The following message comes from Ari Ne'eman, President of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN):
Hello everyone,
I am happy to announce that PETA's recent, "Got Autism?" billboard
has been removed
by the advertising company hosting it. The billboard misinformed the public
about the autism spectrum by falsely implying that milk consumption was the
cause of autism. Such advertising contributes to a state of public hysteria
about the autism spectrum, fueling the fear and resulting prejudice that
marginalizes us from society at large. It is unacceptable for autistic people,
our families and supporters to be used as instruments in PETA's political
agenda or that of any other unscrupulous interest group. Our community came together
to communicate the need for a swift withdrawal of this ill-informed piece of
advertising, and I'm pleased to say that were able to achieve a swift result.
That we were able to accomplish this so quickly and effectively speaks well for
the autistic community and the cross-disability rights movement. Thank you all
for your support.
If you'd still like to indicate to PETA the need to avoid exploiting the
autistic community in its future advertising, you can write to them at info@peta.org as
well as call them at 757-622-7382 and dial 0. You can also sign our petition on this
topic, further indicating to PETA and the world that it does not pay to try to
attack and exploit the autistic and cross-disability communities.
Incidents like this show the need for a strong and activist autistic
self-advocacy movement, working closely with the broader disability rights
community. By uniting on issues like this one, we can
work to address the persistent biases that pervades the
public discourse about autism in specific and disability in general. As we
speak, the blind
community is uniting against false and offensive depictions of their
community in the new movie, "Blindness". Over the last few months,
disability rights activists from all parts of the community came together to
fight against outdated and
damaging portrayals of people with intellectual disabilities in the movie,
"Tropic Thunder". Less than a year ago, the disability community united
behind our successful
effort to stop the NYU Child Study Center's "Ransom Notes" ad
campaign, which portrayed children with disabilities as kidnap victims.
Like any other community, we have the right to be treated with respect, in
media, in service-delivery and in all aspects of society. While responses to
offensive depictions of disability in popular culture are not the only battle
in the broader struggle for equity, inclusion, quality of life and opportunity
for all people with disabilities, this issue must remain an important priority.
Culture helps to shape the reality we live in. By challenging the exploitative
and offensive public discourse on disability we find today, we can advance a
broader agenda for disability rights. The disability community is on the march
and we will not be stopped. Thank you once again for your effective action on
this issue. I look forward to working with all of you once again in the future.
Remember, "Nothing About Us, Without Us!"
Regards,
Ari Ne'eman
President
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network
1660 L Street, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
http://www.autisticadvocacy.org
732.763.5530
People interested in learning the facts about autism are welcome to listen to the free autism spectrum podcasts by Midnight in Chicago. They are located at www.mic.mypodcast.com
Posted by: Thomas D. Taylor | October 16, 2008 at 09:09 PM