How else can I contribute?

or The Man Who Wasn't There (But Should've Been)

I would like to start this dispatch with not one but two apologies. The first is asking the forgiveness of you, the reader, for my being here this week when I had promised to go dark in solidarity with the "Hands Off” demonstrations. The second of all is more of a “closed circuit” mea culpa to the editor as I did not attend the satellite rally in Saratoga Springs on the day. The pictures I saw on social media that night made my guilt even worse, especially with the throng of demonstrators who had temporarily populated all four corners of Broadway, one of whom was dressed as Chewbacca from the Star Wars franchise and I would have had to deal with that, amongst other sensory bombardments on the day — more on that later. Saratoga TODAY, our weekly newspaper, had described the satellite rally as a “Honk-N-Wave” rally organized in part by the ADK/Saratoga chapter of Indivisible.

Speaking of the movement in general, the hosts of the two weekly meetings I have attended thus far via Zoom gave me the impression that these events are inclusive and provide a family-friendly — their terms, not mine — atmosphere. But as someone on the autism spectrum who has been prone to not necessarily taking other people’s advice when given him, I hereby do not let autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as the primary excuse if not reason why I did not attend, rather what those of my neurotype might or might not encounter and/or have to contend with going forward.¹

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Pardon my ignorance, but is this really the forum to drag ASD into this?

Your ignorance (and maybe bewilderment) is likely valid, but I feel as though I have to provide some type of accountability. Yes, I believe in an America that serves ALL the people, not just a select few known herein as "the oligarchy”. It’s also not that I’m afraid of getting questioned by any member of the local constabulary when they spot yours truly in the crowd. But, there are limits to expressing your First Amendment rights to free speech. After all, it does say in the Constitution:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

It was all well and good when the “Founding Fathers” cooked up this document way back in 1787, I suppose. But the “redress of grievances”, however vocal, means the person with autism will likely have to put up with sensory problems, as well as the usual problems that come with having ASD.

Lori Corbet Mann, in the run-up to Saturday’s mass protests, put out a two-part series on how to demonstrate safely with “tRump” back in office. It’s the second part of which that I reference for this section of the article. Mann advised the reader, whom one would assume on first glance was a novice in the protest game, to “scan constantly” and “don’t zone out.” In these situations, traits that are usually a boon to those of us on the autism spectrum can quickly and without warning turn into a burden. One of those traits is "hyperfocus”, the artifact of a monotropic mind wherein among many elements, the brain is hotwired to focus on just one element and nothing else. Mann said that those participating in a protest are to keep a sharp lookout for either anyone or anything that looked the least ways suspicious. For example, I could’ve focused on that one person outside of Saratoga Springs City Hall in the Chewbacca costume and only that person the whole time if not most of it.

Then, there's the unexpected yet inevitable prospect of getting question by a policeman (as mentioned earlier). Mann also stated that when one person or a group of people panic at the sight of a policeman, the odds would be even money if not less so that that person or the group thereof would be arrested. In a city famous for laying odds on horses every summer, even the biggest "Longshot Louie” wouldn't have laid big bucks on me not getting shipped to the city jail.

I also mentioned the group aspect, which would be a near impossibility for those on the autism spectrum such as myself. In fact, the word "autism” is derived from the combination of the Greek prefix autós- (αυτός- meaning “self”) and the suffix -ism, which deals with personality, demeanor, etc. On that, I asked a close friend of mine to see if he was going to a similar protest that day near his home in the hopes of doing this together so I wouldn't have to arrive by myself and leave the same way. Unfortunately, he declined saying that he had to work that day; so much for “strength in numbers”.²

But back to Saratoga: as I mentioned earlier, this was described as a “Honk-N-Wave” rally, wherein motorists would sound their car horns on catching sight of the massive crowd that was split outside of City Hall, the downtown post office, the main branch of a regional bank, and right outside a mom-and-pop pharmacist. While the throng would’ve appreciated the support, however passive, the sound of many a car horn honking would’ve been a sensory nightmare. The same could be said for the loud voices, mine included, that would’ve left me hoarse and aroused suspicion (and likely some criticism) from my father and his fiancée.

Thirdly, this rally would likely have disrupted my routine somewhat, as a typical late Saturday afternoon is spent preparing for that night's dinner. For the last year and a half, I've been asked³ to help take care of my father, who suffered a stroke in late August 2023. The day of the rally, his partner rode herd on me for not taking a more active role in being a caregiver, but that's another story for another time and certainly not related to GSUS, so there and anyhow.

Other ways

So how can those of us who find crowds, loud noises, and all the foregoing a sensory feast from Hell help in "The Resistance”? From my most recent experience, I have been boycotting corporations that have been proven to donate to Republican/right-wing causes or abandon diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives — I see you, Target. In its place, I have vowed to put more of my hard-earned cash into either business that have donated to the Democratic party or small businesses.⁴ There’s also signing petitions and either emailing or calling my representatives in both Congress and on the state level, though I have made my calls after hours thus leaving a voicemail so I don’t have to talk to the switchboard operator. The 5Calls app has helped, especially early on in the current regime.⁵

Jam of the Week

For those of you coming over to this newsletter from the GSUS movement, welcome aboard. My usual dispatches, for the last several weeks, have ended with a musical stinger of sorts that sum up the general tenor of what you’ve just read. This week, it’s obvious, isn’t it? John Lennon (1940-1980) and Yoko Ono, take it away!

KEEP SMILING and ALL POWER TO ALL THE PEOPLE

JB

1. Assuming, of course, we get more chances at doing something like this.

2. The next day, another friend of mine invited me to an Indivisible ADK/Saratoga chat thread on Facebook Messenger, so maybe I asked the wrong person. Regrets.

3. More like “demanded”, if we're being honest.

4. Or possibly assume my own personal Great Depression-era austerity measures: a real possibility if I could be so.bold.

5. Nota bene that I said “regime” rather than “administration”.