A Bruce Springsteen concert is as Americana as baseball and apple pie, so everyone, both autistic and normal, should have the right to see one. However, due to sensory aversion in autistic people, this may require special preparation. If you like The Boss, and are considering taking your autistic child to see him, here are some tips.
1. Because they turn the lites off at a Bruce Springsteen concert, your child may have sensory issues. Remind them that this is akin to turning the lites off at night, and no different.
2. If your child has an aversion to loud noise, consider buying foam rubber earplugs before the show. That way, your child can enjoy the music while blocking out the noise.
3. Because Bruce Springsteen cares so much about autistic people, he turns the lites ON for Born to Run, so everyone autistic and normal can enjoy his most famous song. Remind your child that he does this just for them, and tell them to thank The Boss after the show.
Like many social gatherings, there are rules of social ettiquette. While these may be hard for your autistic child, he will eventually get the hang of it.
1. The only appropriate time to say "o o o o o" is during the keyboard solo of Badlands.
2. While it is unacceptable to say "boo" at a Bruce Springsteen concert, it is perfectly fine to say "Bruce." This may confuse your child at first, but just explain to him what is actually being said.
3. Bruce Springsteen doesn't mind when people act autistic in the audience. While flailing your arms in the air would normally be not OK, it is perfectly fine at a Bruce Springsteen concert, even for normal people.
Autistic people tend to suffer from alektorophobia, which is a fear of chickens. Because of the unique sensory issues they have, they may tend to associate certain songs with chickens.
1. Remind your child that the violin solo in Waitin' on a Sunny Day is not a chicken, and that your child is OK.
2. Remind your child that the keyboard intro of Badlands is not a rooster, and that your child is safe and sound.
3. If your child tends to associate any other songs with chickens, such as Working on the Highway, repeat the above steps.
Anyone can enjoy a Bruce Springsteen concert, whether they are autistic or not. Although it may take special preparation, I fully encourage you to take your autistic child to a Bruce Springsteen concert, so they can see a symbol of their culture and feel normal, in a way.
Add on: This is what I feel to be indisputable evidence that Bruce Springsteen turns the lights on during Born to Run solely to help autistic people. When I was in the pit at a Bruce Springsteen concert back in 2007, he pointed to me while he was singing Born to Run. He also made direct eye contact with me, which is proof that he knew I was autistic and had turned the lites on just to help me. He didn't realize that I prefer the lites off, but it's the thought that counts. There is a YouTube video of this event. You can see him make a pointing gesture towards the end of the song, but you cannot see that it is to me as it was shot from further back on the floor. I don't have a link here, but if you search "Bruce Springsteen," "Born to Run," "Sports Arena," "10/29/07," that'll give you the video in which he points to me and proves he turns the lites on during Born to Run just to help autistic people.
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49 comments:
Did you manage to get laid a thousand times in the last few days?? The reason I ask is it looks like you have come down with Syphilis.
What the HELL is that about chickens? I think we have crowned a new champion for the dumbest thing ever uttered about Autism! Where the hell did that come from did you watch Cartoon Network's "Ed Edd n Eddie" and eat too much muttered toast for breakfast? I would make more comments to this but when I got out of bed to check some of my blogs of intererst before going back to sleep, I didn't think I'd see something that is giving me such a brain freeze at the sheer stupidity of it.
Well I don't know about chickens specifically, but I do have a phobia of all birds, including chickens. Of course my phobia of flying birds is greater than that of nonflying birds than chickens. I wrote a short story entitled "ornithophobia" that inspired this. So I suppose other persons on the spectrum besides Oliver and myself might have fears of certain birds. However, I do eat chicken after it has been killed so I can't explain that.
I seem to remember the neuroperversity movement was advocating boycotting Bruce Springstein when he did a benefit concert for autism speaks. So perhaps Springstein does have some sort of affinity for those on the spectrum, though I am not sure if he has a relative with autism or not.
So we know of two people having it?? I think unless you come up with some statistics than you are still the World Champion of dumbest thing ever uttered about Autism.
Chickens? I love chickens! I would like to raise my own chickens and collect their eggs, so that I don't have to worry about supporting farms that do such horrible things to the male chicks.
Even if autistics may be more likely to have phobias for chickens (or pretty much anything), they are also more likely to be very fascinated by them.
