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ableism, autistic culture, Discrimination, holocaust, Jewish Culture

The Blue Pumpkin and Why I will Never Get One for my Children

Aviva Seigler

With Halloween coming up, the blue pumpkin project has surfaced online. The blue pumpkin is to make the autistic children stand out so people know that the child may not be able to say “trick or treat.” It seems innocent enough but the autistic community as a whole is against this.

Blue for autism was started by Autism Speaks. The blue signifies that it is a boy’s disability. They control the tragedy narrative that we are working so hard to fight. They encourage parents to grieve the child they thought they were going to have. They are still the same child .

It encourages outing the child

Problems for a Jewish Family

We are a Jewish family. I never hide this fact. Holocaust education is very important, even more so as an Autistic Jew. After going through my photos of the March of the Living, a Holocaust trip I took as a child, the parallel of the Jude star came through my mind. It may seem extreme. The blue pumpkin is meant to label every autistic child as autistic. It makes them stand out.  The Jude star labeled every Jewish person so people knew who the Jews were.

Bullying

The blue pumpkin leaves them open for bullying. Autistic children are easy targets and bullies know this. They try to take advantage and exploit anyone who has a perceived weakness. While I do not consider being autistic a weakness, other people do. That can leave the children vulnerable.

Predators

Not only bullying, the blue pumpkin marks the more vulnerable children. Predators already know how to pick out a vulnerable child. This pumpkin which is carried around by the child. This is a beacon that allows the predator to know who to groom. It is easier for the predator to groom a child and the parent. Do not make it easier for predators to prey on your child. Predators are already very crafty. Do not hand your child over to a predator. That is essentially what is happening with the blue pumpkin.

Teal Pumpkin Project

People often confuse the blue pumpkin with the Teal Pumpkin Project. The Teal Pumpkin project is to let trick or treaters know where there are non food items available at a certain house. A teal pumpkin will be on the front stoop. This way families with children with different allergies or medical conditions know that it is safe to tick or treat there. It is never meant to be carried around with the child. The child is not singled out for bullying or being preyed upon.

The blue pumpkin has been confusing the people at large. They often get confused about the Teal pumpkin and think they have to carry it around with them. The blue pumpkin takes away from this important project started a few years ago to protect children from life threatening allergies or condition. This way every child can enjoy Halloween.

Just like during the Holocaust, that is how the Nazi forces were able to round up people to bring them to concentration camps or death camps. I know autistic children are not being brought to their death BUT it is strikingly similar.

These children are not going to be without their parents, there is no need to label them. They want to enjoy Halloween, just like every other child. Labeling them will cause people to treat them differently and that is the last thing the autistic community wants.

Published by Aviva Seigler

Aviva Seigler is the executive director at Fierce Autistics and Allies. She is a writer, an activist, and an advocate. She is an LGBTQ+ autistic from South Florida, is married to a very supportive husband, and has six children. She has been fighting the CD protocol and other quack treatments since 2014. She is a veterinary technologist (LPN for pets). She has her associates and bachelors degree in Veterinary Technology from St. Petersburg College. She is very involved with scouting with her six children. Three of the children are autistic but all are Neurodivergent. Her hope is to bridge the gap between allies and autistics while fighting the pseudoscience that threatens all people, not just autistics.

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