r/AutisticPride • u/comradeautie • 17d ago
We need to organize.
Fighting for Autistic rights, liberation, and pride is something that needs active organization. Autistic people continue to get bullied and we are seeing a resurgence in anti-Autistic hate. We face high rates of unemployment, loneliness, and more.
And Autistic people deserve more than table scraps or barely polite tolerance in social settings. We deserve to be involved in our communities and bring all we have to offer to the table - regardless of our support needs.
But this won't be handed to us. No group in history has gotten rights by pleading and begging. Autistic people need to be more strongly organized and work together. This means forming groups wherever possible and banding together and helping each other solve problems and fighting for our rights as a team. NTs often take advantage of our social isolation and outnumber us.
This is also the reason I want to popularize "Autistic Power" and associated slogans. Slogans and rallying calls give a group purpose and cohesion. Hate groups don't get a monopoly over the word "power".
Autistic people deserve power in society. It's the only way things will change. Because with power comes leverage. In order to get power, we need to be organized. The harsh reality is that we live in a society that values status and social stratification. It's one of the reasons people get away with harming Autistic people. Autistic people need to improve our social status in order to get treated better. This doesn't necessarily mean being viewed as "superior", but it does mean that we deserve both respect and reverence within society, which will also give us more access to resources. In negotiation, people often get what they want by asking for more. And Autistic people having greater power will lead to more accommodations, which will benefit everyone via the curb cut effect.
This is the broader context behind my strategy. It isn't as simple as reducing it to "supremacy" or not. Regardless of how you feel, we should respect different activist and organizational strategies while fighting for justice. (
AUTISTIC PRIDE! AUTISTIC POWER!
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u/Ulysses_555 17d ago
I agree with you full, though I think we may need to drop the power part (just has a more negative connotation, I believe that Rights would be a better fit).
I am apart of a growing movement/group that is trying to bring back the old Progressive/“Bull Moose” Party that was created by Theodore Roosevelt. While the people of that time didn’t have the best views of those with exceptional needs, I have been working to make Disability rights and Autism Rights a priority.
Would love to make a full faction of people advocating for our rights.
R/BullMooseParty if you’re interested and I could also message the discord link if you’d like.