Special Interests?
"Special interests" is an interesting way the eugenicists have framed the hobbies that we autistic people have.
I have hobbies. You have hobbies. Everyone has a hobby.
In case you're wondering what the term "eugenicist" means, it means someone who practices, advocates for, or engages in activity to promote eugenics. Eugenics, aka scientific racism, is a set of beliefs and practices that aims at improving the genetic quality of the human population. What could be wrong with that? Eugenics seeks to achieve it's goals by excluding (through a variety of morally repugnant means) certain genetic groups judged by the dominant culture to be inferior, and promoting other genetic groups judged to be superior. The roots of the eugenics movement are deep and are responsible for the racial cleansing policies of the Third Reich and form the foundation of the modern racial classification systems, among other things. The eugenics movement of 100 years ago is still with us today. Groups like Autism $peaks seek to "solve the problem of autism" (thus the puzzle piece logo that autistics find absolutely vile) by researching the genetic profile that makes an autistic person. Why? To create an in-vitro test for autistic traits, similar to the one created for Downs, so as to inform expectant parents of the tragedy of giving birth to an autistic child (like me) - advising them to terminate the pregnancy (kill the unborn child). When you donate to Autism $peaks or it's allied groups, this is where your money goes. Less than 5% of your donation goes to support actually autistic people and their families.
How do I know this? I study. I read. I research. I learn. I absorb. I sort. I integrate sources. I make sense of the connections. Lately, I use this data to advocate. Plus, as an autistic person who has looked to such groups for help, I know exactly how they respond - they don’t expect me to be there, in their spaces.
Meet my "special interest" - knowledge. I simply love to learn new things.
I completely embrace the Classical Liberal Arts and Sciences and the way knowledge was acquired / transferred in our ancient past. I rather reject modern educational systems as being primarily rooted in the philosophies that gave rise to eugenics. I absolutely reject the factory school style of education - the one-size-fits-all that generally works for no one. Why is this important to note? Consider this question - who educated Noah, Abraham, Job, Moses, Samuel, Solomon, David, or Isaiah? Which college did each attend? What about Cyrus (I and II), Darius (I, II, and III), and Xerxes (I and II)? What about Alexander, the great Macedonian king? How did these men obtain their wisdom? What form of education did they receive? It’s this attitude that I bring as a credentialled special education teacher who happens to work in a public school.
Humanity is referred to scientifically as homo sapiens or "reasoning man". This notion of humanity's rational nature may be understood when we consider the four operations of the human mind: perception, predication, reasoning and arrangement. As an older autistic person, I've spent a lifetime working to control these operations within the confines of my personal quantum field generator.
Perception is the operation of the mind whereby mental images are collected through the senses: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. The mind operates like a camera, storing images of what is perceived. For this reason you can close your eyes and still "see" a friend, "smell" a rose or "feel" a warm fire. These mental images are called "ideas" and are the first action or operation of the human mind. Remember, I'm non-verbal (which is different than non-vocal - more on that later in the month). My primary mode of operation is visual - picture based. This is why the Masonic tracing boards were so impactful for me - visual communication. I also have sensory processing issues that are largely centered around flow or the lack of moderation. Everything sensory comes it at the same level - then my brain gets to work on predication.
Predication is the operation of the mind whereby images are compared and either joined together or disjoined. This process is also known as judgment. For example, our mind has an idea of ice and an idea of coldness and joins them together: All ice is cold. The "is" is simply a link or copula. On the contrary, our mind disjoins the idea of ice from the idea of hotness and predicates: No ice is hot. Here we are denying the link and are saying, "Ice and hot do not agree." Predication, paired with the awesome processing power of an unregulated quantum field generator, is a large part of why autistics tend to suffer disproportionately from anxiety and depression - it's a lot to manage. I've got an article on this topic (related to temporality) coming to the AutSide later this year.
The mind continues from predication to Reasoning by comparing one predication or judgment with another, leading to new and more complex judgments by means of the syllogism. For example, the mind reflecting upon the fact that "All ice is cold." and that "The sun is hot." produces a new judgment, that "The sun is not ice.". The quantum nature of the brain means multiple / simultaneous comparisons - aka my brain won't shut up and let me sleep.
Lastly, the mind Arranges these arguments to form systems through which future perceptions, predications and reasonings are categorized for yet further reasonings. This arrangement forms what researchers of the autistic brain call the "Quality World Picture." This focus on arrangement is what the eugenicists focus on when depicting the autistic child arranging his world - lining up toy trucks and etc. The young autistic mind is simply practicing what it's good at, finding safety and comfort in what they know.
Now, when we imagine this autistic mind set loose in the world as it was at creation, it does not require much time for an autistic person to make great progress in learning the world. More importantly, inasmuch as the world was designed by a higher wisdom, it was also a perfect teacher for every human being. The world silently speaks to one's reason. One's ability to reason can safely lead one to the mastery of creation's resources and ultimately to the knowledge and love of their Creator.
If you've read this far, you've engaged with me in my other "special interest," sharing / transmitting what I've learned (teaching).
I've learned that the autistic brain works as designed. Sure, we all have our good / bad days. I'm no different. But, given what I've just shared with you, why would a group like Autism $peaks want to create a world in which I don't exist? If you're using the puzzle piece, you're furthering Autism $peaks' cause - same if you're lighting it up blue. There is duality in the world, ad Autism $peaks is no different. Sure, they do some good for some people. They also support unspeakable acts of pure evil*.
I've created an alternative to Autism $peaks at Towcester Abbey. The Praeceptory at Towcester Abbey is very low profile in it's efforts to improve the lives of autistic people and their families (I am, after all, an anarchist). 100% of the money it receives goes to it's mission.
Thank you for reading and sharing a bit of me. If you feel up to it, share a bit of you blow. Have a great day.