Aspergers Syndrome(Autistic Spectrum Disorders)
Discrimination's last hiding place
The power of the majority once again looms over me, casting a long shadow
into my mind. Everything is on their terms.
For some insane reason the question I find myself asking is exactly how big
does a minority have to be before it is morally right to change things to
accommodate them, possibly at some cost or inconvenience to the majority? I
hardly know where to begin looking for the answer. The world to me seems
such an illogical, false, shallow, and hypocritical place. To expect a
reasonable answer to a reasonable question is more then I would hope for.
The two most widely known forms of discrimination are sexism against women,
who are around half of the human population, and racism against people of
certain ethnic groups, who are a minority in some countries and regions but
the overwhelming majority overall.
Even with that kind of influence and representation these groups have had to
fight so hard to have discrimination even recognised and acknowledged as
unreasonable and unacceptable, let alone actually end it all together.
Able-ism is not a word you hear quite so often. Most people in the UK and in
most western countries could probably give you their opinion on wheelchair
access or books in Braille, but most would be a bit pitying and patronising,
and by and large few would really understand the issue. People think they
are tackling discrimination in this area but they are not. They have missed
the point all together.
'Disability' has become an umbrella word for a large variety of conditions,
diseases, and states of being. There are people who due to some condition or
disease could under no circumstances ever look after themselves or live
independently. Their battle is for adequate support and to live without
prejudice and misunderstanding from people.
However, being disabled is not always something you are, it can be something
that other people do to you. For example, a person in a wheelchair isn't
disabled because their legs don't work, they are disabled because they do
not have access to buses and trains and shops and offices that do not
provide access for them, and light switches and lift buttons are out of
reach etc.
If overnight two thirds of the world lost the use of their legs forever then
you could bet your life there would be wheelchair access to everywhere and
everything within months no matter what the cost. It is being a minority
that is the disability in this case, as in many others, and the battle here
is to get the world to change so it disables differently functioning
minority groups less so they can start to live their lives more.
That is why the word disability is used to describe such a diverse
collection of minorities.
It has become like societies cupboard under the stairs where it hides away
all the inconvenient minority groups. By creating one big homogeneous group
of people, whose only real thing in common is the majorities refusal to
accommodate them and adjust to meet their requirements, they can pass them
off under this pseudo-medical concept of people who 'don't function
properly' just because they don't function like the majority.
People say that in the world of the blind the one eyed man is king, but I
think they are mistaken. In the world of the blind the one eyed man would be
a freak, and his eye might even disable rather than enable him. Eyes are
wonderful things to be sure, but they are only useful in a society that is
built to require them. In the same way, social and communication skills are
only useful in a society that is built to require them... a society built by
and for people whose lives have little meaning beyond social concerns. If
they were the minority, how would they function in our world?
Asperger's syndrome is a disability because we do not think and behave and
function like the majority of people. We have numerous and diverse
difficulties, but by far our largest obstacle to overcome is other people's
prejudices, demands, and expectations.
People who want us to be something we are not, and talk and behave in ways
that they think are 'normal' and 'healthy'. We are made to feel that if we
ask for their help and support with the things we cannot manage, then the
price we must pay is to accept their culture and values and deny ourselves.
If people aren't careful they can end up fighting the wrong battle... the
battle for support and sympathy and not the battle for equality.
Discrimination is hidden here because of this confusion, but it is here, and
I can prove it...
Firstly, we are presumed inferior in every way... mentally and physically.
Our way of thinking and communicating is very different and by and large
incompatible with the majority of people's way of thinking and
communicating, but amongst other people like ourselves there is not always
the same difficulty.
Some of us also have sensory and dietary requirements that make us
different, but it is a big presumption to say they make our bodies inferior
just because they make life difficult in a world designed for a different
type of people. Prejudice against this way we are, the way we were born to
be, is as bad as prejudice against another culture or religion or race.
Secondly, we are frequently victims of verbal and sometimes even physical
abuse. If a black child is teased by white children at school for being
black then it is discrimination. If a female police officer is bullied by
her male colleagues because she is a woman then that is discrimination. If a
person with Asperger's syndrome is abused in such a way it is never
considered more than just teasing and bullying and is not treated half so
seriously.
If people are aware of Asperger's in the case then there might be
disapproval of picking on a 'disabled person', and if they are not aware
then you are more likely to end up being blamed for it yourself than helped.
Thirdly, we are the victims of negative stereotypes. I can think of a great
many examples of this, but the one that annoys me the most is those vile
American television shows about teenagers at high school. They always
portray a group of geeks or nerds who wear unfashionable clothes, have goofy
teeth and glasses, are clumsy, who lack social skills but are not shy, and
who are intellectual but still portrayed as idiots and fools. These over the
top fictional characters can only be based on Aspies, and are portrayed in a
most derogatory manner.
They are as insulting to me as the terrible racial and gender stereotypes of
film and television in the forties and fifties would have been.
Finally, we are the victims of institutionalised discrimination. Life in the
majority world is difficult for us in so many ways, we are disabled by it
beyond just prejudice. Our school system for example depends on all pupils
having the same learning style as each other, and that is also compatible
with the teachers style of teaching. This disadvantages many people, not
just aspies, but is an example of how a system excludes people by it's very
nature.
Employment is a joke. We live in a society where success is not based on
merit, skill or dedication, but almost entirely on sociability. I have been
passed over for promotion in the past in favour of someone who was more
socially skilled than me and who had 'got in' with the managers and I was
told that was the reason to my face. Even if I had known about Asperger's
back then, I doubt any attempt to claim discrimination would have been taken
seriously. Most employers use the excuse that social skills are in some way
vital for good work performance to just promote and look after their pals,
because that is the way the world works and that is the way most people like
it.
I have actually read a leaflet on how to get promoted within an organisation
that listed some of the key attributes as... getting to know colleagues
socially and building rapport with them, taking the time to learn colleagues
names and their backgrounds and interests, and taking part in out of work
social activities. I could have wept.
Even day to day activities like shopping penalise me for being different. I
find shopping very stressful and become easily overloaded when there are
lots of crowds and noise and lights. Supermarkets are horrible with their
severe lighting, extremes of temperature, loud cheesy muzak and artificial
fresh baked bread smells they pump through the air conditioning to make
people feel hungry and buy more. It's a sensory nightmare. I prefer to shop
on the internet and get my shopping delivered, but for this I pay a delivery
charge that effectively adds 20% to my bill.
I feel like I am putting in so much effort all the time to try and function
in a world that far from meets my needs, and all I ask is that the world
makes some effort too and meets me half way. I have to believe it is
possible to bridge that gap.
Just when progress might be made... when after years of just being seen as
unpleasant and awkward we are finally recognised as having brains that
function differently... society decides it doesn't want our type in it. We
are faced with extinction at the hands of those who would use genetics to
destroy and prevent us from ever having a chance at life. Most sickening of
all they believe they act out of goodness and act like they are doing us a
favour sparing us from the burden of the difficult life they will impose on
us if we dare to exist. They really believe we are not good enough to live.
That scares me, it really does.
This love affair with the 'perfect' human form, both mental and physical,
must end. It is causing people in a great many differently functioning
minority groups distress, inconvenience, and suffering right now, every day.
It is nonsense and it is discrimination, and it must not be allowed to hide
here any longer, disguised as good intentions under a veil of fear and pity.
Suzie
See her website at:- http://www.as-if.org.uk
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