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I'll quote Kennedy's dehumanizing comments for context, that people can compare the two styles of rhetoric: - "Kennedy said many autistic children were “fully

I'll quote Kennedy's dehumanizing comments for context, that people can compare the two styles of rhetoric: - "Kennedy said many autistic children were “fully functional” and “regressed … into autism when they were 2 years old. And these are kids who will never pay taxes, they’ll never hold a job, they’ll never play baseball, they’ll never write a poem, they’ll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.”" - "He also said, “Most cases now are severe. Twenty-five percent of the kids who are diagnosed with autism are nonverbal, non-toilet-trained, and have other stereotypical features.”" https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fact-checking-robert-f-kennedy-jr-s-statements-on-autism https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fact-checking-robert-f...

PeterStuer 2y ago
What percentage of the millions of twiteraty proudly putting autism in their bio would you guess are "non-toilet trained"?
- Ygg2 2y ago
  Seeing some of them still wear diapers, I'm going to assume percentage higher than 0%. PS. I'm aware what it is.
arcticfox 2y ago
He's specifically talking about nonverbal kids like mine. I'm sorry, it's a disability, and I'm terrified what's going to happen to my kid when I'm gone. I don't think RFK Jr's policies will help and I didn't vote for them. But the amount of frustration I have towards comments like yours that ignore our worlds is immense. At least RFK Jr speaks honestly and candidly. The challenges a level 1 autistic person faces are well recognized and good for network TV. finally - finally! - someone is talking about the rest of the population that face far greater challenges.
- pkhuong 2y ago
  From context, I thought he was talking about 1 in 31 eight-year olds (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/ss/ss7402a1.htm?ACSTrackingID=USCDC_921-DM146435&ACSTrackingLabel=MMWR%2520Surveillance%2520Summaries%2520%E2%80%93%2520Vol.%252074%252C%2520April%252015%252C%25202025&deliveryName=USCDC_921-DM146435#T1_down https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/ss/ss7402a1.htm?ACSTrack...)
- autoexec 2y ago
  > At least RFK Jr speaks honestly That's a very strange take considering he's known to spread lies. The very comment you replied to demonstrated that. He says that vaccines cause autism - they don't. He says that "Most cases now are severe." - they aren't. I wouldn't say his record shows that he is either honest or candid: https://apnews.com/article/rfk-jr-samoa-measles-kennedy-vaccines-pacific-42a9cb583c71f165699b16710884c474 https://apnews.com/article/rfk-jr-samoa-measles-kennedy-vacc... https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rfk-jr-disqualified-from-new-york-ballot-used-sham-address-residency-judge-rules https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rfk-jr-disqualified-from-ne... https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2023/jul/19/robert-f-kennedy-jr/covid-19-wasnt-targeted-to-spare-jewish-and-chines/ https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2023/jul/19/robert-f-k... https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/01/politics/rfk-jr-fact-check-confirmation-heading/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/01/politics/rfk-jr-fact-check-co... https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/rfk-jr-mary-richardson-wife-cheating-recordings-b2688865.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politic... https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/debunking-some-of-rfk-jr-s-contradictory-statements https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/debunking-some-of-rfk-...
  - A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 2y ago
    It is that old joke from Seinfeld's Constanza: It is not a lie, if you believe in it.
- goku12 2y ago
  The kindness, sincerity and honestly that you attribute to his words are distinctly not there. Otherwise, he wouldn't be pitching pseudo-scientific views after ignoring and firing career professionals in the field. You have an autistic kid. Weren't you still able to recognize the dozen or so absolute falsehoods about autism that he spouted in that half an hour? What's even worse it that his tone and behavior has a very familiar and dreadful analogue from the past. Read your GP's top-level comment. At this point, people are simply ignoring the dozen flashing red lights. Do you really believe that he cares more about people's health than all the researchers who were working on several topics like this, whom he fired? > The challenges a level 1 autistic person faces are well recognized and good for network TV. Those level 2 and 3 people you seem to be so worried about are the ones who are going to suffer the most. At least we know how to mask it in public.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
nailer 2y ago
I didn’t realise until other people replied to you that you weren’t using dehumanising sarcastically. There is nothing dehumanising about acknowledging the existence of the profoundly autistic.
- ModernMech 2y ago
  He's not "acknowledging their existence" though, he listed a series of very typically human activities and experiences, and then said autistic people don't get to experience them due to their innate differences. First of all that is false, because even profoundly autistic people do the things he said they don't do. Secondly, it's dehumanizing because the reason he lied (yes what he said was a lie) was so that the listener would feel sorry for autistic people, and would thereby support Kennedy to do whatever he wants to them to restore their humanity, whether that be a registry, concentration camps (or as he calls them, "wellness farms") or whatever else he has planned.
  - nailer 2y ago
    Most profoundly autistic people don’t go the bathroom unassisted, or pay their own taxes. That’s true. > Kennedy to do whatever he wants to them to restore their humanity, whether that be a registry, concentration camps (or as he calls them, "wellness farms") or whatever else he has planned. Wild conspiracy theories help nobody, and also harm autistic people.
    - ModernMech 2y ago
      > Most profoundly autistic people don’t go the bathroom unassisted, or pay their own taxes. That’s true. As long as you define "ability to go to bathroom and pay taxes" as profound autism, that's true. But as I said, autism is a spectrum -- there is no such thing as "profoundly autistic". That's not a thing. You're again trying to make a dichotomy, and this is a misconception both you and Kennedy share. > Wild conspiracy theories help nobody, and also harm autistic people. We are at the point where it's no longer wild. They are literally planning a database, and planning "wellness farms", and using dehumanizing language to talk about the worth of autistic people within society. I'm really glad that for you, these concerns autistic people have about these plans are esoteric and "wild", but for the people they are targeting with registries and camps, we cannot afford to be so flippant. No one else is going to advocate or look out for autistic people, so we have to do it ourselves, and if that means people think we are overreacting so be it. We're used to being told that anyway.

