Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Square Talk: Squaring Off

Click to enlarge (Maddy)

13 comments:

  1. I love it, and do I see the potters by-line underneath? Yay Maddy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This reminds me of a sad, true story about a friend of mine with the LFA label.

    She was on a bus and two teachers were sitting in front of her discussing her stupidity and inability to do anything. Unsurprisingly, she got upset nd sarted headbanging. Theythen stated saying "I wonder why she's afraid of buses."

    ReplyDelete
  3. She was on a bus and two teachers were sitting in front of her discussing her stupidity and inability to do anything. Unsurprisingly, she got upset nd sarted headbanging. Theythen stated saying "I wonder why she's afraid of buses."

    Ugh. I can't stand it when school people do that. Even if you're convinced that the person you're talking about can't hear or can't understand you, how does that make it any less wrong? And being able to type or even speak doesn't amend this attitude; even directly correcting mistaken assumptions with words, however tactful and articulate, will usually be no more effective at getting such a person to understand. After all, if they were willing to believe that their interpretation could be wrong, that the individual may know more about themselves than they do, then they wouldn't have made such comments.

    I love the picture. As I said in a nother comment, that the hallmark of a good advocate is someone who listens and responds to the variety of needs and interests of the group. So the question becomes: how does a non-autistic person who's claiming to speak for autistic people any better than an autistic person claiming to speak for autistic people?

    There isn't an inherent advantage, and in people who advocate for autistics, I evaluate on how much are they willing to listen and respond to the needs and circumstances of a variety of autistic people, rather than a narrow view of one "kind" of autistic person - which applies, of course, equally to autistic advocates as non-autistic advocates, as I would disagree just as much with an autistic who thinks only of autistic people like them and what they think are their needs and interests, as I would with a non-autistic person who does the same thing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. "I would disagree just as much with an autistic who thinks only of autistic people like them and what they think are their needs and interests" Well then there are a lot of them to express disagreement with. Which is a lot of HFA who only think of and act in the interests of other HFA.

    I like the picture on the upper right. Even though it would be kind of absurd for a circle to tell a square that it doesn't know the problems of another square, the square talking about the other square is large and gray, while the one being talked about is small and black.

    Maybe those different squares have different interests to look out for. Too bad there aren't enough other squares apparently looking out for the little black square like the circle tried to do.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You have an amazing ability to capture deep, complex issues in a few short frames.
    I wish the world at large was offered a daily dose of "Square Talk".

    ReplyDelete
  6. "So the question becomes: how does a non-autistic person who's claiming to speak for autistic people any better than an autistic person claiming to speak for autistic people?"

    Exarrctly.

    Sanabituranima: Damn. Just . . . damn.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm going to second what Steve D said. It's a perfect description of what is going on. I like the little square guy in the corner who is waiting for someone to catch on that he's communicating a request.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I too have seen the failings of Aspies who want things 'a certain way'....whatever than is I suppose.... and trying to explain to them that does not suit other sorts of Autistics and that they are not representative of the whole spectrum is futile in some instances.

    I am gladdened that Pennsylvania is issuing waivers to Autistics that need them so that each individual can get the services he or she needs and not some one size fits nobody package.

    People like me are not the best gauge of the Spectrum because I am in a position to help society instead of needing society to help me.

    When I figure out how to make my first million I would want to build homes for small groups of Autistics. Real homes in neighborhoods...with grass and trees, DSL access, trampolines and squashy furniture and no fluorescent lighting.

    How they live in them...as long as it is lawful....I suppose would be up to them.

    ~Sarah

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'll third what Steve and Camille said. I don't know when I,ve seen such a brief description define so much so well.

    I think I'm better understanding the point you're making here better all the time.

    ReplyDelete
  10. "Maybe those different squares have different interests to look out for. Too bad there aren't enough other squares apparently looking out for the little black square like the circle tried to do."

    Spectacularly missing the point.

    The point is, the reason that the grey square only talks about the interests of grey squares is the way ze gets attacked by circles-who-claim-to-represent-small-black-squares if ze dares to actually go beyond the incredibly narrow "squares exactly like me with interests exactly like mine" topic.

    It's about the hypocrisy of forcing someone into a corner, then condemning them for being in it.

    I'm pretty much a paradigmatic highly-verbal-Aspie as far as cognitive profiles go - but I refuse utterly to play "divide and rule" games by advocating just for Aspies and not for other autistic/neurodiverse people, or just for autistic/neurodiverse people and not for other disabled people. Of course, that means that i get accused of "representing" those who i have no right to represent - when i'm not even trying to "represent" them as such, but simply to make it clear that their needs and rights are just as important as mine. And, of course, non-disabled parents/carers who claim to represent disabled people don't get accused of that...

    Utterly brilliant comic, BTW.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Shiva,

    Thanks for making that clear! I don't like to try explaining my comics in words. The way I see it, I get one chance to make the point(s) and will live with however it gets interpreted.

    I had started to write a long, wordy post on the idea of "speaking for" other people as opposed to "speaking up" for the disenfranchised, whether or not one is an "approved and proven" member of that group. But it was getting bogged down in rhetoric. When that happens, I sometimes figure I might have a better shot at making the point(s) visually.

    I have really enjoyed the discussion on this one, so thanks to all who contributed.

    ReplyDelete
  12. ;;bello e divertente

    e anche questo,

    >>Spectacularly missing the point.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I just found this blog, but I love this! I forwarded it to some coworkers, and I think a light went on-- had been discussing the social model with a small group the other day but was having trouble getting the point across.

    ReplyDelete

Squawk at me.
Need to add an image?
Use this code [img]IMAGE-URL-HERE[/img]