Protest Pity
In solidarity with the broader disability community, help protest giving the Hersholt Award to Jerry Lewis. Details and discussion on why this is important can be found on the Petition to Protest Hersholt Award Choice post.
The petition itself can be found at http://www.petitiononline.com/jlno2009/petition.html.
If you've already signed the petition, let every one know by clicking to fulfill this pledge.
This is a one-time pledge that can be fulfilled any time.
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Phil Schwarz Framingham, MA @ 10:08PM PT Jan 17
It's not just Jerry Lewis. It's a lot closer to home than that, too.
The departure of Alison Tepper Singer from Autism Speaks calls attention to the effects that playing of the pity-and-fear cards by the media and the major autism organizations -- Autism Speaks included -- as central elements of their publicity and "awareness" efforts regarding autism have had on the course of public discourse and policymaking regarding autism.
The propagation of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) by these publicity campaigns and reporting angles -- from Autism Speaks's "Autism Every Day", to the ASA's "Getting the Word Out" campaign, to the NYU Child Study Center's "ransom notes" campaign, to the journalistically substandard fact-checking and rumor-mongering of David Kirby and Dan Olmstead -- has driven panic-stricken parents into the arms of the burgeoning autism quackery industry, has perpetuated harmful misinformation about autistic children and adults and about their prognoses and capabilities, and has made it more difficult for autistic adults to take their rightful place as equal stakeholders in the public discourse and policymaking concerning autism.
We need to put a stop to that.
We need to make sure the media and the autism organizations propagate the message that autism does not *have* to be unmitigated horror and tragedy. That by working *with* their autism instead of against it, more and more autistic children and adults are achieving better and better outcomes and better and better quality of life.
We need to make sure the media and the autism organizations stop feeding the 65-years-and-counting history of focusing on causation theories and "cures" and start to focus on what *really* matters to the 1 in 150 people who live the life: improvements in housing, education, employment, access to quality healthcare, and access to living in the community as consumer and citizen, that are the stuff of better quality of life as adults. The 1 in 150 *children* of today will be the adults of the next two decades. It's time to refocus *now* so that the groundwork will have been laid by the time they enter adult life. And so that the adults living the life today see improvements in their quality of life too.
Clay Adams Buffalo, NY @ 04:13AM PT Jan 17
Pledge fulfilled Jan 17!
Yeah, I signed (seems like) several days ago. Jerry Lewis is a self-serving hypocrite.
Niksmom . Dover, DE @ 05:30AM PT Jan 16
Pledge fulfilled Jan 16!
I've emailed a ton of friends (many bloggin pals) and asked them to not only sign the petition but to use their resources to spread the word!
Dora Raymaker Portland, OR @ 10:14PM PT Jan 15
Initiated this Pledge!