I debated whether or not I should make this post, but decided that I have to, because there are so many people, especially in America who do not know this. And it is SO important. So please take 5 minutes of your time and read this.
Let me explain to you why Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s statements about autism are extremely dangerous and should deeply concern you (not only if you are autistic)
For that you need to understand a bit about the history of autism, so you can see the parallels to what is happening now.
The whole "high functioning autism" thing exists for a reason. Not the one you think though. You have probably heard that "high functioning autism" was called Aspergers Syndrome before. This concept was created during the 1930s and 1940s in Austria (although it was not called Aspergers syndrome back then). There is a lot more to this, but for the purpose of this post I will keep it short.
The nazis saw every disabled or mentally ill person, including children as unworthy to live. The main purpose of the Asperger Syndrome was to separate the children into two groups. The ones they could use for their causes, indoctrinate with the nazi values and force to work. And those we would call people with high support needs today, the group they deemed as not worth to even be alive. (This does not mean that "high functioning autistic people were not also killed, they were.)
This diagnosis was a death sentence for those children. To be clear, the nazis did not only kill autistic children and adults but also mentally ill and disabled children and adults.
The next thing you have to understand is that a shocking amount of people knew about this back then and there were parents who willingly and even gladly handed their children to those institutions, knowing they would kill their children, because they themselves saw their own children as worthless, a burden and not valuable to society.
Back to what Robert F. Kennedy said. One of his first statements was "They will never be able to pay taxes." (Refering to autistic children, especially targeting those with high support needs) And that tells you everything you need to know. Because that is how he and a concerning amount of people determine the worth of a person. If they work, if they pay taxes, if they consume and contribute to the economy. If not, they are seen as worth less than working people.
Sounds familiar, does it? Because the nazis used the same measurements to determine peoples worth. That is no coincidence.
They always come for the vulnerable first.
They always come for the minorities first.
It is this belief that a certain group of people is worth more or less than others that is so dangerous!
Because many people already see neurodivergent, mentally ill and disabled people as less. Less worthy, less useful, less human. So it's easy for him to go ahead with those statements, because it does not concern the majority of people.
So please educate yourself about the topic, read into what happened in Nazi Germany. Read about how it happened, how everything started! Because if we don't pay attention to this now, it might be too late!
