“Love ya”… It’s a throw away line that anyone can perform. Anyone can say it but living it, that is different. If you use ‘I love you’ as a public advertisement, a facade, a flag wave, a smoke screen, a cop out, a throw away line, a crutch, a habit, a guilt trip, a filler, then saying it is not ‘better than nothing. In fact, even the silence may be more honest, more honoring, more respectful. Read the rest of this entry »

BEING THE CHILD OF A PARENT WITH RAD

This is a picture of me in mid 1963 BEFORE I WAS BORN… I’m the lump, probably around 6-7 months cooked. My mother would have been 19 in this pic. I suspect my father’s brother, my uncle, took the pic as he had the slide and I’d never seen it until this week. Finally, a baby picture of me with my mother. Read the rest of this entry »

Got a child, teen or adult on the autism spectrum who has had a birthday party where you bought everything, sent out invites, even waited hopefully for people to arrive, but nobody showed up? Here’s some alternatives: Read the rest of this entry »

We recently ousted a die hard monarchist PM who reinstated knights and dames, who swooned over British royalty, head patted Indigenous children in photo opportunities, paid lip service to multiculturalism, posed continually in his budgie smugglers and life saver cap, mooned over the Anzac myth, and effused continually of ‘our way of life’ whilst working constantly on building Xenophobia and our ‘right to bigotry’. But what does it mean to ‘be Australian?’ According to whom? And which type of Australian are you? Read the rest of this entry »

Whether it is resentment, self pity, self hatred, envy, controlling, fixation, shame, sadness, fear, outrage, self consciousness, regret, grief, anxiety, self righteousness, grandiosity and bravado, you CAN give yourself permission to LET IT GO Read the rest of this entry »

My little brother Johnny Duel adored me the way my paternal grandparents had… which I knew because they would all light up when they saw me, this was how I knew I brought joy to these people Read the rest of this entry »

If you are straight and think Gay Marriage is going to affect you, you’re right… Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve got plenty of bogan rellies… Read the rest of this entry »

In response to the racists booing of Swan’s player, Adam Goodes, I would love to see the entire Sydney Swans respond in support of Adam with a flash mob style spear dance as a show of solidarity and if I dream even further, to see the entire AFL perform this in solidarity and recognition of the rich and ancient history of manhood in this country…. to let this be a pivotal moment that changes the racist climate of this country. If all NZers can celebrate the Haka, then Aussie footballers can join together, indigenous and non indigenous, in the spear dance to show these racists what real Australia could be and leave them wondering which team they wish to be on… racist losers or part of Australia with a rich cultural heritage we can all acknowledge, learn, share in and celebrate together. . The racist’s booing Adam Goodes are ignorant sychophants following each other’s pitiable lead to nowhere. Perhaps they could listen to something other than their infantile booing and actually learn something of their own place in Australian history.

Donna Williams, BA Hons, Dip Ed.
Author, artist,and presenter.
http://www.donnawilliams.net

I acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Owners of this country throughout Australia, and their connection to land and community.

I love this… and with autism its similar… we are diverse, we are people with personhood and autism is part of that but whilst some feel it DEFINES them in their entirety, others do not, not because they are in denial or ashamed of their autism, but because their autism is not the sole source of everything they think, feel, do or achieve. Read the rest of this entry »