Midnight in Chicago, an experience in dissention

Today I want to share with you another example of how dissention in the autism community can hurt us. To do this I am going to share an unfortunate event with an “organization” that claims to collect donations for autism. They also claim to provide deluxe free services to autism families. That’s all fine and good and they do have some pod casts and other resources. But for however good they may be, the tarnished themselves by attacking someone they should have been helping, and more.

This group has recently taken up arms and posted blogs about the dangers of scams to autistic individuals and families. The haven’t stopped there however, deciding to become the vigilante advocates, protecting us from scams where ever they “think” they are. They do this through what they call “due diligence” but it translates to little more than glorified harassment.

Who are they? They call themselves Midnight in Chicago and you can find them at http://www.midnightinchicago.com. Be sure to check out their Wordpress blogs on scams and how you can practice due diligence before you donate to absolutely anyone. Oh, but not them, don’t use due diligence on them. I did on their face book pages and they immediately blocked me.

I came in contact with them as they performed their due diligence on the family of Zakh Price. If you’ve followed my blogs you’ll see his story, but he’s also found here: http://zakhs.blogspot.com/. I submit that it’s one thing to make sure that there’s a real purpose and real people behind donation issues, but they attacked on in depth personal finances dating months before the incident at Zakh’s school. Anything that Zakh’s Grandmother attempted to explain was only met with more accusations and questions.

When I finally approached them, and asked them to identify their own organization that I found to ask for donations, well, here’s my last email to Elyse Bruce, co owner of MIC:

Ms. Bruce
I am speaking to you as a represenative of your "organization" Midnight in Chicago (meaning that YOU are the representative). In doing so, I will reference the words in your partner Thomas' recent blog about due diligence when dealing with people who ask for your money. As you may remember, I questioned you much in the same return like the way you did the family of Zakh Price while accusing them outright of being frauds. You refused to answer me and then both of you blocked me. I intend to share that with a lot of people.

I already told you that I found your bulldogging tactics against the family to be distasteful as supposed advocates (that you've done a lot to paint yourselves as). This is a proven autistic family regardless of what their past lives have been like. They have enough on their plates without people acting like reckless internet vigilantes on a smearing campaign. I'm sorry, but that's exactly what you've done. I've been collecting information on your postings and I intend to put them all in one convenient place.

You may put up a good blog on supporting autistics, but when you attack a family in your overbearing "due diligence" you smear yourself and ruin everything you ever said. If you really want to be an advocate, you would treat all autistics families fairly.

As it is, there is a big difference (as I tried to explain to Mr. Taylor) between your "due diligence" and badgering regardless of answers. You went way too far. It would be appropriate to make sure that people are who they say they are. That a court case is real and that funds will be used as requested. You went too far. You went way past that and you both became completely inappropriate. For example; where she took a vacation MONTHS before anything happened is just not relevant and is personal. So she bought a car, that usually requires a loan (lots of people buy cars by the way, that's not evidence of mishandling). You attacked her as if she's supposed to be a financial genius who never makes a money mistake in her entire life. Like I said, you went too far.

What's worse, I'm hearing that you may have even had part in trying to circulate information about another child of the Price family. A DECEASED CHILD. If that's true, that's so low that I can't even think of an adjective for it. I will say this, you better hope, no PRAY, that I never find the slightest whiff of evidence on this matter that you are still on such a smearing vendetta against a family you should be helping. Because I'm looking, and if I find the evidence, I will post it and I will make you known.

I understand you are claiming them to be dysfunctional? Well, here's a little food for thought: Do you think, if they had the slightest in appropriate support and assistance in their lives, that such a word would still fit? Who are you to judge a family over a thousand miles away in such a light anyway?

You ask for donations on your website, I've been there. I've asked who you give to and I've even contacted some that are listed to see if they think I should donate to you. Especially since you stonewalled me for questions far less invading than your own of the Price family. That makes you a hypocrite.

Yes, I became harsh, but even with very basic straightforward questions, that they themselves claim I should use. I get no answers. From what I found on their site, they accept “donations” for “autism” through the work of various artists. They go further to say that only half of what they collect goes to those autism organizations. The rest get’s split with the artists. It’s impossible to see how much of anything goes anywhere on their site.

But I digress, the example here is that we cannot afford dissention and people making claims against each other like this. We have far bigger battles to be won for the future of our children and to combat stigma. Things like this hurt us all. MIC, hurt the drive for an autistic child, tarnished themselves, and created stigma that splashes back on us all.