Someone just responded to my #AutismAcceptanceMonth video by calling me 'aggressive', which is both hilarious and symptomatic of how people treat you when you say 'hey, I'm being harmed and you need to stop harming me'. Whatever I say, however I say it, it'll be 'too aggressive'.
Not BECAUSE I'm actually being 'aggressive' (although if I was, could you blame me?), but the very act of daring to be autistic (or queer, etc.) and demanding respect is seen as aggressive because it's a challenge to their insular bubble. And they don't want to hear it.
Society's perception of 'aggression' is inherently rooted in biases and bigotry (as we see most keenly in the 'angry Black woman' trope, and white women weaponising our feminity to cry and call them 'aggressive' whenever they say something we don't want to hear).
So, yeah, next time you see a marginalised person talking and think 'wow, they're a bit aggressive', fucking challenge yourself.
Are they being aggressive, or are they just saying something you don't want to hear?
And if they ARE being 'aggressive', can't you understand why?
Are they being aggressive, or are they just saying something you don't want to hear?
And if they ARE being 'aggressive', can't you understand why?
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