I haven't been blogging much since we've been settling into our new environment but a couple of autism related news items have caught my eye recently. First, 50 Cent is a jackass. Not that I expect a lot from a guy who tells gay people they should kill themselves, but I don't even know what this comment is supposed to mean:

"Rapper 50 Cent caused a Twitter uproar after he responded bitterly to an overeager fan on the social networking site, writing for his nearly 7 million followers, "yeah just saw your picture fool you look autistic." The fan had earlier jabbed at the rapper about his upcoming new record."

How does someone look autistic again? Never heard that one before. It must mean really good looking kids I guess. Probably not what he meant. In a rare move for the genius that is "fitty", he actually apologized for this one after feeling the heat of Twitter vitriol and one Holly Robinson Peete:


July 3, 2012

Dear 50 Cent,

Since last night my twitter timeline is flooded with tweets and retweets about a response you posted to someone who insulted you. When I read it my heart sank. I thought maybe your account had been hacked. No such luck. Granted, his comment was completely out of line but your retort: “i just saw your picture fool you look autistic”- was so so disappointing. I mean, that’s your comeback?? And you didn’t stop there. You went on to joke about not wanting “special ed kids” on your timeline. Seriously, THIS is how you use your platform of 8 million plus followers??

I’ve met you in passing over the years and I know you are a bright, astute businessman and legitimate philanthropist so it is with a bit of sincere confusion that I ask you… Do you even know what autism is? And what exactly does “autistic” look like? Do you know how wildly prevalent autism is? 1 in 88 have it. That’s 1 in 54 boys. Families suffer a social stigma you will never know. It is a financial and emotional drain for millions, so our non-profit- HollyRod Foundation works hard to raise funds to help these families cope…

I hope you can see how what you might see as a benign insult-or not- was so randomly hurtful, immature and misinformed. Maybe you are naive or indifferent as to how many of your fans might be deeply and personally offended by your insult. At the very least-can you please delete it? If you’ve read your mentions today I am sure you have felt the wrath of autism parents. We are no joke. Neither is autism. We are not about to let you attempt to make “autistic” the new “R-word” under our watch.

Finally, this is my son Rodney Peete. He has autism. So I guess this is what autistic looks like? He is in special ed. He loves rap music and is a HUGE fan of yours. He’s a tremendous kid. He has to deal with so much trying to fit in. This isn’t helping. Sincerely,

Holly Robinson Peete

In other news, check out the video below of the bus driver in New York who caught a girl falling three stories off an air conditioner. The girl is reported to have autism, to which I say 'no kidding'. Just seeing the confidence with which the seven year old is dancing on that air conditioner is enough to remind me of the days Curtis would make a mad dash to get in front of bus, walk off a ledge and that ongoing nightmare that he'd push out a screen and hop out a window.

So hat's off to you, Mr. St. Bernard. Heck of a catch regardless of the child's brain development.