Brown and Autistic: A frightening encounter with the police.

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I hope they sued the $#!+ out of those cops

Thank you for sharing your story. I hope you're feeling better. I wish that racism would just disappear once and for all.

Racism isnt something we are born with it is something we are taught! Society needs to change its perspectives, but when society are like a herd of sheep it hard to swing that mentality around. Discrimination happens in all areas including those on the spectrum, it isnt subject just to the color of your skin... I really hate that we are still living in an age where people view others through race or religion, we should be past that as a species... But we still act like infants!

Oscar Hammerstein had it right-
You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!

Depends on what you define as racism. Wanting to protect your heritage etc and feeling more connection with people of your culture and race etc is very natural. Thinking you're superior because of it is not natural.

I just wanted to reply to some points that have been made , starting with the comment above , but also comments others have made in this thread as well . It might get lengthy , but I will try to be as concise as I can . 1. On the remarks I cited above . I understand what you are getting at . Mere folkishness has been getting conflated with all out racism . But I fault not society at large for this , but rather the racist hate groups themselves . Such white nationalists have been trying to down play their more extreme points of view and sugar coat their ideology , by saying that it's about heritage rather than hate . They have even gone so far as to try to appeal to fans of traditional European music https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2003/neo-nazi-groups-use-traditional-folk-music-festivals-recruit-radicals . 2. On the matter of "all men are created equal" , as found in the Declaration of Independence , as others here have pointed out what is meant is not personal sameness , but rather legal equality . We are all equal before the law , even though we not have the same traits , or even virtues . To cite this scene from a movie , "Lincoln" , [/url]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cH0WD4XpoJ8[url][url] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QTwKOCILJl0[/url] . 3. I myself , though I identify as being white , for what it's worth , have been accosted at various times by different police agencies . The first and worst time was when I was outside at night stargazing , as I am want to do . A dark car , which at the time I had not realized was from the county sheriff's department , given the darkness of the night , pull up outside my family and my driveway . The deputy lingered there for an extended time doing nothing until suddenly he shone his car's spotlight right into my face full strength , temporarily blinding me with its light . He then , with a fierce tone to his voice , shouted for me to come over to him . I then responded by calmly , and politely asking what was this about , and what he wanted with me . To which he kept on yelling "come here" over and over . Being frightened by his harsh tone , and concerned that he might have come to "disappear " me , as I had read about having happened in Latin America , under Operation Condor https://nacla.org/article/counterterror-wars-and-human-rights-operation-condor-present , http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Operation-Condor-Cross-Border-Disappearance-and-Death-20150523-0031.html , due to my possibly having ended up on a watch list , as happened under COINTELPRO to such figures as even Martin Luther King , Jr. , due to the authorities possibly noticing my blog , I told him that I was going to get my parents . He kept on angerly shouting the same thing at me as I ran to the house , all the while shouting back that I had done nothing wrong , and that he had the wrong person . I was met by my mother whom saw that I was feeling troubled , and asked what had happened . After I told her what the problem was , and also that I had to urinate , as it had made me so nervous , she told me to come with her to the master bedroom , which incidentally is also where we keep our guns , to relieve myself in their bathroom , and stay while my father went outside to resolve the issue . After my father returned from talking with the deputy sheriff , he told me that there had been a call about someone shooting off an automatic weapon outdoors . So that was why the deputy was so on edge , and acting as if my neighborhood were an enemy war zone . My father even told me that while he was first going outside he overheard the deputy calling in re-enforcement . So to this day I still wonder if due to my expressed political views , however non-violent I actually am , I might be on a government watch list as being a potentially dangerous subversive . The two other times a deputy turned his vehicle around and stopped to question me , after his K9 companion had barked at me , during a walk . He was nice to me though , and let me go on my way upon learning that I live in the immediate area . And during the time in which I , along with my mother , was alternately staying at my maternal grandfather's house , in order to help care for him , I was going for a morning stroll down a nearby cul de sac , and back . A state police cruiser pulled up alongside me and told me that he lived in the neighborhood , had seen me out walking before , and wondered what I was doing there , as he did not recognize me . After I answered his officious field interrogation as to what i was up to , who I am , where I was staying , and for how long I planned to stay , he drove off without any further word of explanation as to why he had stopped me in the first place . But I suspect that in addition to , or maybe instead of , the prospect that I might be on a watch list of potential terrorists , it might have had something to do with him possibly mistaking me for being Hispanic , due to my appearing relatively dark completed , due to my partial " Black Dutch" / "Schwarze Deutsch" extraction http://blackdutch1.m.webs.com/site/mobile?dm_path=%2Findex.htm&fw_sig_premium=0&fw_sig_url=http://blackdutch1.webs.com/&fw_sig_tier=0&fw_sig_session_key=723b2038bc067eef01776104e2055fe5199b55e77a772f0cbfe7cddb5f8755f9-30704539&fw_sig_site=30704539&fw_sig_permission_level=0&fw_sig_locale=en-US&fw_sig=26c60820747389f06127a5277616a794&fw_sig_access_token=376e6d36c0bbbadabe4124793fa8fec1241fa390&fw_sig_is_admin=0&fw_sig_api_key=522b0eedffc137c934fc7268582d53a1&fw_sig_partner=webs&fw_sig_permissions=none&fw_sig_social=1&fw_sig_time=1473457529592&fb_sig_network=fw#3111 , and subsequently decided to profile me , especially as the area was a "white bread neighborhood" . And off course , though I don't really notice it , I might also have autistic , idiosyncratic , mannerisms that might seem somewhat odd to some overly suspicious police personnel . Like they might wonder if I am on drugs or disoriented , for some reason . So in closing , I feel that there is intersectionality between issues of autism , racism , and concerns of political extremism .

