Published on 12, July, 2020
Great to have this positive coverage in the Guardian but do others find it very disturbing that a national newspaper is using the puzzle piece to depict autistic people?
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/oct/20/at-47-i-discovered-i-am-autistic-suddenly-so-many-things-made-sense
Honestly, I love this symbol. However, there are a lot of ideological beliefs about the puzzle piece. Those who support the symbol wish to believe — that it is part of a search for answers and that if they find that answer, it will improve the lives of autistic people. However, the reality is that the symbol damages the discourse around Autism while being widely considered offensive to autistic people. I also saw this symbol in free jigsaw puzzles online. Maybe it would be better if they proposed another symbol.
gmajacon said:proposed another symbol.
I think that no matter what symbol is used, it will frustrate some people because of their own perception. I guess everyone has their own idea of what's acceptable and not so much. There will always be a need to debate and change things but no matter how hard anyone tried and wants it to be so, not everyone can be pleased at the same time. An example: If the symbol was changed to something else, whatever that may be, some people would be upset. This could be because some people liked the original symbol and didn't want a change or because they take exception to the new representation. Personally I think the picture is pretty cool in an artistic sense and is an attempt to show different brains in a novel way. It's simple and is trying to encompass everyone. I'd change the colours because I don't like certain colours which in itself is an illustration of not being able to please everything in everyone. :-)