A few things that scare the crap out of me are fire and moldy food. I cannot even turn on most stoves, because I do not want to risk blowing up the house. I have a compost bin which I committed to using, but I cannot stand looking at its contents.
I probably would not go to a Bruce Springstein concert, but I do listen to his old albums. I generally avoid large businesses that support Autism Speaks rather than individual people.
What grounds is that based off of?? How are two completely unrelated conditions related. That sounds like an argument Glenn Beck would make, you know the kind that make no sense whatsoever.
And is there any particular reason why you insist on addressing by my full name? If you want I can have my mother give you middle name.
What does fear of chickens cause people to think that a musical intrument is a chicken or that random songs are about chickens anyhow?
It's called him pulling things out of his buns. My brother plays that same game for attention.
I should've guessed he's making less sense than Glenn Beck right here. This is on the level of the script of Star Wars The Phantom Menace.
Glenn Beck makes sense? Can you please introduce me to your dealer?
Better be high on the good ole Cannabis plant than being insane. It's not even ideological differences. Unlike Glenn Beck, I'm a true Conservative, I believe that America should strive to be more similar to Thomas Hobbe's political philosophy. That is why I hate Republicans because they are a bunch of selfish, rich pricks, who manipulate others whom they have no intention of helping, and worst of all Republicans are anti-intellectual.
That is why I hate Republicans because they are a bunch of selfish, rich pricks, who manipulate others whom they have no intention of helping, and worst of all Republicans are anti-intellectual.
Amen.
And they also don't give a damn about all the other animals. They act as if the world belongs only to Homo Sapiens; but no, most do not even think we are related to monkeys and apes!
Just to put this back on track.
Oliver, I'm going to concentrate on the first three points in this and leave the rest because really it is very narrow and not helpful at all.
1. If lack of lights are an issue - don't go to the concert. It's asking for a meltdown that can't be controlled.
2. Incorrect. The bass coming out of the speakers will cause vibrations and make the ear plugs useless. If you are far enough away for that not to be a factor, the child won't be able to hear it all. That one comes from experience because I have issues with this myself.
3. Oh what rot! They turn the lights on for that song because it's for that song that the audience participates. The Boss has done that ever since one concert when he forgot the words to Born to Run and the crowd at that concert helped him inadvertently by singing with the music. This action has NOTHING to do with Autistics.
One more point. If the Boss truly supported us, he wouldn't have done that benefit concert for Autism Speaks.
In my opinion humans do run the Earth, we are the top of the food chain, that is the way of natural selection. Serve our own species, and only worry about other species when it affects our own. Although denying fact of how our species came about is very anti-intellectual.
I don't know it's just my understanding there's a lot of them.
You see? there are thing we agree on.
Autism Speaks does not help Autistics. They hinder us because they try to make society fear us. Society should not fear us, and they won't if they would take the time to understand us. That is what Autism Speaks should be doing and they aren't.
And I would appreciate it if you didn't use my full name here thank you.
PS - Oh, and don't assume the lights help Autistics. There are many Autistics who actually hate lights. For the same reason - the senses.
I hate it when people turn on artificial lights during the day. It makes the room so uninviting!
And Oliver, please don't associate me with PETA. If you remember discussing this on my blog, I agree that they are extremist wackos.
I agree that they are extremist wackos.
My opinion exactly of you, Ari Ne'eman and the rest of the ASAN crowd and neurodiversity crowd.
"Everyone knows your full name so I don't see a problem using it." Because he doesn't want you calling him that, and anybody who makes a point in calling somebody something they don't want is the act of a prick. I don't want you calling me by my fullname, Phil doesn't want you calling him by his full name, and those of us who are Anti-Cure don't want you calling us Neurodiversity. So stop being a little ass about it, and have the courtesy to call us what we would like to be called. Then and only then will I stop calling the Tea Party Movement "The Ball-Sack In Mouth Movement."
Upon being inquisited about having labored for living, Dude respondest unto The Big Lebowski "Wait, allowst me to explain something unto thee, ye man. I am not Mr. Lebowski. Okay? Thou art Mr. Lebowski. I am the Dude... Hence that's what thou shalt call me, thou knowst? Beist it that or His Dudeness, or Duder, or El Duderino if thou art not into the whole thing of brevity." (Big Lebowski 5:1)
I am not an extremist and neither is Ari and ASAN. Although if I were to choose to be an extremist, or a whiny little dickweed like you, I'd take extremism any day. DIRKA DIRKA JIHAD!!!
