"Why are you talking about being called a know-it-all? Focus on real autistic oppression like electroshock and homelessness!"

Look, we can focus on multiple issues, but the micro and the macro aren't separate, the micro creates the macro.

I'll explain.

This was inspired by me giving a twat the benefit of the doubt and they got quite hostile about referring to this as oppression and claimed I started the Hermione discourse (I did not, I merely explained it well).

At least they proved that some autistics are indeed assholes.

For the purposes of this thread, I define micro as stuff like being ignored, called too smart, people not reading your emotions and exacerbating alexythimia. Stuff that hasn't directly killed anyone.

Macro is "real oppression," IE ABA and eugenics.

One thing I learned when I was deep in feminist discourse is something called, microaggressions. These are things like repeating what women said in meetings and getting credit, mansplaining, stuff like that.

When people complain about the microaggressions, you're inevitably met with, "Why not focus on real feminist issues like oppression in the middle east? You're not oppressed cause someone called you bossy."

I mean it's total derailment to silence you because micro builds macro.

You're in an environment where those microaggressions happen, then men make jokes about how women should dress. When people nod, it signals this is okay.

As it escalates and people get accustomed to looking the other way, it progresses to very overt harassment.

As all institutions build, suddenly framing rape as women trying to destroy men's careers seems reasonable as does legislating what pregnant people do with their bodies. But it starts with small things to test the waters and desensitize.

How does this apply to autism?

ABA didn't form in a vacuum, it starts with people not understanding autistic needs, deciding it's an us problem.

It starts as a kid where your innate instincts are mocked. Because you're too smart and not smart enough about other things.

It starts with mocking your speech patterns, so you're always uncomfortable to speak up. So when people speak for you, you just sorta agree.

It starts with one kid deciding your speech patterns are weird and everyone around them just nodding. So the idea your behaviors are weird get reinforced and it's signaled that you're fair game.

These bullies reach adulthood and become hiring managers.

Or even people who don't directly bully you hear, "This kid is weird," and kinda accept it.

They reach adulthood, never interrogating that prejudice. Many of them reach positions or power or will say, "That person who works with me is weird and creepy," and others agree.

I got called creepy a lot for paying attention to what people say and remembering it, and also sharing facts when people don't want to hear it.

It's a direct line to the myth that autistics are inherently sexual predators.

Autistic predators do exist to be clear, and many will say, "Hey I'm autistic it's not my fault I just don't know better!"

And from there, it's easy to say, "Hey you don't want your child to be ostracized and grow up to be a sexual predator who harasses others with their incessant speech and no eye contact. This ABA program can help!"

And you know, that makes sense.

You assume autistic kids are reciting facts purely to show off (it's usually because we think they're really awesome and want to share).

You see that trait in an adult and you decide it's insincere and you cannot trust them, so they don't get hired.

And because autistic people are often bullied for being themselves, they're less likely to self advocate so pushing for fair pay is difficult.

You see how these small childhood things perpetuate into adulthood?

And you know, you can point to underemployment in autistic adults and the fact a lot of people find them creepy to make a good case why your child needs help to live with their autism [sic].

The micro very much builds to the macro.

"But why not talk about ABA then?"

We do, nobody fucking listens.

However talking about the micro has some advantages. For one, a lot of these are small things that can be addressed with a little awareness.

I tweet a lot about autistic behaviors and the reason behind them in part to better understand myself but also because when an allistic is aware of why an autistic person is doing something instead of uncritically calling them a creep, it improves autistic lives.

It helps slowly dismantle the support systems that create the macro. It starts with, "Oh you're not a know-it-all, you just find rocks as fascinating as I find sports. That is cool."

Haranguing Mark Rober got a very public autism charity so say, "Autistic people," and have some autistic adults present for the first time.

Person first vs identity first is arguably micro, so small victories to change thought.

I also tweet to help other autistic people find commonalities.

Many autistics find the Hermione discourse absurd. But I got so many replies telling me how much that explanation helped parts of their lives come into focus.

Focusing on a small problem many consider trivial had an immediate measurable effect on my autistic peers.

I can't dismantle ABA from twitter, but I can create understanding for allistics and help other autistics understand themselves.