The World Without an Autistic Woman's Contributions

This semester I have been taking an Anthropology of Food class as part of my degree in Cultural Studies.  For this class, we have been asked to keep weekly food journals that describe experiences related to food, and how they are relevant to what we are learning in class. This week I have learned many important things about food to me, both as an autistic activist and a Buddhist. After doing my last two food journals, which talk about the things I learned, I learned the importance of one autistic woman, and how the world would be if autistic people weren’t here. These two pieces below are my food journal entries, which show what these lessons are, and what together, what I learned from writing them.

The Value of Humanely Treated Animals

                When we were talking in class the other day, something a student said rang a bell. We were discussing how cobras in Thailand, fed in many restaurants, were agitated more they were slaughtered, in order to get their blood increasing, in order to add a certain value to the meat for its consumers. That makes me think back to a story in the meat processing industry that sort of relates to this story. I learned years ago that a woman named Temple Grandin, an autistic activist and professor on animal studies, once helped change the humaneness of animal treatment in slaughterhouses. I don’t know what she did (I think it was allowing the cows to be less cooped up in small spaces), but she said that the animals were stressed from the aspect to the slaughterhouses she helped change. I realized when we were discussing cobras how cows may produce more blood when they are agitated. Back when I was a kid, I used to hear a lot of scared talk over Mad Cow Disease, which can happen due to ingesting blood from sick cows. Cows perhaps can become sick due to just as humans can. Being cooped up in small spaces is also more likely to cause disease, just as stress here in the dorms at UCM we are often prone to the flu. Auschwitz and other Nazi German concentration camps were infamous for disease, which weakened people’s ability to work until soon they would be sent to the gas chambers. Being cooped up in small spaces when it is not necessary clearly seems like it is an awful way to live, and perhaps for that reason it is good that we now have free-range meats available.

To Eat Steak or Not to Eat Steak

                For many years, I have sometimes doubted my decision to eat meat.  I am a convert to Buddhism and many Buddhists are vegetarians, believing that vegetarianism best follows the Buddhist teachings of respect for all life.  The problem is my many ‘taste issues,’ that would make doing so a real challenge.  I could eat free-range meat, but even meat being free-range is not always what it seems, and still contributes to the deaths of animals.  For that reason, many Buddhists and followers of other faiths choose not to eat meat.

                However, I think, if one wanted to stop contributing to the destruction of life, there are other things one could look at.  Currently, machines that help plow fields use large amounts of energy that contribute to the destructions of animal’s homes.  Slash-and-burn, a technique used in many countries to raise farm land, also helps contribute the destruction of habitats.  Raising farm land also causes trees to be cut down, thus further endangering animal’s habitats, in addition to taking life.  Rice farms in Ghana, a great exporter of rice, have workers living in inhumane, life-threating conditions, much like China’s Apple factories, where many workers commit suicide.  Rice farmer’s children in Ghana, not having enough to live on, wander off into the cities to make a living, where crime is rampant and they often don’t have places to live.  In Southeast Asia, where great rice producers are located, indigenous people are often forced off their land to raise fields for rice for outsiders who threaten the native flora and fauna.  These in turn, such as in Burma, cause armed conflict with indigenous militias and government armies, whose families also depend on them for support.  That being said, it seems that a “vegetarian” life-style could lead to the endangerment of children and armed conflict in the Third World, and destruction of wildlife and deforestation in the Third World and elsewhere.  As I understand it, the Buddhist precept “Do not hurt the life of any living beings” does not apply in cases where it is necessary, such as where your life or the life of your loved ones is threatened.  Rather than seeing all this death and destruction, I think slaughtering cows would be more human.  Obviously we need grains in our diet, and we must treat animals more humanely.  Farmers in the Third World could be treated more humanely too, but a diet based more on grains could possibly lead to all this devastation at home in the Third World that has yet to be taken care of.

Someone Stole Your Identity? How Bad Do You Want it Back?

You may be someone who knows how hard it can be to provide for a family? Perhaps you have three kids you’ve struggled to take care of on your own, or watched your mother take two jobs just to keep a roof over your head. In any case, credit cards have made a big difference in the world. You can buy things when you don’t have the money for the same price as long as you can get the money in the right amount of time. You may have to buy groceries soon while you have a mortgage and car payment coming up and now you need credit to buy groceries. Certainly that’s a plus. But of course, credit can also be dangerous. Whatever your financial situation, no one wants to owe money and end up having as much stuff as the beggars downtown in one night. This can in fact happen when you least expect it, and crimes like these can be almost impossible to trace.

