I've noticed that the past few columns I've written involve some sort of event or memory from my childhood. I've talked about gambling with my family since I was a wee kindergartener to revealing what I wanted to be "when I grow up." My columns' reflections on how I lived as a child not only reveal my screaming desire to go back to days where my biggest worry was whether I would get picked last for kickball, but they also reveal how important your experiences as a youngun' affect who you grow up to be.
As a kid, you learn more lessons than there are Crayola colors: Don't talk to strangers. Don't talk with your mouth full. Don't eat dirt. But the most profound of them all--treat others the way you want to be treated.
Whether it was the kid at lunch who ate wheat bread instead of white or the girl whose glasses were a little too thick, everyone can probably admit to making fun of someone who was different at some point in his or her childhood. And no matter how many times we heard the 'Golden Rule' from parents, teachers or coaches, some things don't always stick as well in our minds as "Don't eat dirt."
So, this week's "Atta Bui" and centerpiece, (pages 6 and 7) written by writer Jennifer Girardin, revisit the value of "do unto
others..."
Daniel Szyper, like one in 500 people in the population, is afflicted with a high-functioning form of autism called Asperger's Syndrome. This disease causes Szyper and those affected by it to have obsessive-compulsive tendencies and lack certain social senses. Being different has caused Szyper much grief in his life; instead of treating Szyper the way they would like to be treated, people marginalize and isolate him. As a result, he used to have trouble just being himself and sank into deep depressions.
But one day, Szyper decided he had enough and decided to start a support group for those who suffer from the same illness he has. He is turning the insults and negativity around to make others and himself feel alive again.
While many of us can't remember the Golden Rule and will continue to poke fun at those who aren't exactly like us, at least Szyper, and others as resilient as he, can come back with another valid response we also learned when we were young: I'm rubber, you're glue. What bounces off of me sticks to you.
Reach the reporter at spmag@asu.edu.