PeterStuer 2y ago

What percentage of the millions of twiteraty proudly putting autism in their bio would you guess are "non-toilet trained"?

Ygg2 2y ago
Seeing some of them still wear diapers, I'm going to assume percentage higher than 0%. PS. I'm aware what it is.

arcticfox 2y ago

He's specifically talking about nonverbal kids like mine. I'm sorry, it's a disability, and I'm terrified what's going to happen to my kid when I'm gone. I don't think RFK Jr's policies will help and I didn't vote for them. But the amount of frustration I have towards comments like yours that ignore our worlds is immense. At least RFK Jr speaks honestly and candidly. The challenges a level 1 autistic person faces are well recognized and good for network TV. finally - finally! - someone is talking about the rest of the population that face far greater challenges.

pkhuong 2y ago
From context, I thought he was talking about 1 in 31 eight-year olds (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/ss/ss7402a1.htm?ACSTrackingID=USCDC_921-DM146435&ACSTrackingLabel=MMWR%2520Surveillance%2520Summaries%2520%E2%80%93%2520Vol.%252074%252C%2520April%252015%252C%25202025&deliveryName=USCDC_921-DM146435#T1_down https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/ss/ss7402a1.htm?ACSTrack...)
autoexec 2y ago
> At least RFK Jr speaks honestly That's a very strange take considering he's known to spread lies. The very comment you replied to demonstrated that. He says that vaccines cause autism - they don't. He says that "Most cases now are severe." - they aren't. I wouldn't say his record shows that he is either honest or candid: https://apnews.com/article/rfk-jr-samoa-measles-kennedy-vaccines-pacific-42a9cb583c71f165699b16710884c474 https://apnews.com/article/rfk-jr-samoa-measles-kennedy-vacc... https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rfk-jr-disqualified-from-new-york-ballot-used-sham-address-residency-judge-rules https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rfk-jr-disqualified-from-ne... https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2023/jul/19/robert-f-kennedy-jr/covid-19-wasnt-targeted-to-spare-jewish-and-chines/ https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2023/jul/19/robert-f-k... https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/01/politics/rfk-jr-fact-check-confirmation-heading/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/01/politics/rfk-jr-fact-check-co... https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/rfk-jr-mary-richardson-wife-cheating-recordings-b2688865.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politic... https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/debunking-some-of-rfk-jr-s-contradictory-statements https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/debunking-some-of-rfk-...
- A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 2y ago
  It is that old joke from Seinfeld's Constanza: It is not a lie, if you believe in it.
goku12 2y ago
The kindness, sincerity and honestly that you attribute to his words are distinctly not there. Otherwise, he wouldn't be pitching pseudo-scientific views after ignoring and firing career professionals in the field. You have an autistic kid. Weren't you still able to recognize the dozen or so absolute falsehoods about autism that he spouted in that half an hour? What's even worse it that his tone and behavior has a very familiar and dreadful analogue from the past. Read your GP's top-level comment. At this point, people are simply ignoring the dozen flashing red lights. Do you really believe that he cares more about people's health than all the researchers who were working on several topics like this, whom he fired? > The challenges a level 1 autistic person faces are well recognized and good for network TV. Those level 2 and 3 people you seem to be so worried about are the ones who are going to suffer the most. At least we know how to mask it in public.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

nailer 2y ago

I didn’t realise until other people replied to you that you weren’t using dehumanising sarcastically. There is nothing dehumanising about acknowledging the existence of the profoundly autistic.

ModernMech 2y ago
He's not "acknowledging their existence" though, he listed a series of very typically human activities and experiences, and then said autistic people don't get to experience them due to their innate differences. First of all that is false, because even profoundly autistic people do the things he said they don't do. Secondly, it's dehumanizing because the reason he lied (yes what he said was a lie) was so that the listener would feel sorry for autistic people, and would thereby support Kennedy to do whatever he wants to them to restore their humanity, whether that be a registry, concentration camps (or as he calls them, "wellness farms") or whatever else he has planned.
- nailer 2y ago
  Most profoundly autistic people don’t go the bathroom unassisted, or pay their own taxes. That’s true. > Kennedy to do whatever he wants to them to restore their humanity, whether that be a registry, concentration camps (or as he calls them, "wellness farms") or whatever else he has planned. Wild conspiracy theories help nobody, and also harm autistic people.
  - ModernMech 2y ago
    > Most profoundly autistic people don’t go the bathroom unassisted, or pay their own taxes. That’s true. As long as you define "ability to go to bathroom and pay taxes" as profound autism, that's true. But as I said, autism is a spectrum -- there is no such thing as "profoundly autistic". That's not a thing. You're again trying to make a dichotomy, and this is a misconception both you and Kennedy share. > Wild conspiracy theories help nobody, and also harm autistic people. We are at the point where it's no longer wild. They are literally planning a database, and planning "wellness farms", and using dehumanizing language to talk about the worth of autistic people within society. I'm really glad that for you, these concerns autistic people have about these plans are esoteric and "wild", but for the people they are targeting with registries and camps, we cannot afford to be so flippant. No one else is going to advocate or look out for autistic people, so we have to do it ourselves, and if that means people think we are overreacting so be it. We're used to being told that anyway.