                Or at least, that is how it would seem. If you’ve ever seen CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) (which I haven’t), then you may know about DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) analysis. With the A-T-C-G arrangements of genetic codes, investigators fortunately are better off in being able to convict or exonerate suspects of crime. And if this you work for you when you lose something like a credit card, thank goodness! Who would want their children to go hungry for a night or a week? No one would want to put humanity in that direction, right?

                Yes and no. Certainly no one seems like they have that as their chief objective in their plans but what in fact could their plans result in? Well, for that question, why don’t we bring in our pals from Autism Mythbusters? Now what I'm getting from these folks is, “Prof Michael Fitzgerald…stated that Darwin was a solitary child, and even as he grew to be an adult, avoided interaction with people as much as he could. He wrote letters often, but did not often partake in face-to-face communication. Writing letters was his preferred means of communication… Darwin collected many things and was very intrigued by chemistry and gadgets. This fixation on certain topics and objects is another characteristic often seen in autistic people. He was a very visual thinker, as many autistic people think spatially and visually. Fitzgerald describes Darwin in this article as, ‘a rather obsessive-compulsive and ritualistic man.’” Darwin collected samples. I’ve collected stamps. Aren’t we two of a kind? Apparently though, that would cause a funny feeling for most people if ever miss right sitting at the table with the jocks were to see. So surely, aren’t we all perhaps glad he collected all those samples in his journey to the Galapagos Islands? Or would you rather lug around a bag full of fossils for all your colleagues and cheerleader crush to gawk at?

Something to Think About When You Appreciate Living Without Cold War Hysteria

By this time, of course, everyone is scared. The threat of Soviet nuclear annihilation seems probable and by this time, you have not realized in fact that the Soviets are incompetent and could never truly take every country in the world and make it communist as thought by President Eisenhower’s Domino Theory. Of course, you wish for a way to make a moral victory against the Soviets, especially now that they have in fact made so many new developments in science and technology that have drawn so much of the world to Communism, and today could really be Capitalism’s big break in post-World War II society. You hope to send your children to college, want to be a new car, and will hopefully buy a new house someday. But soon there could be a big decisive moral victory for Communism that could devastate American economic interests in the Third World and elsewhere, and you got nothing new that the Soviets don’t have.

                Actually you do! Because of the discovery of the Theory of Gravity made four centuries ago by Sir Isaac Newton, we now in fact know that there is gravity on the earth while there is none in space that we know of. With that it is possible to in fact for America, on behalf of itself and the Western bloc to travel into space. Now that they have beaten the Soviets to the moon, those commies all of the sudden don’t look so tough. So who do we owe this to? Well for one thing, you can look to Sir Isaac Newton, but what’s so different about him that would have made him contribute a later world-saving landmark? Is he your average human being who cares about approval, conformity, and common opinion in the days of the rat-filled streets of Europe where the plague is declared to be an act of God despite all the trash that liters the streets and remains of human feces everywhere? Or is there another possible answer? According to Autism Myth Busters, Isaac Newton, “was very quiet and not very good at ‘small talk’, or typical day to day conversations. He was extraordinarily focused on his work and had a hard time breaking away. He was often so focused that he forgot to eat during these times of intense focus. This is a trait very commonly found in autistics and this extreme focus often blocks out other things that would likely capture an individual's attention.” 

                That simple enough for you? When you think the world is a scary place because of autism, and your children could have it, or have it already as it’s happening everywhere, ask what would drive a human being to hide in a steel shelter without leave while your friends live in one several blocks away, as you your relatives and family, or rolls of toilet paper crowd your living room? Is that the world you want to live in today?

Square Pegs Don’t Roll off Tables: A Photo Essay on the World Due to Autism

 

The first kidney transplant, due to John Hartwell Harrison going to the University of Virginia, started by Thomas Jefferson.
 

 

The plasma screen TV, due to the knowledge of electrons that interfere with a television’s reception, first discovered by Albert Einstein.

 

Gandhi’s non-violent civil disobedience, due to Henry David Thoreau’s essay Civil Disobedience.  Plus a film with the charming BenKingsley.
 

 

Free-range beef, thanks to Temple Grandin’s improvements in the slaughterhouse.
 

 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, because of Nikola Tesla’s invention of the Tesla Coil.
 

 

Chaco Canyon National Historic Park, thanks to the archaeological research done to promote and save this site made possible by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
 

 

A happy couple about to wed, due to reforms inspired by Gandhi’s method of non-violent resistance, which in turn was inspired by Thoreau’s essay.
 

 

A child and mother happy together because of Michelle Dawson who made dramatic improvements to Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA).
 

