird definition of private.

This is not ok. Just so we know.

Gosh, this sounds so familiar. It’s almost like that time  Richard Dawkins got Rebecca Watson tossed out of speaking at the Reason Rally because he’s a giant privileged bully who refuses to admit he was wrong. 

I woke up dizzy this morning and it’s not going away, so this is all I really have the spoons to say on the moment. But I’m not done. I won’t be silenced.

I mean really. I’m "beyond the pale" for suggesting they don’t care about ableism? Ha! I’m not the one censoring and booting actual disabled people trying to speak for themselves.

Reblogged 2 years ago from sherlocksflataffect

432 notes

ableism, disability, actuallydisabled, autism, actually autistic, actuallyautistic, activism: you're doing it wrong, skeptics, skepchick, rebecca watson, privilege, neurotypical privilege,

Mar 7

PLEASE SIGNAL BOOST: Warning about Disabled Skepchicks Blog and Call for Help

Hedgehogs, I need your help. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say that we need our help.

A few days ago, my husband brought to my attention that the popular skeptic blog Skepchick was planning a sister site for disabled people. This was apparently due to a kerfuffle (and from what I can tell, not the first one) over ableist language being used on the site. Excited at the prospect, I applied. Only the find out that the very first conversation in the comments went like this, verbatim:

Nancy: 

Hi Sara – what about a parent of one (or more) disabled/autistic children. Can they apply?

Thanks!

Nancy

Sarah: Hi Nancy! That’s a good question– I’d say apply & we’ll figure it out from there. :)

I’m sure I don’t have to explain to any one of you why this bothered me. But I spoke up, pointing out that autistics absolutely do not care to have parents speaking for us and even linking to the blog for Autistics Speaking Day. 

That post sat in the moderation queue for three days. When it finally appeared, no one responded to it. Not even Sarah, who is supposed to be running this site. I wrote another post, pointing out further why this lack of response was so upsetting. Aside from being accused of things I have not done and still having my concerns completely ignored, still I have not been properly responded to by the person who is supposed to be running the damn blog. Nothing. Not a word. As if my feelings and the feelings of autistics just don’t matter. I have, as you might imagine, withdrawn my application, because who wants to work with someone who doesn’t care enough about your feelings to respond to you?

So this blog is two things. First, it’s a warning. If this blog ever goes live, I caution you all to stay away from it. They haven’t even begun yet and already they’re showing oodles of ignorance when it comes to people with developmental and cognitive abilities and an utter lack of caring for our concerns. It very likely will not be a remotely safe or welcoming place.

The other thing is a call for help. Despite doing things like linking to Autistics Speaking Day, I’m being accused of speaking for all autistics, as if there aren't actuallyhuge amounts of us who have very real issues with parents speaking for us. So I’m asking you, if you have the spoons, to please go there and tell them exactly how you feel about the idea:

http://skepchick.org/2014/02/disabled-write-for-us/

This warning and call for help is for every and any person with a cognitive or developmental disability, not just autistics. These people believe they have so much right to disagree with us that they can just ignore what we say.

Well, I’m tired of being ignored. I’m tired of being treated like I’m so little of a human being that my opinions don’t matter at all. Skepchick is a big enough site to do so much harm to our cause, and I refuse to sit here and let them do it.

I can’t tell you how much pain I’m in right now. I want to crawl in a hole and never stop crying. I want to sit on an island and watch the world burn. I can barely see for the tears. I’m scared, because I’m little and they’re big, and part of me knows I can’t win. But I can’t not fight, either. This blog has become too important to me. It’s helped me so much, and I know it’s helped other people. I can’t sit in silence while people who are not disabled like we are presume to make decisions for us. 

Because that’s happening every day and it’s hurting so many people. Even when I’m silent, even when I can’t cope, I watch. I see the things all of you talk about, the way you’re treated, how you fight and fight and people won’t listen and this…this was a chance for the truth to be heard, from our own mouths and our own fingers, and they don’t care. So I have to speak. I have to speak for all of us who have been abused, who have been killed. I have to speak because if I don’t, there’s no way to stop this cycle.

Help me tell them to stop the cycle. Please, I’m begging you, help me tell them that solidarity is not just for neurotypical people. That we are done letting other people speak for us. Please.

Posted 2 years ago

432 notes

autism, actually autistic, actuallyautistic, ableism, disabilities, developmental disabilities, cognitive disabilities, allistics, allistic privilege, neurotypical privilege, skepchick, signal boost, help, solidarity is for neurotypical people,