Every few years, as election cycles heat up, I find myself holding my breath. Not because I’m excited about civic engagement or national debate — but because I know that at some point, someone will stand behind a podium, gesture dramatically, and use autism as a political weapon. Sometimes we’re framed as a “tragedy.” Sometimes we’re a “burden on the system.”Other times we’re carelessly thrown into conspiracy theories — treated as proof that modern medicine or modern parenting has somehow gone wrong. No matter how it’s framed, the underlying message is the same: autism is something terrible.And by extension, people like me — people who live with autism every day…

On Saturday, November 16, I was having lunch with a friend at Bakersfield Tacos & Tequila in the Short North when I witnessed a scene that felt ripped from history’s darkest chapters. A group of neo-Nazis marched down North High Street, their faces masked, carrying swastika flags, and shouting hateful rhetoric. Shocked by the audacity of such a display of hatred, I instinctively began recording. The video I shared sparked immediate controversy. Some accused me of fabricating the footage with AI or reposting old content to sow division. Others mocked me outright. The hate displayed online has been vile, but it pales compared to the hatred that fueled this march…