The headline on The Huffington Post asks this question:
Here's the short answer:
No.
Asperger's syndrome is not "the New Black."
Gay is not "The New Black."
You know what the new Black is?
Black.
Being Black in America (or London, where the piece takes place) is changing but it's still very hard for many people in many ways and it is still a distinct experience. If you have not read Ta-Nehisi Coate's superb article about race and the Obama presidency, I recommend it strongly as a picture of the Current Black:
What black people are experiencing right now is a kind of privilege previously withheld—seeing our most sacred cultural practices and tropes validated in the world’s highest office. Throughout the whole of American history, this kind of cultural power was wielded solely by whites, and with such ubiquity that it was not even commented upon. The expansion of this cultural power beyond the private province of whites has been a tremendous advance for black America. Conversely, for those who’ve long treasured white exclusivity, the existence of a President Barack Obama is discombobulating, even terrifying. For as surely as the iconic picture of the young black boy reaching out to touch the president’s curly hair sends one message to black America, it sends another to those who have enjoyed the power of whiteness.
The Current Black is watching Barack Obama be called lazy after a disappointing debate performance. Black people aren't done being Black.
There's actually a lot to like in the piece, which like one I highlighted yesterday, is about a birthday party featuring an autistic son. Leda Nakin Nelis makes me cringe when she calls her son's Asperger's syndrome "the Rolls Royce of the Autism Spectrum," but she clearly loves him and recognizes that the Aspergers is an important part of who he is:
This brings me to the next thing that struck me during my son's speech. It got me thinking about labels. "My parents keep telling me that I've got this thing -- ummm -- called 'Asperger's Syndrome', or whatever it is that you want to call it," he began. "What can I say? I just roll with it!" He spoke in a confident yet subtly self-deprecating manner, referring to his special needs label with a self-assuredness that put everyone in the audience at ease.
I have never understood why so many special needs parents are afraid of labels. I sometimes tease my son when he complains about his Asperger's Syndrome, calling it the "Rolls Royce of the Autistic Spectrum." If I am comfortable with his AS, then he will feel comfortable with it as well... and so, in turn, will be those with whom he interacts. My son does not, in my eyes, have so much a disability; rather, he possesses a gift that comes with built-in challenges. I am sure that, like all parents, I have failed in some ways; what I have succeeded in doing, however, is demystifying ASD and encouraging my son to feel comfortable about his Asperger's. It is an integral part of who he is, so why feel self-conscious about it? After all, I am not embarrassed about telling people that I am American (except when Sarah Palin happens to be running for Vice President) or that I have brown hair. It's who I am, and what you see is what you get!