Then call us what we want to be called and we'll call you what you want to be called it's only fair. Just to verify I was calling Mitchell a whiny, little dickweed in that last comment, not you.
Neurodiversity isn't a belief, Anti-Neurodiversity is a belief. A belief is something that is profound, the existence of Neurodiversity is reality and believing it is nothing more profound then believing in the existence of what I'm plainly looking at, which right now is my computer screen.
Neurodiversity is not a movement it is reality.
The goal of our movement is to protect ourselves from society's, narrowmindedness and its lack of care for those who don't fit their ideas of purity.
Our goal is to stop people from lamenting their Autism just because people are unwilling to learn to understand and give us tools to become productive members of society in ways that normal people can't. Our goal is to get people to stop being apathetic and perceiving differences as impure and defective, to make get with the damn program, because Autism is here to say. And if they don't like it they can bite my shiny, mercury-covered ass.
We don't stand for Neurodiversity anymore than we stand for gravity, we stand for Getting People On The Spectrum The Services We Need And Damn Well Deserve And To Stop Worry So Much About Cures. We are the Spectrumites.
And if you don't buy that explanation as a reason not to call us what we don't want to be called, then will common courtesy do it for you?
If not then enjoy the next "Ball-Sack-In-Mouth-Movement Rally."
Well then I don't see a problem in calling your Tea Party Movement The Ballsack In Mouth Movement, because you don't have the common courtesy to address people the way they don't want to be addressed, then I'm not giving you that courtesy. Those of you who support Glenn Beck support Anti-Intellectualism, and Stupidity. And those of you who support Rush, are members of the Hypocrisy Movement. Am I making my point yet??
So are Glenn Beck and Rush... I'm not denying the First Amendment, but if you ever want to get laid I highly recommend you show some restraint and not use it as an excuse to call people what they don't want to be called just because they have different ideological differences. I don't hate Rush and Glenn because they have different ideological differences I hate them because they are anti-intellectual, and make Real Conservatism look bad.
Oliver, the reason you gave to put my full name is not appropriate. We have Privacy laws in Australia, and unless YOU have my permission (and you don't) you can't use it. Those that do are in trouble anyway (Best for example).
You're wrong about Autism Speaks. They have always set out to scare in orderr to get people to donate. The I am Autism video for example was intended to scare, and they were forced to take it off their website because of the outcry. But they haven't learnt their lesson. They still want people to fear Autism - all because the money they get will dwindle if they don't (they think!). If they promoted the issues correctly, the donations would in fact increase. Think about that.
Mitchell, you are the extremist. You drip with hate more than anyone posting on this thread. You're the same as Best. The fact that you express yourself better makes no difference.
Oh so it's absolutely necessary to call a movement a name that they don't want to be called??
I Am Autism! Just like I am pragmatic, opinionated, a recently started pothead, comedic and a bunch of other things that are significant and unremovable parts of my personality. If you attack Autism, you attack Autistics. Autism Speaks attacks Autism, therefore they attack Autistic
Really it stole them in the night? Didn't know that everybody's born at night. I was born at 11:47 AM. They can't be normal people, anymore than I can become someone who doesn't think pragmatically. We are Autistic, and it is an irremovable part of who we are. It doesn't matter if they see Autistics and Autism separable, because Reality proves them wrong.
That and let's not forget that there's no such thing as normal. And that and if there was someone who was normal, then that'd person would suck complete ass and be totally lame.
Aww please. You probably would watch the movie PCU and think David Spade's character Rand McPhereson the good guy.
Watch PCU then.
Phil, a person's full name is in the public domain. If you give it out yourself, there's no way you can prevent anyone else from doing so.
Yes you can. My domain is Australian and is therefore subject to Australian law. Just because my name is there is not a presentation of carte blanche on it. Privacy law says if you don't have my permission to use my full name on your site - you can't do it.
Also, I know you mention Australian laws, but didn't the judge in your case against Google rule that he lacked jurisdiction over Americans? Please correct me if I am wrong.
