A few people said autistic people are no more violent than the average population. That may be so, but maybe that statistic doesn't tell the whole story. The sort of rage we're talking about is extreme and unpredictable. Yes, we have our Chris Brown's but that kind of violence usually begins with some kind of verbal altercation... there is some way to see a potentially nasty attack coming your way. I don't think that's true about the sudden and violent attacks we're talking about here.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it is my understanding that things can go from ok to lethal instantly. That isn't how most violent individuals act. And so it's this extreme and unpredictable element that freaks people out.

Are the people who criticize the author for not caring enough or being too cold or being more or less than whatever they feel she should be also parents dealing with autistic children? 'Cause, seriously, you have zero credibility if you don't have mentally ill kids.

My best friend of 12 years has no kidney function and has been on dialysis for about 7 years now. Last year she got really sick, and for the first time I thought seriously about whether or not I should attempt to donate a kidney. Though it broke my heart, I had to say no after doing the research about how donors are treated. My job doesn't provide me with health insurance, so I have to purchase my own health insurance. It's expensive and very limited. If I got sick some time down the road I'd be left out in the cold on all sides. My wife of 10 years depends on me as does my aging mother. I just can't. And I feel really, really guilty about it. I had to choose between my long time best friend and my physical well being/family responsibilities.

My friend has since recovered from her illness (though not the organ failure, of course). I know it's just a matter of time before the issue comes up again. She has type O negative blood, so a cadaver organ is unlikely. I have A positive blood, so I'm pretty sure I'm unsuitable anyway (though I've heard of some cross type donations, I'm not sure how successful they are).

It's a really bad position for both me and my best friend. :(

She is so funny, I can't wait for the show. :)

I know this kind of professor very well. I graduated with a masters in English from a major university. A lot of my professors were sloppy scholars but great identity advocates. The university is filled with these people, and a lot of them are tenured.

Oh, I wanted to add a link to Churchill's essay. I read it several years ago when Churchill first got into trouble. I remember thinking at the time that my freshmen were capable of writing a better essay.

The nasty tone of the piece doesn't bother me as much as the poor argumentation and lack of citations. Sloppy doesn't even begin to describe this piece.

http://www.kersplebedeb.com/mystuff/s11/churchill.html

Have those of you who defend Churchill actually read him? There are important points to be made about scholarship, freedom of speech, and tenure. But I don't think you could pick a worse person to back than Churchill. His work is really weak is too many ways to count. He really does seem to be some kind of mercy hire. That sort of thing in itself is a problem. Couldn't they find a serious Native American scholar? Are there any...? You see where this goes.

I'm just saying, you guys may want to look at his work before putting yourself out there. It's making you look bad. :/

I asked a real estate agent the other day what she thought about these absurd mortgages that tanked our economy. She pointed out an important fact. These mortgages were not illegal. In other words, our true and deepest anger should be squarely centered on the system that the banks, investment businesses, and politicians created. How many of you knew these mortgages were being bundled, sliced up, and sold around the world? It's common knowledge now, but it wasn't back then. The only thing regular people knew was that houses were grossly over priced. We didn't know why. It's silly to say those prices were driven up by real estate agents. They were driven up by the financial people who created the damn system.

If 20 people want the same house, a bidding war starts. Price is determined by demand. It turns out the demand was created by a radically short sighted get rich scheme designed by people with way too much financial power in a system with far too little over sight. How is that the real estate agent's fault? You may as well blame the guy who laid down carpet in a new but unnecessary house.

Really, I have no idea why the author of the article wants to make herself a target. These are angry people with pitchforks, I'd be a lot more careful if I were you.