Amid all the handwringing and cries of woe surrounding the Issy Stapleton case, there is one thing everyone seems to agree about: That there needs to be more services for families with autistic children. And now that we are agreed we can all move on.
Because no matter what happens in this case, nothing is going to change. Nothing at all. Until the next autistic child is murdered or nearly so by his or her parents. Excuse me, did I say murder? Oh, my, can't be doing that, that's just another example of how we autistics overreact to everything. Ok, until "something happens" to the next child. Is that better?
It reminds me of a story I once read as a child about some monkeys who huddled in the cold rain each night saying we really need to build a house, but when the sun came up and they were warm and dry again they forgot all about building a house and spent their days playing among the trees. Then night came and the rain came and "we really must build a house." I don't think those monkeys ever did build that house.
We are told that these services are needed. But we are also told that services are being cut even more because there just isn't any money for them. I heard recently that one percent of the American population controls most of the money and that the gap between rich and poor is growing. Forget the middle class. What remains is being squeezed out of existence by taxes, taxes, taxes. They just can't afford to pay any more.
Well, I'd have some sympathy except--from where I see it, down in the trailer park, where the REAL poor folks live--there's an awful lot of folks still living pretty damn high. All those subdivisions that are going up around here? I'll give you a clue--they aren't for those on a limited income. This summer I volunteered at something called "Parade of Homes", where builders open showcase homes to the public. My job was to sit at a table and take tickets. Let me tell you about this house. It was 4,000 square feet. It had five bedrooms and an equal number of bathrooms. There was a bathroom off the kitchen. There was a bathroom by the living room. There were two bathrooms upstairs and a bathroom in the basement. My partner and I joked that maybe the architect had grown up in a house where there were 13 kids and one bathroom and never got over the trauma of having to wait. This house was listed for something around $400,000. And yet this house and its surrounding neighborhood was merely average, not particularly upscale. Not like the neighborhood my friend and I walked through that one time.
The folks that buy these houses don't drive old beaters or hoopties like in my neighborhood. They don't have very many children, maybe four at the most (that's a BIG family). I don't know what the heating bill or electric bill or even water bill was for that house but I bet mine is a fraction of what they pay. And this is a typical house around here, nothing really fancy. But--here's the difference--these folks pay property taxes and I don't. Not directly. And they are most likely the first to scream when there is talk about raising taxes--unless of course it is their child who has special needs and needs services.
Now I am not saying that everyone should come down to the trailer park and live as frugally as we do, but I do think that there is something very wrong with the picture I am painting. The real problem is a matter of priorities. I'm just saying--do 4 people or even 6 people need such a big house? Do people really need to drive Mercedes and Rolls and BMW's when they could be driving something cheaper? Do they really need a big screen TV in every room? Oh, but we don't have any money when it comes to providing services!
Well, I guess I'm just one of those black-and-white thinking autistics who can't get along in society because I just don't understand.
Because no matter what happens in this case, nothing is going to change. Nothing at all. Until the next autistic child is murdered or nearly so by his or her parents. Excuse me, did I say murder? Oh, my, can't be doing that, that's just another example of how we autistics overreact to everything. Ok, until "something happens" to the next child. Is that better?
It reminds me of a story I once read as a child about some monkeys who huddled in the cold rain each night saying we really need to build a house, but when the sun came up and they were warm and dry again they forgot all about building a house and spent their days playing among the trees. Then night came and the rain came and "we really must build a house." I don't think those monkeys ever did build that house.
We are told that these services are needed. But we are also told that services are being cut even more because there just isn't any money for them. I heard recently that one percent of the American population controls most of the money and that the gap between rich and poor is growing. Forget the middle class. What remains is being squeezed out of existence by taxes, taxes, taxes. They just can't afford to pay any more.
Well, I'd have some sympathy except--from where I see it, down in the trailer park, where the REAL poor folks live--there's an awful lot of folks still living pretty damn high. All those subdivisions that are going up around here? I'll give you a clue--they aren't for those on a limited income. This summer I volunteered at something called "Parade of Homes", where builders open showcase homes to the public. My job was to sit at a table and take tickets. Let me tell you about this house. It was 4,000 square feet. It had five bedrooms and an equal number of bathrooms. There was a bathroom off the kitchen. There was a bathroom by the living room. There were two bathrooms upstairs and a bathroom in the basement. My partner and I joked that maybe the architect had grown up in a house where there were 13 kids and one bathroom and never got over the trauma of having to wait. This house was listed for something around $400,000. And yet this house and its surrounding neighborhood was merely average, not particularly upscale. Not like the neighborhood my friend and I walked through that one time.
The folks that buy these houses don't drive old beaters or hoopties like in my neighborhood. They don't have very many children, maybe four at the most (that's a BIG family). I don't know what the heating bill or electric bill or even water bill was for that house but I bet mine is a fraction of what they pay. And this is a typical house around here, nothing really fancy. But--here's the difference--these folks pay property taxes and I don't. Not directly. And they are most likely the first to scream when there is talk about raising taxes--unless of course it is their child who has special needs and needs services.
Now I am not saying that everyone should come down to the trailer park and live as frugally as we do, but I do think that there is something very wrong with the picture I am painting. The real problem is a matter of priorities. I'm just saying--do 4 people or even 6 people need such a big house? Do people really need to drive Mercedes and Rolls and BMW's when they could be driving something cheaper? Do they really need a big screen TV in every room? Oh, but we don't have any money when it comes to providing services!
Well, I guess I'm just one of those black-and-white thinking autistics who can't get along in society because I just don't understand.