Yes I will correct you, because the tribunal that made that decision doesn't make decisions about privacy. It makes decisions about Equal Opportunity issues.
Also, Autism Speaks attacks autism, not autistic people. They do nothing to stigmatize people, and they promote tolerance as well as a cure.
They do NOT promote tolerance! If they did they would never have created that I am Autism video. That video very much stigmatises us. And promoting a cure is hate speech against Autistic people, because it is impossible to cure Autism. The concentration should be on improvement of functioning through proper supports and services - and early intervention as a priority. 100 percent.
Who the Hell said ASAN opposes early intervention?! All of Ari's success is greatly credited to early intervention, he may not believe in the same early interventions as you do, but he believes in them.
Trust me, I research all the people that I endorse. He doesn't believe those things. He believes the exact oppposite, he wouldn't have as many supporters as he has especially all my friends who support him, if he was against those things.
Nobody will agree on everything, Oliver. In order to get to the top of any circle you have to pander to the jackasses on the extreme.
That's why I'd never be a leader of the anti-cure side because I refuse to be cool to the morons who believe that we don't need services. That also why you will never be a leader of the Pro-Cure movement because you wouldn't be cool to the morons who support aborting Autistic fetuses.
That's why it's a good thing that there are others who will make concessions for the purpose of unity, because if it weren't for them, nothing would be accomplished within our own sides.
You can't hate on those people, who pander to the jackasses because we need them and they are the ones being nice to people that we have too much self-righteousness to be nice to.
Wouldn't you consider someone who is pro-cure but supports aborting Autistic fetuses in the same camp, but having strongly different views from them. You can't have a party whose goal is try to incorporate a litte more than half of the whole country, and expect their not to be major differences within the camp. That is why there are primaries.
That is also why I don't support the two-party system. Because the democrats have no ideas, and the republicans have bad ideas. Which is why I believe that the best thing for America is that the Federal Government abolish the Congress and abolish the Supreme Court, and let it just be a democratically elected president who runs the show for four years. In that system the President would only have one check and balance, and the most necessary check and balance... the Goddamn People. And this way neither of the shitty old parties would fuck up the process.
No it's not. There are reasons why it wouldn't be. The President's power would be based on election and civilian support. The military would still owe allegiance to the country not the government. And also another thing you have to consider is that America is far too big of a land mass for one man to acquire, let alone maintain absolute power.
In my opinion it wouldn't be the worse thing if some states left. In fact there are some states whom I personally wish would leave.
I missed the part where The Pledge Of Allegiance is an article of The Constitution. And the Constitution is subject to change, it exists for the People. When the needs of the People change so does the Constitution. The Constitution is to the United State like Batman is to Gotham City.
Oliver, as Andrew rightly stated - ASAN, Ari and everyone else on this side of the fence does NOT oppose early intervention. You assume that early intervention means cure quick smart and only that - and you are wrong. Early intervention is when an Autistic gets all the supports and services needed as early as possible to improve functioning. To get to the point that they can be high functioning. The earlier the intervention, the more options there are and the child can still remain Autistic (which puts Ari's comment that you quoted in the correct context).
Autism Speaks does not support this. They are all about cure, so they sink the majority of their donated income to useless research - as well as research that in fact will prove that Autism is genetic and can not be cured (TY Morton and Michelle!). Of course Autism Speaks don't see it like that in their drunken hate filled stupor.
Equal Opportunity also applies to service provision. Google provide a service. It is not limited to employment. Things like access to a building for instance. A council could be guilty of a violation of Equal Opportunity by refused to provide a ramp to a disabled toilet, leaving stairs as the only access. That's just one example. Understand now?
Under the Privacy Act, Australians do have the power to suppress their name. That is what I have done and so have many others - and it reflects on the legal page on my website. Our privacy laws are much stronger than those in the US. A person's full name is protected as that person's personal information, under the same category as address, unlisted phone number and so on. The onus is on others to respect this - and that includes you. Best is in big trouble for this sort of thing and it's included in the defamation action against him as part of the damage. Google is in trouble for allowing it as well if it's still there on the 15th.
Sorry about the above deletions. Had trouble in the posting stage with this.
Equal opportunity does not generally refer to employment. Why do you think that handicapped parking is mandatory?
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