Observations From the Spectrum

an autistic's view of the world

Losing Skin

I remember as a kid being taught to look both ways before crossing the street.  As a young man, I was taught to observe my surroundings.  And as a core value, I was taught to follow the golden rule and try to do more good than harm.  Sometimes I think I am one of the few to have been taught these principles.  It could be me and I missed something in my development or civilization as we know it is morphing into something new.  My gut says the latter.

Many moons ago I was a cyclist.  Yes, I was one of those silly looking people in my underwear who spent more money on his bikes than his cars.  I also won a few races and was one of the faster cyclists in the community I lived in COlorado.

One day I went out for a ride.  I climbed up the Colorado National Monument and then descended down.  Unfortunately, in a steep S-turn I crashed.  The weather was so hot that the tar was bubbling in spots and became slick.  I fell in the turn going about 40mph and burned the skin off of the right side of my body.  I have some tar left in my hip as a reminder.

Needless to say, the experience was awful.  The worst part and most dehumanizing was that as I rode home, a man with his family in his SUV layed on the horn for about 2 miles as I soft pedaled home.  

Now, I understand how frustrating being late and in a rush is but there are valid excuses.  On this day, I looked the part of a cyclist and it was obvious, like a drunk driver, that something was amiss.  My right ass cheek was visible, the palm of my right hand was hanging off and my jersey was ripped open and blood was dripping off of me. 

He still honked because his future was clearly more important than mine.  THe even worse part of the story is that he was also a pastor at a church.  

I don’t know about you.  Me, I get red when red is due but most of the time I am pretty subdued.  I like life and meeting people and being nice because it seems to come back around.  

So I really don’t understand many things and on top of that list is an unwillingness to cast aside differences to help others and certainly, I don’t understand how anyone, who believes in God and understands that they are not can, can believe they are better than someone else period.

Racists to me are those students that wanted to learn and were just taught wrong.  Like dogs that attack other dogs for no reason.  They were eager to please and eager for reinforcement because I can tell you this, no kid comes out of the womb hating others.  That’s a generational teaching that has no place in humanity.

The pain I felt crashing on the bike was physical.  It hurt. I got over it pretty quick.  I cannot comprehend the pain that some are living with today.  Hating someone for the color of their skin is stupid.  Murdering someone for any reason is evil.  So to all of those in pain and suffering through the day to day, I stand by your side.  There is no reason not to.

Dylan Netter

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