Are individuals and families affected by autism?  Yes, they are affected with great boons to human society in arts, literature, science, and health.  Without autism, ask yourself Where would this world be?  Would I want to live there?

People to Appreciate After Normal College Drinking

You possibly have a love of college parties like I do, not to mention alcohol, especially if it’s free. If not, someone in your family or high school probably does. No shame in that. But too many of them get behind the wheel after they’ve had a significant amount to drink, and that’s where I tend to draw the line with wild drinking. For those who do not however, they may indeed find themselves in a wreck with badly damaged kidneys. Well, unfortunately there’s no way to do a kidney transplant because the famous kidney transplant pioneer John Hartwell Harrison had not gone to the University of Virginia. This is in fact because no U.S. president founded UVA, just as he did not set in motion the Louis and Clark Expedition or the Louisiana Purchase so you or someone you know is left with a damaged kidney that cannot be repaired. But wait! You’re not because thanks to the talent and existence of many fine autistic individuals, Thomas Jefferson did in fact found UVA, giving Harrison a place to start his career. But it wasn’t through your eye-gazing, hand resting brain that you get this talent. In Famous Autistic People,Autism Myth Busters’ writes, “Norm Ledgin, author of Diagnosing Jefferson, indicates that Jefferson was shy, had an inability to relate to others, had difficulties in public speaking and was sensitive to loud noises. Also, similarly to Einstein, Jefferson had a difficulty with his finances. Although he kept an accurate record of all of his transactions, he died in debt. He also had an obsession for remodeling his home and was very eccentric. Jefferson had some “abnormal” tendencies including wearing slippers to important meetings and always having a mocking bird that sat on his shoulder to keep. This mock bird may have been an effort to keep him calm during social interactions. Unfortunately, due to a fire, there are no records of Jefferson’s childhood. Therefore, it is difficult to determine whether he may have had delayed speech or display any earlier signs of autism.” 

Clearly, drinking and driving is a dumbass move. For every person who is able to get the right treatment though for any associated injuries, their life is a gift for them and several friends and family they know. When you think about whether your money to autism charities goes to behavioral and educational supports, rather than making an autistic individual neurotypical, ask yourself if you would rather you or anyone you know be diagnosed with incurable kidney damage, or difficulty using eye contact or spending all your time with others.

The Loss of Football Closure and Other Misfortunes In an Alternative World

Right now is the season for high school football. Your old alma matter is playing against your biggest rivals. This game will decide whether or not your team goes to state championships. But you have one problem: as soon as you are about to see whether the star quarterback indeed helps make the final touchdown, your screen becomes blurry like a television from the 1940s, and you can’t tell if the pass was successful and do not hear the commentators announce the winner. Why? Because television had never improved due to the fact that the mass of electrons are not shown to increase in televisions,as first proposed by Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, thus enabling televisionsets to have clear resolution.  When you watch the news to see if anyone losses their life during the Christmas season while your son and his wife and children are driving in from out of state, what would you do when the television constantly blurs. 

                You and your newlywed are enjoying a hike throughout the Colorado Rockys or you and your long-time best buddy/sorority sister/roommate in college from have now had a huge spat over her new boyfriend, and your friendship is now coming to an end. When you and your wife have now been married for twenty years and your marriage seems to be in a rut, wouldn’t you be glad to have pictures of you and your wife when you were first married to remind you of the connection you used to have, and possibly help rekindle your love, or when your friendship with your sister and/or roommate is going downhill to have something to let you know how important you used to be to each other. Well, that’s not going to happen because digital cameras have not been invented as Einstein was not the man we think of him as today.  Autism has never existed, or been cured long before his time.  According to Autism Myth Busters article FamousAutistic People, “Einstein had difficulty with social interactions, had tactile sensitivity, was very intelligent yet found his language difficult at times, and had difficulty learning in school.” It goes on to say, “Einstein had a relationship with a woman whom he eventually married and had three children with. The marriage seemed to have quite a bit of difficulty, but  the woman gave birth to three children with him. However, although Einstein showed love and concern for his children, the  he could not stand for the children to touch him. This, sounds very characteristic of an autistic.” The article section of the article ends saying, “It is important to realize that Einstein was very different and it was his difference that made him develop ideas that made him famous. Therefore, his differences made him the celebrated individual he is today. This should give us a second look at those who we consider different, and make us realize that being different is not a bad thing.  It is instead, something to be celebrated and accepted.”

If you do not wish for future generations to face such inconveniences we may have without inventions like plasma screen TVs and digital cameras, I suggest you consider strongly the idea of a “cure” for autism, or investing in organizations that spend most of their money on this.