Victory! PETA's Got Autism? Billboard To Be Taken Down

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone,

I am happy to announce that PETA's recent, " Got Autism? " billboard has been

removed <http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/10/got_autism_bill_1.php> by the

advertising company hosting it. The billboard misinformed the public about

the autism spectrum by falsely implying that milk consumption was the cause

of autism. Such advertising contributes to a state of public hysteria about

the autism spectrum, fueling the fear and resulting prejudice that

marginalizes us from society at large. It is unacceptable for autistic

people, our families and supporters to be used as instruments in PETA's

political agenda or that of any other unscrupulous interest group. Our

community came

together<http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/autismPETA/index.html>to

communicate the need for a swift withdrawal of this ill-informed piece

of

advertising, and I'm pleased to say that were able to achieve a swift

result. That we were able to accomplish this so quickly and effectively

speaks well for the autistic community and the cross-disability rights

movement. Thank you all for your support.

If you'd still like to indicate to PETA the need to avoid exploiting the

autistic community in its future advertising, you can write to them at

info@... as well as call them at and dial 0. You can also

sign our petition <http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/autismPETA/>on this

topic, further indicating to PETA and the world that it does not pay to try

to attack and exploit the autistic and cross-disability communities.

Incidents like this show the need for a strong and activist autistic

self-advocacy movement, working closely with the broader disability rights

community. By uniting on issues like this one, we can work to address the

persistent biases that pervades the public discourse about autism in

specific and disability in general. As we speak, the blind

community<http://www.nfb.org/nfb/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW & ID=368>is

uniting against false and offensive depictions of their community in

the

new movie, " Blindness " . Over the last few months, disability rights

activists from all parts of the community came together to fight

against outdated

and damaging portrayals of people with intellectual

disabilities<http://www.patriciaebauer.com/category/tropic-thunders/>in

the movie, " Tropic Thunder " . Less than a year ago, the disability

community

united<http://www.autisticadvocacy.org/documents/nyu-response/JointLetter-update\

d.pdf>behind

our successful

effort<http://www.autisticadvocacy.org/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=23>t\

o

stop the NYU Child Study Center's " Ransom Notes " ad campaign, which

portrayed children with disabilities as kidnap victims.

Like any other community, we have the right to be treated with respect, in

media, in service-delivery and in all aspects of society. While responses to

offensive depictions of disability in popular culture are not the only

battle in the broader struggle for equity, inclusion, quality of life and

opportunity for all people with disabilities, this issue must remain an

important priority. Culture helps to shape the reality we live in. By

challenging the exploitative and offensive public discourse on disability we

find today, we can advance a broader agenda for disability rights. The

disability community is on the march and we will not be stopped. Thank you

once again for your effective action on this issue. I look forward to

working with all of you once again in the future. Remember, " Nothing About

Us, Without Us! "

Regards,

Ari Ne'eman

President

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network

1660 L Street, NW, Suite 700

Washington, DC 20036

http://www.autisticadvocacy.org