What Can Be Done with Words

Some people seem to work very hard to express themselves. They try to make what they say count for something important and good and they are not frivolous with their speech. Too many others however seem to take for granted that what they say won't matter and that they can always fix any problem their words create with more words.

It seems to me that the frivolous attitude of producing and throwing away so many products has led to the many problems in our environment by polluting the air with factories and more powerful and faster means to transport ourselves along with the waste that pollutes our air and our water by throwing away things when we want bigger and better products.

Not only do I think we are misguided by thinking this overproducing and over disposing of things will eventually satisfy our insatiable appetites, but also this attitude of viewing what we must have as needing to be the biggest and brightest along with being so careless with all our other resources carries over into our emotional lives as well. This can and does and change how we view people.

We decide whether a persons size, lifestyle, race, and abilities are worthy of our attention which ultimately leads to decisions of whether some people are even worthy of life itself.

As we attempt to become bigger, stronger, brighter, shinier and more socially acceptable, what we feel we need to fix about ourselves becomes the catalyst for the discomfort we feel when we see some of those traits or aspects of ourselves in others.

It's no wonder that we would become clumsy with our words and use them to hurt people rather than use them to empower people if we can't readily see what those people have to offer that will serve us most effectively in the way the newest and best product on the market does.

I wish that more people understood that disabled often means differently abled but even more importantly that value can be found in people by a multitude of ways that our current cultural bias often allows and even encourages us to ignore.

The word retard has been used to hurt many autistic people as well as many others with a great deal of value that is thereby conveniently ignored by the use of the label. This word is used to marginalize and devalue who people are.

Some even use the word to justify how they abuse people by claiming that people being given this label is what provides others with the right to abuse them.

One of Hollywood's newest products is the movie called Tropical Thunder and it stars Ben Stiller.

In this movie the ugly slur "retard" is carelessly used in a similar way that it has been used to mistreat many people for a long time.

The ASAN (Autistic Self Advocacy Network) is working with the greater disability community to send a message to Hollywood that this movie is not fit for public consumption because it sends a wrong and hurtful message. Also we want to send the message that we and all who understand and accept our message will boycott this movie and any other one that is made like it that reflects these inappropriate values. ASAN is working to distribute this video to as many people as possible.

Christschool has once again given of his time and talent to make this great video. The video is a reminder to me that we all have the ability and responsibility to influence peoples lives with our words and we need to learn to respect the vulnerable aspects of humanity and act responsibly with how we use words.

To anyone who can and will, I would encourage you to promote and distribute this video and encourage others to as well so that our voices my be better heard.

The video: R word

Human Dignity

I don't believe that anyone is born without a healthy way of seeing ourselves and all others as having intrinsic worthiness. Hanging upside down and nude in a room full of people and getting smacked on your rear may not be the best way to start things off. For those of us who were circumcised, I'm thinking that wasn't a real confidence builder either.

Throughout our lives, how we are treated and how we are taught to view ourselves and others in terms of many unnecessary and unreasonable comparisons of worth shapes our self image. How what we are provided with by nature in the beginning of our lives is nurtured will make a dramatic impact on our abilities and equally or more important our self image by which we express those abilities.

Wikipedia defines human dignity as it relates to human rights (which is how I'm referring to it in this post) this way:

When this concept is associated with the adjective "human", it is used to signify that all human beings possess intrinsic worthiness and deserve unconditional respect, regardless of age, sex, health status, social or ethnic origin, political ideas, religion, or criminal history. If violated, this can be considered discrimination. In other words, this respect is owed to every individual by the mere fact that he or she is a "member of the human family" (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, Preamble). This intrinsic worthiness is widely recognized by international law as the source of all human rights. In this respect, both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) of 1966 affirm that human rights “derive from the inherent dignity of the human person”.

There are few things that I believe more strongly than the human rights that “derive from the inherent dignity of the human person” of everyone (and especially autistic people) is too often discouraged and that there is a fundamental and very needed change for how all (and especially autistic people) are seen that will best create and provide for the respect of our human rights.

I have not seen or experienced autistic people being mistreated in less than extreme ways and extreme changes are needed. Watered down neutral views toward extreme violations of human rights is a sharp sword that people too often fall on.

I believe that many societal views of human worth are too often based on what someone can provide in the way of financial support, by way of social and networking skills, and by way of breeding stock. When someone is thought of as not being a good provider in these areas or not likely to be able to gain a lot of ability in these areas, they are more likely to be provided with fewer human rights.

If autistics fall into any or all of these categories (as some of us do) the view of our value is lessened and how we are then treated follows. First of all, fewer people need to be seen this way because too much of too many peoples potential is being wasted. Also, this system that devalues the view of peoples worth needs to change for every ones sake. We all deserve better.

When people are placed in poor housing and human warehouses, human dignity is the most valuable resource and the most difficult to attain. Financial means, education, and training can have a big effect on turning this problem around but not until people change their attitudes about people who are caught up in the cycle.

It seems to me that sometimes people look at others with what are considered the fewest tangible resources as victims of their own ignorance. It's too often thought that such people have so many personal issues that they can't be accessed on a personal level by others.

I'm not saying that such a view is not based in any kind of reality . I think that the number of relationship dynamics that divide people that have resources from others who don't would naturally seem overwhelming to both groups. What I am saying is that there is a cyclic dynamic involved that isn't necessary. Whatever combination of struggles someone has had relating to both internal conflict and unreasonable circumstances has a multitude of layers of what they have become that makes the judgment by others as to why someone is where they are to be impractical, silly, and often mean.

When society starts seeing populations of people as lacking intrinsic value and being disposable, every human trait is devalued and all humans with more resources along with others with less are devalued.

I think the view that resources of caring and providing human dignity for others being limited is the most limiting view of all. Re-creating self respect, providing, and securing more people with human dignity can solve many problems associated with all people lacking many other resources.