Autistics Speak Out Rally:
Robert F Kennedy is on a eugenicist campaign to dehumanize and eventually eliminate autistic people from society. Mr. Kennedy is planning an event in September of this year to announce his “findings” on what causes autism. This cannot be allowed to continue. His message is only allowed to propagate because of the lack of a real movement for autistic people, by autistic people. We seek to remedy this by holding a rally in September of 2025 in Washington DC. The goal of this rally is to undercut Mr. Kennedy’s message of dehumanization by showing the nation that autistic people are every bit as human as everyone else. We will seize the narrative on autistic people from that man and reclaim our stories for ourselves.
Our Goals:
Humanize Autistic People
Autistic people are not some disease to be cured. Autism is a neurotype, akin to ADHD. It cannot be cured anymore than being gay can be. Much of the dehumanization of autistic people is from poor media representation. Autistic people are often relegated to inspirational side characters in media, acting as both and obstacle and motivator for the main character, whose struggle being around an autistic person is centered. We can change this by centering autistic joy.
Teach the Public
Great strides have been made in recent decades in foregrounding autistic people. However, in the past few years there has been a retrenchment in society due to misinformation promulgated by the anti-vax movement, who see autistic people as a harmful side-effect of vaccination. If this narrative on autistic people is not countered, further backsliding of autistic rights in the United States and across the world is likely.
Fight Eugenicist Thought
Eugenicist thought in the United States is on the rise. Recently Robert F. Kennedy Jr., while arguing that autistic people only live half lives and are therefore a type of person worth preventing, listed a number of things that he thinks autistic people can’t do. The first item on the list was ‘pay taxes’. Straight from the ‘useless eater’ playbook. His smile makes the message no less venomous.
About Us
We are a small team of autistic people and allies organizing to stop the dehumanization of autistic people and promote better understanding of the autistic neurotype.
Mission.
Our mission is to defeat the burgeoning eugenicist movement in the United States that is hellbent on eliminating autistic people from society.
Vision.
Our vision is to help bring about a society in which disability is not thought of as something that must be fixed for an individual to become whole. This process will be helped along through Accommodation being made ubiquitous throughout society. Accommodation is an approach to disability characterized by questioning how the environment can change to suit the individual, as opposed the individual needing to change to live a full life within the environment.
