I will not be complacent

I am a proud progressive social justice leftist

I will no longer hide

Some might call me “radical”

People scoff at movements of resistance

People call for peace and order

When you are being beaten over the head with a drum, do you ask them to stop nicely?

People don’t recognize that sometimes disorder is necessary

Disorder represents resistance to systems of oppression

I’m not here for fake niceties

I’m here to challenge systems, cultures and beliefs that have been in place for centuries

I call attention to the fact that societal norms and expectations are rotten at their core

They are rooted in white supremacy, sexism, ableism, homophobia, and much more

These systems of oppression are branches held together by their root, modern capitalism

Many will be quick to point out that I have benefited from capitalism

That is definitely true, but it doesn’t make it a fair system by any means

I hold privileges that many don’t and am grateful for that, but these shouldn’t be privileges

My privileges come at the expense of famine for others, due to a rotten system

Having a car and a nice home should not be a privilege, it should be a basic human right

I am one of the few autistic people fortunate enough to be able to afford meeting my needs

I am fortunate that I can choose my work and my schedule without worrying about surviving

Many other autistic people can’t say the same, and are forced through constant burnout

Most of us are given little to no support and struggle to get hired, despite trying our best

Many become angry, depressed, houseless, addicted, then they are seen as the problem

I feel angry for them, angry at this rotten system

Many people will just say to try harder, because they don’t understand the reality of disability

Those able to hide it, at the cost of extreme burnout, are often dismissed and denied support

Those unable to hide it are often doubted, infantilized and looked down on

I refuse to turn an eye to how rotten the system is

I will say something, I will advocate

I will join forces with others, I will be LOUD

I will continue to challenge norms and expectations, I will continue to do things my way

I don’t care what other people think

I don’t care about numbers, clout or so called "success", whatever that is supposed to mean

I refuse to make myself palatable to the taste of those who are comfortable in their status of power and privilege and are desperate to be seen as inclusive, but have never really wanted true inclusion