Autism Jabberwocky Documents Neurodiversity Hypocrisy

As I have noted before,  Autism Jabberwocky may be the best autism blog on the internet. It is certainly one that I read regularly. It is always well written and genuinely fair and balanced. None of which prevents blog author MJ from taking clear positions on issues.

In two recent posts, Left Brain Right Brain : The Bullies On Bullying and Neurodiversity's Hypocrisy, Autism Jabberwocky hits Neurodiversity ideologues on the hypocrisy that permeates their writings. . I recommend both posts, and the Autism Jabberwocky blog generally, for readers seeking an informed balanced and no nonsense perspective on autism issues.

Help End Bullying - Wear Pink Today

Today people around the world are wearing pink as part of a World Wide anti-bullying day. Bullying is a very serious problem that was not always taken seriously. As an "army brat" who moved often, 6 schools in 3 provinces for grade school, 3 different schools in 2 different provinces just in grade 2, I saw lots of bullying during an era when few adults paid attention to the problem. Today, as bullying takes on new forms with young people being bullied severely on the internet through "social media" and while old forms of bullying persist, including name calling and physical assault, people are starting to take bullying seriously.


I was born in a small town called Waterville, Nova Scotia where my parents and some other family members live today. It is literally just down the road from Central Kings Rural High School where many of my cousins, nieces and nephews have attended school ... the school where two grade 12 students, Travis Price and David Shepherd, stood up for a fellow student who was being bullied because he wore a pink shirt. As reported by the CBC, they:

"rallied around a younger student after he was bullied for wearing a pink polo shirt on the first day of school.

David Shepherd and Travis Price, who were in Grade 12 at Central Kings Rural High School, asked all students at their school to wear pink T-shirts to combat bullying.

They bought 50 pink shirts from a discount store, then e-mailed classmates to get them on board. The next day, hundreds of students showed up wearing pink clothing. Before long, the movement had spread around the province and across the country."

I am very proud of the students from Central Kings for the stand they took. And I have tremendous respect for every one who stands up for those who are bullied, usually for being different, for wearing different clothes, for their sexual orientation, for their racial or ethnic background, because they have a disability ... in some cases because they are autistic.

In some cases people are bullied because they are the parents of an autistic child fighting for services for their child or simply trying to include him or her in an every day life occurrence like attending a movie theater.

These are just some of my personal connections to the bullying phenomenon. Many people have been bullied in life for many different reasons including at school and in the workplace.

It is time to end bullying in all its forms and wherever it occurs.

And to say thank you to everyone who helps to end bullying.

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On February 25 Facing Autism Will Wear Pink

UPDATE:

Thank you to bullet who provided a link to the CBC story about the Nova Scotia students, David Shepherd and Travis Price, of Central Kings Rural High School in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley: Bullied student tickled pink by schoolmates' T-shirt campaign

Bullying is nasty business.

It is the essence of hatred and discrimination against anyone who is different or vulnerable, including people who are different because of their racial or ethnic background, sexual orientation or people with mental illnesses or neurological disorders.

Children with autism disorders are subject to bullying even by public figures seeking to promote their tired careers as shock jocks and comics.

On February 25, 2009 Facing Autism in New Brunswick will wear pink.

On February 25, 2009 I will wear pink to stand up against bullying.

autism