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RFK and Autism

SystemSystem
in Epiphanies
This discussion was created from comments split from: Approaches to autism in early years/childhood.

Comments

  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    It appears Robert Kennedy is going to "solve the "problem by September.
    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj0z9nmzvdlo
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    Caissa wrote: »
    It appears Robert Kennedy is going to "solve the "problem by September.
    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj0z9nmzvdlo

    And, I think the study has a preconceived conclusion. To MMR or Not to MMR, that is the question.

    Remember, the guy has a worm in his brain, and he works for a guy who may not have brain. Just saying. (Don't want to go any further into hell territory here.)
  • KarlLBKarlLB Shipmate
    edited April 11
    Caissa wrote: »
    It appears Robert Kennedy is going to "solve the "problem by September.
    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj0z9nmzvdlo

    Ha. I can identify the "cause" for him.

    1. More accurate diagnosis;
    2. Widening of diagnostic criteria;
    3. Autistic people being freer to live authentically* rather than spending their lives stressed to the tits permanently masking.

    *we've a hell of a way still to go on that one.

    "Solution" - let us fucking be.
  • Stercus TauriStercus Tauri Shipmate
    KarlLB wrote: »
    Caissa wrote: »
    It appears Robert Kennedy is going to "solve the "problem by September.
    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj0z9nmzvdlo

    Ha. I can identify the "cause" for him.

    1. More accurate diagnosis;
    2. Widening of diagnostic criteria;
    3. Autistic people being freer to live authentically* rather than spending their lives stressed to the tits permanently masking.

    *we've a hell of a way still to go on that one.

    "Solution" - let us fucking be.

    The idiot Kennedy seems to think that autism is a contagious disease, and I wonder if he has ever encountered anyone with the condition. I'd say his evident disability is far more serious. Unlike most people with autism, he appears to be intellectually stunted and unable to make creative contributions to society.
  • betjemaniacbetjemaniac Shipmate
    edited April 12
    KarlLB wrote: »
    Caissa wrote: »
    It appears Robert Kennedy is going to "solve the "problem by September.
    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj0z9nmzvdlo

    Ha. I can identify the "cause" for him.

    1. More accurate diagnosis;
    2. Widening of diagnostic criteria;
    3. Autistic people being freer to live authentically* rather than spending their lives stressed to the tits permanently masking.

    *we've a hell of a way still to go on that one.

    "Solution" - let us fucking be.

    Agree - though there is a fourth (arguably linked to your 3, but I think separate)

    4. Awareness within individuals that there’s not something *wrong* with them, and that they might be able to get help, which feeds into more people coming forward for 1, then coming under 2, etc.

    Basically I read your 3 as people being able to be open and authentic about themselves, where I think a build is more people even recognising it in themselves, never mind becoming open about it.
  • GwaiGwai Epiphanies Host
    edited April 12
    Stercus Tauri wrote: »
    The idiot Kennedy seems to think that autism is a contagious disease, and I wonder if he has ever encountered anyone with the condition. I'd say his evident disability is far more serious. Unlike most people with autism, he appears to be intellectually stunted and unable to make creative contributions to society.

    I am pretty sure you didn't mean it this way but let's be clear that saying someone has a disability is not an appropriate way to insult someone. Governor Abbot is the only disabled person I am aware of knowing of who I don't respect more than RFK.

    Gwai, Epiphanies Host

    [edited to add hostly tags as I had forgotten]
  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    FatherInCharge once added the name of an autistic boy to his weekly list of the *sick and suffering* to be prayed for, specifying autism as the *problem*.

    I explained as politely as I could that autism is not a disease or illness...
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    Gwai wrote: »
    Stercus Tauri wrote: »
    The idiot Kennedy seems to think that autism is a contagious disease, and I wonder if he has ever encountered anyone with the condition. I'd say his evident disability is far more serious. Unlike most people with autism, he appears to be intellectually stunted and unable to make creative contributions to society.

    I am pretty sure you didn't mean it this way but let's be clear that saying someone has a disability is not an appropriate way to insult someone. Governor Abbot is the only disabled person I am aware of knowing of who I don't respect more than RFK.

    Gwai, Epiphanies Host

    [edited to add hostly tags as I had forgotten]

    I did not take @Stercus Tauri 's comments as an insult, but as a reflection on how RFKjr presents himself. RFK does admit to having acquired a worm in his brain--I think he has also said the worm has died. His speech pattern is quite disjointed, and he does not seem to know what is going on in his agency. He also has a number of beliefs many people would consider mistaken, definitely out mainline thought. Maybe a better word would be "challenged."

