@lichen

it can be read as saying that there's a cure for autism and/or autistic symptoms through those methodologies, which is flatly wrong and clearly not her intent, but any number of non-autistic people reading this won't know that, all they'll see is "cure".

@lichen

the abuse of medication and behavioralist therapies is literally used to silence autistic youth, and to apply forms of conversion therapy labeled as a "gold standard", without their consent.

@shoutcacophony see, I hadn't caught this when I read it the first time, now that you point it out, I can see what you mean.. I agree that it's not in the intent of the author but you're right

@lichen thanks. neurodiversity lite keeps creeping into the larger discourse, including within the community. it's an actual problem.

@lichen also, that damping down (or in this case, passing reference, probably) of what "medication" and "therapy" mean in practice, is a standing practice for allistic anti-self-advocacy "experts" and Autism Parents, as well as (tbh) hate groups like Autism Speaks

@shoutcacophony in retrospect, one more panel to at least clarity that statement so that's not read wrong would have been due

@lichen *nods*

there's another cartoon i read somewhere (maybe the same artist? not sure) where it was asserted that "high" and "low" autistics have a lot in common (fuck functioning labels, but both true and good, otherwise) and that one of those things in common was taking meds.

this is the kind of messaging creep i'm talking about

@lichen also, i was looking at your feed to reply your boost of Roopika Risam's "Toxic Feminism" article, because I wrote up some thoughts, but got sidetracked by Schenke's comic

@shoutcacophony oh, ok, did you find it? it's not like I fully endorse it, I should say in advance, eheh

@lichen

yes, did and read, but didn't step back far enough to find the link to it you posted

as for fully endorsing, or not? *nods* likely the same here? 🙃

i think there's good points in there, then there's how things play out in actuality, basically. which is sort of a gd mess, but it's our mess, pretty much

@lichen as opposed to *clutches pearls* these aren't the catered meals that we asked for at the (white) ladies' feminist luncheon

@lichen

as for the article itself:

- i think it's in bad need of a read of "Coalition Politics: Turning The Century", "The Online Abuse Playbook", "Liberating Theory" and if relevant and wanted, a careful, selective reading of "A Different Drum", but raises some good points.

that said, some thoughts:

- so what if someone is so-called toxic? especially Black and brown people, Black and brown women in particular.

@lichen

- when is it not ok to be toxic, why is it not ok, and under what contexts?

- much of the usefulness of this kind of social interaction and climate rides on whether someone's work is coalitional, if/when it's not, and what spaces are or aren't coalitional, and on what terms

@lichen

- that all said, power dynamics exist in virtually all walks of life, and it's possible to be a) oppressed, b) have good points and even good actions resulting from those points, and c) be less than stellar in your social interactions.

@lichen

so then the question becomes, "then what?" as opposed to "are you toxic". which strikes me as just pathologizing Black and brown people all over again, if not directly inferring "i'm not saying you're mentally ill, but" (which is a huge discussion in its own right -- who gets pathologized, covertly or overtly, and why).

@shoutcacophony all good points... beside looping on the grounds of 'white feminism can fuck itself' idk how to respond. it's not for me to say how to frame it better since I struggle to get all the contexts here, because they are multiple and complex, and very us-ians and also related to twitter dynamics...

@lichen yes to all of this, agreed

@lichen also, *way* too much time logged in and around us-ian political dynamics, and twiter dynamics, both

i used to be much more like "into the fray again, because someone has to do it", but between the reoccurring burnout, and the overarching ineffectiveness of anything from campaign-based organizing and street protests to voting as a sort of religion (as oppossed to *one* possible strategy), i'm much more cautious now, overall