Trump and RFK Jr. propose anti-autism genocide

Falsely linking Tylenol to autism is just the beginning.

President Donald Trump and his HHS Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have declared genocide against autistic people.

Don’t believe me? Read what Trump recently said about autism.

First he claimed, falsely, that taking Tylenol during pregnancy is associated with a “very increased risk of autism.” He told women that they should limit taking Tylenol during pregnancy “if you can’t tough it out.”

Kennedy agreed with him, as did the other health officials standing near Trump during the press conference. On the face, this is just bad science.

Make no mistake about it: This is genocide.

To explain why, allow me to identify three key premises:

1. Neurodivergent conditions like autism, ADHD, Tourette syndrome, dyslexia and bipolar disorder are genetic. They cannot be “cured” anymore than one’s hair color, blood type or sexual orientation can be “cured.”

2. Similarly, being neurodivergent is not inherently disabling; it is only disabling to the extent that societal intolerance is widespread. If we were accommodated instead of criticized for our innocuous differences, there would be no need for “treatment.”

3. If you argue that an innate condition can and should be “cured,” you effectively advocate genocide against everyone with that condition.

Kennedy has repeatedly claimed that none of this is true. He insists that more people are openly identifying as autistic because of “an environmental toxin” such as medicines or food additives.

In other words, he claims that being autistic is “wrong,” and that he will implement policies which make it “right.”

Personally, this is why I’m writing my book “Neurosocialism.”

I am sick, tired and angry with explaining to other people that my condition does not make me inferior.

I am sick, tired and angry with seeing my loved ones — family members, friends and others — struggle with employment, education, socialization and other basic needs because of the Trump/Kennedy attitude that being autistic is “bad.”

I am sick, tired and angry with being told that my job is to sit down, shut up and listen to those who claim they know me better than I know myself…. even though those same people will never, ever listen to a word I say, at least not in good faith.

Speaking with me for Salon Magazine in March, ADHD angel investor Peter Shankman uttered words that apply to autistic people, people with Tourette syndrome and every other neurodivergent individual.

“How dare RFK Jr. punish people for being different, instead of helping them understand that their differences are what make them better?” Shankman said. “It's the last thing we should be doing. ‘You're different, and that's wrong’ doesn't help people, doesn't help our country, and doesn't help us heal.”

Trump and Kennedy don’t want to heal us.

They want to destroy us.

Will we let them?

I close with a poem by the children’s author Lisa Van Der Wielen:

I don't want to stand out, I just want to fit in.

Yet this world I'm surrounded in, makes my brain spin.

It might seem that I'm different, but I am just the same, The way my brain works, isn't a shame.

Sometimes I seem naughty, yet I want to be good, But most of the time, I feel misunderstood.

I don't want to cause trouble, or cause people pain, I can't help how I think, or what stirs in my brain.

Some sounds seem loud, to me but not you, Sometimes I seek touch, to make sense of what's new.

Sometimes I like to feel, but sometimes I don't.

Sometimes I speak, yet sometimes I won't.

Sometimes I seek, sometimes I hide,

Sometimes I can't help what's on the inside.

I might notice the details that most people don't see, I might say things I shouldn't and you might not agree.

I might notice when people are being insincere, I might tell them things they don't want to hear.

I might be autistic but I want you to see, I'm living in a world it's hard to be me.

---

Back Seat Socialism

Back Seat Socialism is a column by Matthew Rozsa, who has been a professional journalist for more than 13 years. Currently, he is writing a book for Beacon Press, "Neurosocialism," which argues that autistic people like the author struggle under capitalism, and explains how neurosocialism - the distinct anticapitalist perspective one develops by living as a neurodiverse individual - can be an important organizing principle for the left.