Ballastexistenz
 In 1939, Nazi Germany embarked on a eugenics program that targeted disabled people, whom they called "ballastexitenz" or "life ballast." Now, just barely into the 21st century, a "non-speaking physically disabled and autistic woman" has repurposed that epithet as the title for her blog. In writing that is bold and provocative and sometimes ferociously moving, she tackles topics like the depiction of autism in the news, hatred, issues of "responsibility," and "assumption Ping-Pong." One heart-rending post speaks directly to a three-year-old autistic child who was murdered by her mother in 2006. Some of the posts are touchingly intimate: her relationship with her cat, the soothing quality of rocks, revealing video clips. Her life, as she says, "is an extreme departure from stereotype." For that reason, among so many others, everyone should dip into this remarkable blog. It is, in the end, about the unique condition of being human.
|
