
what about the autistic people who can't?
With RFK Jr's ableist bullshit going around, I've seen many posts and news articles (like the one I just linked) focusing on dispelling the narrative he's pushing, and saying that it's not true. Feeling good about "proving him wrong", almost. And I'll admit, I fell into this line of thinking myself when I first saw the quote. I've done all of the things he listed besides taxes and baseball. But I've been thinking; what about the autistic people who he is describing? The ones who can't hold down a job? The ones who struggle to form romantic relationships (and the ones who don't want to)? The ones who do need assistance using the toilet? The ones who will never live lives that these fuckheads consider to be "contributing something to society"? Do they not deserve our respect? Our support?
By pushing back on this narrative by saying "no, we actually can do these things, so you should respect us", we are missing the point. Instead of fighting eugenics, we are trying to paint ourselves as the "good autistics" while letting Hans Asperger send the undesirables off to be killed. Not only do autistic people who don't meet standards of productivity and normalcy deserve to live, they deserve to live happy lives where they are given the support they need.