CW: Ableism
During a press conference yesterday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, repeatedly made harsh and stigmatizing remarks about people with profound autism. He portrayed them as a burden on society and their families.
“These are kids who will never pay taxes,” Kennedy said. “They’ll never hold a job. They’ll never play baseball. They’ll never write a poem. They’ll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted. We have to recognize we are doing this to our children.”
Sometimes, disabled people can’t hold a job, write poems, play baseball, or use the restroom independently. That’s okay. Disabled people don’t need to meet anyone’s criteria to be treated with respect, and compassion.
Someone’s worth isn’t determined by their ability to do things that other people think they should be able to do. It shouldn’t be the end of the world if a disabled person is unable to do something. If someone takes longer to do something, that’s okay too. Learning should be a lifelong process.
Regardless of a person’s needs, no one is a burden. People should have access to the services they need. A lack of services can have a devastating impact on disabled people and their families.
Everybody has strengths and weaknesses. For Robert F. Kennedy Jr to make such dehumanizing remarks is cruel. Disabled people are human.
Source:
Stein, Rob, and Carmel Wroth. “RFK Pushes to Find ‘environmental’ Cause of Autism, Calls Growing Rates an ‘Epidemic.’” NPR, NPR, 16 Apr. 2025, http://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/04/16/nx-s1-5366676/autism-cdc-rates-rfk-research.
RFKjr is the burden, and dangerous.