    Got to admit I have a problem with finding worlds other than ableism to describe how RFK presents.
  • DoublethinkDoublethink Admin, 8th Day Host
    I think he was a git before he had a brain injury, the brain injury did not cause him to become a git.
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    "Git." Not familiar with this word.
  • SandemaniacSandemaniac Shipmate
    Replace with appropriate term of derision eg dickhead, and you are in the right ballpark.
  • ChastMastrChastMastr Shipmate
    He’s going to say that vaccines cause autism, isn’t he? And make the government health agencies give lip service to the idea? 🤬
  • BullfrogBullfrog Shipmate
    ChastMastr wrote: »
    He’s going to say that vaccines cause autism, isn’t he? And make the government health agencies give lip service to the idea? 🤬

    If he stops there, I'll be...I'm not sure what the word is for it...less horrified than I expect to be?

    Earlier the guy was talking about starting work camps.
  • ChastMastrChastMastr Shipmate
    Bullfrog wrote: »
    ChastMastr wrote: »
    He’s going to say that vaccines cause autism, isn’t he? And make the government health agencies give lip service to the idea? 🤬

    If he stops there, I'll be...I'm not sure what the word is for it...less horrified than I expect to be?

    Earlier the guy was talking about starting work camps.

    God help us.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    Wikipaedia's take on git. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(slang)
  • SandemaniacSandemaniac Shipmate
    Caissa wrote: »
    Wikipaedia's take on git. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(slang)

    Errr, no, that's the computer thingy.
  • Leorning CnihtLeorning Cniht Shipmate
    Sandemaniac wrote: »
    Caissa wrote: »
    Wikipaedia's take on git. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(slang)

    Errr, no, that's the computer thingy.

    Looks like by default if you paste a URL in to the ship, it doesn't understand that parentheses can be part of the URL.

    So if you want to include it, you have to use the link insertion explicitly, like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(slang)
  • BullfrogBullfrog Shipmate
    edited April 17
    Gramps49 wrote: »
    Gwai wrote: »
    Stercus Tauri wrote: »
    The idiot Kennedy seems to think that autism is a contagious disease, and I wonder if he has ever encountered anyone with the condition. I'd say his evident disability is far more serious. Unlike most people with autism, he appears to be intellectually stunted and unable to make creative contributions to society.

    I am pretty sure you didn't mean it this way but let's be clear that saying someone has a disability is not an appropriate way to insult someone. Governor Abbot is the only disabled person I am aware of knowing of who I don't respect more than RFK.

    Gwai, Epiphanies Host

    [edited to add hostly tags as I had forgotten]

    I did not take @Stercus Tauri 's comments as an insult, but as a reflection on how RFKjr presents himself. RFK does admit to having acquired a worm in his brain--I think he has also said the worm has died. His speech pattern is quite disjointed, and he does not seem to know what is going on in his agency. He also has a number of beliefs many people would consider mistaken, definitely out mainline thought. Maybe a better word would be "challenged."

    Got to admit I have a problem with finding worlds other than ableism to describe how RFK presents.

    "Quack," "huckster," "shill," "snake oil salesman," "fraud," "con," "fascist," etc.

    One quip I've been tossing around is "Chairman Mao called, he wants his bad ideas back."

    The problem with RFK is that he's playing stupid. He ain't stupid. He's just grifting off of stupid people.

    Eugenics and "survival of the fittest" are just the rationalizations healthy people use to avoid feeling responsible for the less fortunate. And that ain't stupid. That's evil.

    [with apologies to stupid people, since the real problem here is usually - IMO - desperation, ignorance, and/or a faulty conscience.]
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    Thank you, Leorning Cniht. I thought I had grabbed the right Git link.
  • Timothy the ObscureTimothy the Obscure Shipmate
    If RFK's statements about autism had been made about any other group of people, there would be no difficulty labeling them as hate speech.
  • LouiseLouise Epiphanies Host
    His approach is both hate speech and utter bunkum.

    The International Society of Autism Research has a relevant statement

    https://www.autism-insar.org/page/insarstatement

    We believe that referring to autism as a ‘preventable disease’ is out of touch with contemporary, evidence-based understanding of autism. Based on current autism research, we know that there are many causes of autism and virtually all of these occur prenatally – in other words you are born with autism

    We're born this way.

    For more on the kind of science INSAR are talking about Dr Steven Kapp who is both AuDHD himself and a distinguished researcher on the subject has a new article out in Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience

    https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/integrativeneuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnint.2025.1489322/full

    Sensory–movement underpinnings of lifelong neurodivergence: getting a grip on autism

    Abstract:

    While the autism diagnosis emphasizes “deficits” in social communication, the article advances that sensory–movement differences underpin autism through a review of the following sources of evidence. This account critically challenges “autistic regression”, with evidence that sensory–movement features appear by birth as the earliest signs of autism and underlie the behavioral differences used for diagnosis, which may reflect adaptations to inherent differences and misunderstandings from others. Sensory and motor differences are salient to autistic people, but they often go underrecognized by others. They cause cascading effects in infancy on behavior and communication through differences in sensorimotor learning, automatic imitation, eye contact, sensory perception, and interests.
    (Bold mine)

    This article is lengthy and detailed but really worth a read for anyone autistic or interested in autism. There's loads of interesting stuff in it
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