This blog, I found from a conversation I had with someone on Twitter who was offended by an earlier post on one word I used to describe a significant advocate. (Of which I standby, because people use words to describe things and if they’re unsure, well what other words can they describe…lighten up.)

I want to post something positive from this writer. On the blog, a post last month described their frustrations against a walk at the National Mall in D.C.  As with many of the autistic advocates, they have pushed the same narrative over and over “Autism Speaks doesn’t allow anyone with autism to speak and they let only 4% of the budget to go to families and/or individuals”. This makes people like me sleepy of hearing the same thing over and over and over.

However, these individuals were targeted by police. Let’s quote a paragraph on this issue:

The people who donate to Autism Speaks, by and large, don’t know any of this. I spent the majority of the protest talking to people and handing out informational flyers. Almost all of the people I interacted with were shocked at how poorly Autism Speaks serves autistic people. Others were happy to learn why some people don’t like the organization, as they had been curious. A few people brushed us off entirely. We didn’t press them. Most of our group stood silently, occasionally making friendly gestures.

here’s what gets interesting:

Then, the rally organizers called the police. I don’t know what the Autism Speaks organizers told the officers about us. Given the amount of hostility we faced, it probably wasn’t good. 3 armed police officers were sent to deal with 6 people holding damp cardboard signs. They told us to move to a less visible spot across the street. After a quick discussion with Rachel Best, the leader of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network DC chapter, we decided to comply with the officers’ request. We tried to move to a different location with better visibility. We were told to move again. The second time, we were told that if they saw us again, they would arrest us.

Now lastly, this is how not to advocate:

 This was not my first protest. This was, however, different from any other protest I’ve been to. When I marched with Black Lives Matter and Slutwalk, there were hundreds of us. We filled the streets. We obstructed traffic. I felt powerful. I felt like I was making a difference. Being one of a handful of protesters standing against an event that attracted thousands was demoralizing. I was happy to spend time with other Autistic people, but I couldn’t help feeling some despair. When there are so many of them and so few of us, how can we change anything?

You cannot just block traffic, and act like a brat and be above the rules. What this advocate did in the first two paragraphs are within reason, and why did the police question or threaten arrests? This is one side of a story, there maybe another side.

I wanted to post this because I want to prove the Merrimack, NH Police Department and the Merrrimack, NH Town Council that my advocacy against Autism Speaks (Not “ANTI-Autism Awareness”) was within reason – and I am not one of those people cited above. I don’t care if you are black, a lesbian, severely autistic, suffer with CP, you must follow the rules, and always listen to the cops. If you want to question them, you do it after the fact. Social media and email in my case made my problem worse. In my situation, I was on town right of way, on the sidewalk, but I think what bothered the Chief of Police was I had “a camera mounted on a tripod” that caused him to question me (and insult my town – again with a number of developmentally disabled people) within an hour by Retweeting (and perhaps posting a link on Facebook) to Light it Up Blue. And all emails I’ve sent were professional and didn’t contain threats or inappropriate languages.

If you want to be taken seriously, you must follow what these individuals or what I did. Stay on point, change the narrative at times, and understand that some people may still believe in Autism Speaks and sadly you can’t change their views. All you have to do is move on and hope to find other people who share the same thoughts.