On December 6th, 2016 our nation may have turned a new corner in the annals of hate. Richard Spencer, who advocates that the United States become an Aryan nation - a man who hides behind a seemingly benign and objective "National Policy Institute," was confronted when he spoke at Texas A&M about his favorite topics, like the need for oppressed whites to have their own country. What was curious was his response to the person exercising the first amendment right of protest - the same right he invokes when he plants the seeds of hate.
His response to the woman opposing him was "Cool down the autism...." followed by "...look how fat you are."
So it's come to this. The epithet that people, from adolescents to those of hard core of hate will now be using as a slight is the accusation that someone has "autism." It reminds me of my high school days when we used "mental" as a bash. Now millions take Prozac and it's quite normal. 15 years ago when my kids were in high school and the put down of the day was how "gay" something was. It took a lot of work for us to teach them that sexual orientation was not a topic to bash. It took a lot of work for us to teach our children that demeaning others was wrong. Period. Whether sexual orientation, weight, religion, we worked hard to instill in our children that hate speech is wrong.
So now, someone in the spotlight of the news, using the 15 minutes of fame accorded him by Andy Warhol accuses another opposing his hate baiting of "autism." Autism that can be cooled down. This is not the forum to review what autism is. His ignorance won't be changed by reviewing the neurological complexities and subtleties of the disorder, the breadth of autism's wake or the intensity of its most severe presentation, the emotional or financial expense endured by families with a child with autism. I imagine those who believe in the unique nature of "whiteness" would also believe that autism is an affectation of some sort that can be "cool"ed.
That spotlight, one in which the Nazi salute is normative, is one that sadly is influencing the ignorant quotient of the nation. The thought that his brand of hate is now legitimized in the bashing of autism as the new "N" word is as appalling as it is absurd. But racism and hate, as we know, is indeed absurd. Absurdity seems to now be the new norm.
A junior high school mentality might be, can I say, forgiven? After all, people in their early teens are not those to whom we look for moral guidance. They're still developing. But Mr. Spencer is an adult. Maybe we can blame his parents for not intervening? Maybe it all started with his potty training? Nope, he's just a hater. And even people with autism know that hate is wrong.
