Autistic People Aren’t Your Political Scapegoats: A Letter to Australia

This isn’t just political. It’s personal.

I’ve watched people I love flirt with conspiracy theories. Share RFK Jr. videos. Elevate politicians who parrot imported US rhetoric. I stayed quiet longer than I should have — believing love could speak louder than politics.

But love doesn’t mean silence when your existence is under attack. And I’m done being quiet.

Autism Is Not a Mistake — and I’m Not Your Cautionary Tale

I am Autistic. I am not broken. I am not a warning sign. And I am not the tragic outcome of vaccines.

RFK Jr. has built his campaign around long-debunked pseudoscience that falsely links vaccines to Autism. It’s not just misinformation — it’s a targeted assault on people like me. It positions our existence as something to be feared, prevented, or erased.

It’s eugenics disguised as “public health.” And anyone giving it airtime is complicit in that harm.

Australia Has Let In the Conspiracy — But Autism Hasn’t Been Targeted Yet

We’ve already imported the culture war playbook. The anti-science rhetoric, the “health freedom” slogans, the fear-mongering disguised as concern.

The Trumpets. Pauline Hanson. Sky News after dark. Politicians pandering to conspiracists in suits.

But Autism hasn’t become a political scapegoat here. Not yet.

And that’s why this moment matters.

Because if we don’t name it now — if we don’t draw the line — then it will happen. It’s not a question of if. It’s when.

For anyone still holding the line inside the Liberal Party — take a good look at who’s walking through the door. Because it doesn’t take a full takeover for a house to stop feeling like home.

They Always Start With Someone

It didn’t start with Autistic people. It never does.

First, it was queer people — targeted for existing outside the norm. Then it was Trans people — vilified through manufactured outrage over bathrooms and sport. Then came migrants, refugees, and disabled communities — each painted as a burden or a threat. And now, in the US, it’s Autistic people — once again reduced to symbols of tragedy or social collapse.

If you think it can’t happen here, don’t kid yourself.

If you think it doesn’t affect you — you’ve misunderstood how this works. When they come for you, it will be too late.

Even One Relationship Lost to This Rhetoric Is Too Many

I’ve already lost time, closeness, and trust with people I care about. People who were seduced by “just asking questions” and “doing their own research.” People who never realised how much damage they were doing.

Even one friendship lost to that kind of casual cruelty is too many.

I’m Here. I’m Autistic. And I’m Done Being Quiet.

If you want to be in my life, act like it. If you care about me, vote like it. If you stand with me, stand up — publicly, unapologetically, and urgently.

Because I’m not going anywhere. But I’m done being quiet.

First published on LinkedIn, 17 April 2025.