Happy Autistic Pride Day!

I haven't commented up until now because I didn't want to get involved in the disagreements but I think there's a disconnect here in the way people are understanding 'pride'. Some people are using the 'active celebration of my actions' definition, and saying that it doesn't apply here so we shouldn't have Autistic Pride (or gay pride, or whatever else). But the thing is... of course that's not the definition of 'pride' that's in use here. When people talk about '[identity] Pride' they mean pride as in 'opposition to the shame others have made us feel about things that harm nobody and can't be changed'.

I'd like to think that pointing this out might change a few minds, but tbh after seeing the way discussions like this tend to go on this forum, I'm not especially hopeful 

I haven't commented up until now because I didn't want to get involved in the disagreements but I think there's a disconnect here in the way people are understanding 'pride'. Some people are using the 'active celebration of my actions' definition, and saying that it doesn't apply here so we shouldn't have Autistic Pride (or gay pride, or whatever else). But the thing is... of course that's not the definition of 'pride' that's in use here. When people talk about '[identity] Pride' they mean pride as in 'opposition to the shame others have made us feel about things that harm nobody and can't be changed'.

I'd like to think that pointing this out might change a few minds, but tbh after seeing the way discussions like this tend to go on this forum, I'm not especially hopeful 

battybats said:

When people talk about '[identity] Pride' they mean pride as in 'opposition to the shame others have made us feel about things that harm nobody and can't be changed'.

Thanks for pointing this out! Hopefully this clarification will help avoid further disagreements.

The problem for me, in addition to what I see as a fundamental misapplication of the word, is that the use of 'pride' attached to identity can be very problematic. It is so very close to chauvinism, exclusivity and prejudice. People proud of being white have hanged black people from trees, people proud of their own version of religion have burned others at the stake, or blown them up. You might think that such identity pride is only dangerous in the hands of powerful groups, but this is not so, many marginalised groups have produced violent terrorists (see: Types of Minority Discrimination and Terrorism, JAMES A. PIAZZA, Conflict Management and Peace Science, Vol. 29, No. 5 (November 2012), pp. 521-546 (26 pages)
Published By: Sage Publications, Ltd). I am not saying that autistic terrorists are a likely, or even possible, development, but I wish to emphasise that 'pride of identity' has profoundly negative aspects.