Quotes

"The Way of a Warrior is to establish harmony." ~ Morihei Ueshiba O'Sensei, Founder of Aikido

Friday, April 13, 2012

Don't Make Enemies

I was driving across the USA on a family vacation while I was reading John Elder Robison’s book Be Different that I came across this pearl of wisdom.

Learn to coexist peacefully. Even if you can’t make friends, don’t make enemies.  
Don’t tease, torment, or provoke other people. Don’t be a bully yourself.
Try to understand the other person, and by doing so, make a peaceful connection.

He was writing about his own experience with bullies.  It reminded me of my father’s advice about “picking your battles” but it also struck me how similar this is to Aikido’s philosophy of non-aggression.  Suddenly I had an epiphany and the phrase “don’t make enemies” inspired a new outlook on peace and conflict resolution.
In the Art of Peace we never attack. An attack is proof that one is out of control. Never run away from any kind of challenge, but do not try to suppress or control an opponent unnaturally. Let attackers come any way they like and then blend with them. Never chase after opponents. Redirect each attack and get firmly behind it. 
-- Morihei Ueshiba, The Art of Peace
 This is apparent in the physical technique of Aikido.  As an attacker reaches to grab or strike we blend with the motion so that they over extend and put themselves off balance.  When they are in a weak position, it is simple to apply a technique to redirect, control, disarm, or immobilize them. 


 The blending (“aiki”) is important to reduce the attacker’s power and not give him anything to resist.  In contrast, hitting back creates tension and feeds into the cycle of violence.

Conflict can take many forms (weapons, fists, words, etc.).  I believe it’s important for those who practice the way of advocacy to employ techniques to bring harmony.  The Autistic community is such a small minority and we are greatly outnumbered.  We cannot achieve our goals with mere force.  

Our success will depend on how many people we can convince to support us and the justice of our cause.  There is a great many people who are generally unaware of autism.  I view them as an untapped resource.  It will take a gentle, respectful approach to cultivate and not spoil them.

I’m a little disappointed by the tone I’ve seen in many writings and dialogue by my peers.  I have seen a lot of inflammatory rhetoric and I fear that is counterproductive to the message.  Language that may insult the audience will not bring them closer to your point. Rather, it will turn them away, incite stronger opposition, alienate potential allies, and possibly lose current ones.

I can't claim to know others' motivations but I suspect the fallacy of the false dilemma.  Rigid, black-or-white thinking is common among autists but sometimes it doesn't fit the situation.  It’s a naïve way of thinking to believe everyone is either with you or against you.  Ignoring the possibility of neutrality makes you overestimate the real number of enemies and puts excessive stress on yourself.

I urge my fellow advocates to take a step back and think about these principles.  In short, “don’t make enemies” means we must increase the number of our allies while keeping constant (or reducing) the number of our enemies. 
The Way of a Warrior, the Art of Politics, is to stop trouble before it starts. It consists in defeating your adversaries spiritually by making them realize the folly of their actions. The Way of a Warrior is to establish harmony.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Debut

Welcome to my new blog.  I am a 27 year old autistic graduate student that's decided to join my brethren who engage in advocacy and blogging.  My official diagnosis is Asperger's Syndrome.  This is often described as "mild" or "high-functioning" autism, but there are problems with such labels.


There is immense variability in the expression/symptoms of autism (both in kind and degree).  The clinical term 'Autism Spectrum Disorders' (ASD) presumes one continuous, ordered dimension of variability that, frankly, I think fails to describe the reality of the situation (see above quote by George Box).


I honestly believe autism is a multi-faceted condition (you're born with) that arises from the neurological structure of the brain.  As a statistician, I am interested in identifying and measuring the multiple underlying attributes so we can design and evaluate treatments/therapies tailored to the specific needs of every autist.


Autism brings many challenges but there are also strengths to be found.  For instance, I have a very high IQ, an excellent memory, hyper-focus and attention to detail which has served me quite well scholastically.  I am not of the camp that views autism as a sickness to be "cured."  I support neuro-diversity, i.e. the belief that autism, dyslexia, and many so-called disabilities are natural variations of the human mind.  The renowned autistic advocate/author/professor Dr. Temple Grandin has said, "The world needs all kinds of minds."


Another inspiration to start this blog is my passion for martial arts.  Specifically, I practice Aikido which is often translated at "the way of the harmonious spirit." Ai - joining, unifying; Ki (a.k.a. Ch'i, Qi) - energy, mind, spirit; Do - the way, the path.  Someone who practices Aikido is called an aikidoka.


We don't really fight or hit back in aikido.  It is a defensive art where we use the attacker(s) momentum to throw/control/restrain them.  It was founded in the 1920s-30s by Morihei Ueshiba (called O'Sensei for "Great Teacher") who combined his martial training with his philosophy of compassion.  He believed attacking only prolongs the spirit of conflict so he developed an art where you can defend yourself without harming the attacker.


"To injure an opponent is to injure yourself. To control aggression without inflicting injury is the Art of Peace."

Videos on the practice and history of aikidohttp://goo.gl/4Zskx  http://goo.gl/H6VF2


I'm really fascinated by O'Sensei's philosophy about conflict and harmony. It recently occurred to me that this could be a good approach to autistic advocacy; which we all know is full of conflict. I took the words Autistic (which originally referred to withdrawal into the self) and Aikido and combined them to get the name of this blog; Autistikido.

I hope for this blog to be a forum to share my thoughts, observations, philosophies as well as be an educational resource to dispel ignorance and misconceptions.  There are a lot of great bloggers and resources already out there so I have posted links to their works (see right-hand side).  I can respect that readers may have differing opinions but I ask that you be respectful.  If you have a burning desire to attack me or make hateful comments, please save your energy and go somewhere else on the web.