The gospel of Judith Newman
I didn’t realize until today, that I actually must thank Judith Newman. It seems weird. This woman has written the most ableist book of the last year, has actively helped suppress autistic voices in regards of her review. Has spread false claims that have further suppressed our voice, has actively set up a boycott of autistic voices on Amazon (with the help of an Amazon employee) and thanks to her, no media attention has been given to this.
So why, oh why, must I thank her? And why have I baptised this article “her gospel”. This is the gospel of a white woman (although jewish, but not the suppressed jewish kind). This is the gospel that show that anybody with the right connections will use it to suppress minorities, claim false things to further their message and will actively keep doing what they do.
She stopped calling herself “autistic very friendly” on her twitter header, and this is rightly so. In the last few months we have seen her true face. We have seen a woman so powerhungry that she will reach out to friends in places that help her fight (yes, fight!) against minorities, a minority she addresses in her book, a minority she gave a home in her own home and which she treats so badly it is almost a wonder that she still bears the title of mother.
This episode in my life with that book, showed me that there is still a lot of work to do for autistics, to be accepted, to be seen as truly human, to be seen as credible, to be accepted, just everything.
This episode also showed me that no review on Amazon can be trusted anymore, because it can be manipulated on the inside. I will still read. I will probably still buy Kindle e-books (because of convenience and cheapness (yes, I am money concious). But I will never trust Amazon fully anymore.
What it has also showed me is that there are a lot of autistics that will stick together to further their cause. I have met a lot of great autistics, and for this, I can’t thank Judith Newman enough. We have become more closely knitt together.
Something has come out of this that can never be broken down anymore. We are becoming stronger together, and this can’t be undone by one book. Ever.
This book has setup a movement that won’t stop until autistics everywhere are treated with dignity and respect. That won’t stop until we are seen as fully human and respected by everybody for what we are capable off.
I can only thank Judith for this, because she has shown me, thanks to her book, how naive I had been in the past. I am not so anymore.