[ExI] are we not just one race, the human race?

[Anne Corwin]

Natasha Vita-More <natasha at natasha.cc> wrote: At 08:51 PM 3/21/2008, Stathis Papaioannou  wrote:

>I think Anne is talking about society's attitude towards people with
>autism. For example, see this article:
>
>http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-03/ff_autism

This a great article.   Reactions to people with so-called 
disabilities have a stronghold on society.  But we know that, for the 
most part, strong reactions stem from fear and one way to separate 
one seemingly healthy group from the seeming unhealthy group. A 
reaction to ostracize (however strongly or inadvertently) for being 
dissimilar, including mental, emotional, and physical abilities, may 
be an innate or a learned/acquired behavior.  We may need to be 
understanding of this behavior as well because we experience even 
more of such reactions in the coming years as humans morph in a 
variety of ways.
THANK you, Natasha...that is *exactly* the point I was trying to make (as opposed to any bizarre notion about "limiting myself").  A lot of people react negatively to autistics and others who are atypical in some way without ever examining the possible roots of their negative reaction.  

I remember when I was little, long before I knew anything about differing neurologies (much less my own), and being *attacked* seemingly at random by other kids, sometimes physically, simply for existing in the presence of others.  I didn't know anything back then about body language and how it affects interactions, but kids just tended to respond instinctively to me as if there was something "wrong" with me and that I either needed to be assimilated (made more like them) or "driven out" so I wouldn't contaminate them or something.  It was very strange.  

I suspect that perhaps I fell into "uncanny valley" territory for many when I was growing up, which made me fair game as something they could attack.  Many others on the spectrum (as well as many people with various disabilities, or differences such as homosexuality) have described similar things happening to them, and I think this is not something humanity can afford to ignore, *especially* (as you say) that humans are certainly going to "morph" in a wider variety of ways in the coming years.  I don't see how the world is going to handle cyborgs and people with four arms or whatever if they can't handle an autistic person who communicates primarily through the computer.  Cultures HAVE to become more flexible and accommodating of different kinds of people and morphologies, or else they risk devolving into "Optimality Police" states.  

People really need to get it into their heads that yes, other people are inevitably going to choose (to maintain, or to acquire) configurations that they themselves would not personally enjoy.  And in order to do this, I think that examining and possibly rooting out the deep biases inherent in their fear reactions and such is very necessary.

(and that's all for now on this topic, folks -- I want to spend some time today working on a story about robots!)

- Anne


"Like and equal are not the same thing at all!"
- Meg Murry, "A Wrinkle In Time"
       
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