Tuesday, June 2, 2020

My Thoughts on George Floyd


I am sad about what is happening in our country with how black people are being treated. They are not seen as equally valued as whites by our society. The murder of George Floyd by a police officer was the latest publicly seen injustice by our society’s institution of the police.  The police are supposed to be used for our protection. The police should be the good guys and help others be safe. Instead there are some bad cops that make many black people fearful and bring trauma and even death unnecessarily. George Floyd is a human being who had feelings, family, and should have had many more years to live. Instead his life ended being suffocated at the mercy of a police officer who cruelly crushed his neck until he died.  The officer did not look like he cared. He looked like he wanted to show he could do whatever he wanted to because he has the power. 

I want go address how this inequality is evil. It makes our country grow more divided and hateful towards each other.  If those in power keep resisting change or do not acknowledge there is a problem with racism this cycle of violence and increasing fear will destroy everyone. We need to listen to black people and support them in getting the things they need to thrive in society like whites. 

People must recognize how minorities don’t get the same treatment as the majority. I am not black but I belong to several minority groups. I am asian, hispanic, autistic, nonspeaking, and disabled. I do not know what it is like to be black, but I do know what it is like to live with disadvantages. I cannot speak like everyone else and I am misjudged all the time. I am often expected to comply with expectations made by others. I fear when I am misunderstood.  I think another majority injustice is when majority sets the rules that affect minorities. I am mentioning this because I have had my voice and communication oppressed at a school that dismissed it and by autism professionals who said it is not real.

There are institutions that are unfair and unequal. I am proposing more equal education in which a diversity of voices are taught. People should give support to disadvantaged people more than those who already have advantages. People should listen more without trying to win an argument. People should try to be understanding rather than defensive of their own perspective. 

I think the world can still get better. People need to listen to minority voices. They need to welcome us as equals. We must stop ignoring those who are different. Let's be a nation that is truly united and loving to all people. We are going to be the best nation if we can fix our problem with racism. 





8 comments:

  1. Hi Philip,

    Thank you for writing this powerful article. It was great to hear some of your own story and experience too! I especially liked your gentle challenge at the end to listen more, and truly acknowledging voices that are different from my own. I needed that humble reminder! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

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  2. I am so glad my sister posted this oppinion I wish all people were as wise and heartful

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  3. Thank you so much for your loving point of view we all need to listen more. You are a very thoughtful and caring human being. My grandchild is also non verbal and hearing your thoughts has given me a better perspective of his plight. Please continue to share your insight it's very helpful.
    Again,
    Thank you.

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  4. I am just coming across your blog after having a rough day with my non verbal son. He's 11. Reading your blog post has inspired me so much. Its helping me to understand my nonverbal son more. Thank you so much for sharing your world with us!

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  5. I am just coming across your blog after having a rough day with my non verbal son. He's 11. Reading your blog post has inspired me so much. Its helping me to understand my nonverbal son more. Thank you so much for sharing your world with us!

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  6. I have recently come across your blog. Congratulations. I am working with a non-verbal girl who is 12 years old. She has an inner voice just like you and I have developed some technology to help her to develop her outer voice. It is based on James E. Zull's neuroscience of learning and my work in the development of literacy skills. Have you ever thought about developing your outer voice? By outer voice, I mean that you would be developing your fine motor skills of your mouth as connected to words. This is not a hoax comment because that wouldn't be fair to anyone, especially you but I am working with Zoe and her speech therapist and her mother and we are seeing some interesting developments in Zoe's facial and oral motor development. If you or your mother are interested in looking at Kinephonics.com [Chrome], please register as a free user in the 'playground' and please be in touch with me. PS. You will be the one who understands what it is all about - because you will feel the satisfaction of putting all the sensory systems together to practise your mouth motor skill development. It will be hard for your mum to feel the connections because she already has them.

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  7. Greetings from Australia Phillip. I'm Michael. As someone that suffers from a form of autism myself I had some questions for you. Does it frustrate you much anymore when you attempt to speak but are unable to or have you grown accustomed to things? Secondly do you think if you had the opportunity to develop the ability to speak verbally you would? And lastly do you believe that your mind differs significantly from other people in terms of social constructs and the topic of conversation/what you talk about with your friends?

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  8. Hi Phillip. Just came across your blog and I enjoyed reading your posts. You are very intelligent and insightful! I loved reading your thoughts and opinions. I currently work with a 3 year old diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and you give me a lot of positivity and hope. Like you, she is smart and curious and I know she will have a lot to offer the world. I'm still new to the world of ASD, but I'm learning more each day and coming across people like you fills me with joy. People with autism are amazing and should be treated as such! I know we live in a world which tends to look down on anyone who is different, but there are good people out there who truly appreciate you for who you are. Being the same as everybody else is boring anyway! I hope you keep writing Phillip, because there are so many who want to hear what you have to say. All the best.

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