somanyspoons said: "there is no such thing as racism against white people". Yes there is such a thing. Look up the definition of racism. Blacks can in fact be racist. And I am not white, but part black.

Thank you Mike for sharing your experiences on this forum. I find it difficult to communicate in general and yet would love to give more support. It is refreshing to see someone of color share their experiences who
is also on the spectrum. It is not easy to share where you're coming from in a community of members who did not grow up poor and female with little to no resources (but I'm only speaking from my own personal experiences after being here so long). I can't even begin to know what it's like to be a person of color except from experiences shared by a few friends from other autistic communities who are black and brown.

I'm amazed how calm you were with the police. I've had episodes where I literally bawled like a babyand terrified when I was having a breakdown after walking out in the middle of the night. The experience for me was terrifying. The police were not what I would call helpful since they assumed I was up to no good.

Anyway, I'm so glad to see someone who isn't white share their experiences. All I can say is for those who are truly ignorant, there is still time to learn or at the very least show some empathy. I hate saying this but until someone walks a mile in your shoes, one won't understand a other's hardships especially if they are ostracized for not being part of a majority or fitting into a perceived role due to their gender, race, class, and disabilities.

Again thank you and I hope you come on here more often.

Syracuse teen with autism assaulted during cross country meet — ‘You can’t tell me that it wasn’t because my son was black

and the assailant was not even charged.

Man Charged With Harassing 15-Year-Old with Autism Who He Allegedly Feared Was a Mugger

the judge seems to be dragging his feet a bit.

The man who "harassed" the 15-year-old exited his car to shove the boy and knocked him to the ground.
"Harassment"?? How about ASSAULT?!

Thanks for the insight mike. I'm British and some of the behaviour of the American police would attract outrage in Britain. Im beginging to think that the short term solution to police racism is to have all black areas ( like Harlem or Brixton uk) policed exclusively by black policeman. Hispanic areas like sandieigo could policed exclusively by Hispanic cops Asian areas like Birmingham U.K. Would be policed by Asian cops and Londonderry uk by cops from the Irish catholic community. This would go a long way not only to protecting the police from malicious allegations but also reduce tensions by giving communities more of a stake in their policing. One thing I was taught in law school is that British police are public servants however in many other countries they are state enforcers. Long term only more integration will help. I love visiting London. The reason being there is no majority race there anymore. Central London is a huge mix of people from all over the world so racism is just too impractical for anyone to bother. Before any trump or farage people have a go at me think my country is overpopulated too. I'm not for nlimied immigration but sustainable immigration. It should be about numbers not races .

With regard to predjudice about your ethnic group, I'm from Liverpool and we often regarded by our fellow brits as work shy thieving hooligans. My sister once went shopping in east anglia when a staff member heard her accent she radioed security to follow my sister around the store. I also rember going to a Sunday market as a child and looking at a display of watches. I was then suddenly and without any warning grabbed by the neck and physically manhandled away from the watches. I very much doubt that a local would have treated that way. On a positive note many brits have gotten over their predjudices and are quite welcoming.

I have also had bosses and teachers take an instant disliking to me. This is possibly because they have misread my aspie traits as I wasn't diagnosed until 36 (off topic early diagnosis WILL make a difference to your child's life)

Take care everybody. Be proud of your race and of your autism or Aspergers what ever you want to call it, but rember it's not about where your coming from its where your going to.

Last edited by Jaymcgrath on 25 Nov 2016, 8:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

it seems now that after taking 2 steps forwards, we just took a block back.

Man sentenced for shoving Syracuse runner with autism