Vale Tim!

Today, the autistic community lost an elder. An elder that many of our community didn’t really know existed. An elder who achieved the greatness that autistics are never meant to aspire to according to many, nevertheless this autistic elder did indeed achieve greatness.

Of course, if we were to take the word of much of the narrative in the public sphere then we would likely believe autistic folk will never achieve independence, we naught but a burden upon our families and in many cases should be institutionalised.

It’s quite common when a tragic mass shooting or a person is murdered in the street that the perpetrator is characterised as autistic and that that was inherently the reason for the crime. Of course, this is not true at all.

There are many autistic people existing in the world achieving many great things. We are successful in many realms including academia, industry, the corporate world and of course the arts.

The elder we lost today was successful in the world of politics. He rose to such a level that he was in fact the deputy leader of a nation.

I refer of course to the former deputy Prime Minister of Australia and leader of The National Party Tim Fischer.

I’ll never shy away from the fact that I personally am somewhat of a leftist leaning progressive when it comes to politics, well when it comes to life really. I am sure it would have been a very rare occasion indeed when Tim would have been described in this way, and I dare to suggest that he would never have accepted such a description.

Regardless of our political differences, Tim was always a man I admired. He always came across as a man of integrity, honesty and one who would stand on his principles rather than his talking points.

My first memories of Tim are from back when he was the deputy PM, it was 1996 and the Howard Government was new and fresh and in some respects, many of us were struggling to believe Howard had achieved his famed Lazarus with a triple bypass move and formed a government and was leading the nation. My recollections of Tim then, I must confess, were of this somewhat comical farmer turned politician who would always wear his hat; though unlike a future leader of the National Party the hat suited Tim well.

This was the year a horrible tragedy struck Australia. It was the moment we faced what was then the worst mass shooting in history, that day when a man went on a rampage with a gun through the former penal prison at Port Arthur in Australia. A day that scared us all. I recall that day as existing in a kind of daze of disbelief. How could this happen, here, in Australia?

I suppose in reality I really was just a protected white middle class Australian existing within a veil of mediocrity and false beliefs about the glory of Australia the lucky country.

In the days and weeks afterwards the political response was to enact gun laws, and Tim Fischer was instrumental in garnering support for these reforms, especially from those of his own party, the National Party, which represented mostly regional areas.

Tim, the autistic man, who had risen to the level of the deputy leader of a country, was instrumental in ensuring that gun reform happened in this country. Incidentally, these reforms have stood the test of time. These laws are envied around the world and never again has such a tragic event occurred in this country.

To my own chagrin, I give credit to the Howard Government for these reforms an especially hold up Tim as a key reason they were possible.

Years later I would get to meet Tim. I got to meet him in a social setting at his home on his farm in regional Australia. I felt honoured to do so, as even though we are far apart politically I respected him greatly.

The meeting was not what I expected. It was relaxing, fun, friendly and joyous. We shared some wine, a meal, some social chatter, where Tim’s son joyfully extolled the virtues of the Labor Party. We sat in stereotypical fashion on the back verandah sharing a drink and watching the sunset over Australian farmland. It was a wonderful experience.

What, for me made it especially so, was not that I was getting to meet a former deputy Prime Minister for whom I had much respect, as surreal as that was in itself, but that there I was meeting this man as a trans woman in the very early days of her transition.

As you might imagine there were layers of emotions going on for me. Not least of which was the sense of wondering how it was going to be meeting a conservative former politician in this stage of transition and how that would go down. I was I’ll admit full of trepidation, however, the reality was that Tim, welcomed me into his home, addressed me with the correct pronouns and name and made me feel included and respected, well he made me feel human.

In the years since I have had the joy of meeting again with Tim on a number of occasions and the acceptance and inclusion with which he treated me never faltered. We enjoyed chats about politics, Australian War history and of course his great love of trains.

Another event I read about since that time concerning Tim, was the time when he put himself in harm’s way and entered a property with an armed person threatening to shoot people. I should not have been remotely surprised by this, as Tim has shown himself over and again as a man who cares about his fellow human persons. Whether it was in the realm of politics or farming or war history or advocating for his autistic son what you got in Tim was a man who knew for what he stood and stood for it tenaciously.

Today we have lost an autistic elder of significance who in his own way changed the world. Thank you Tm for all you have done, and thank you especially for the love and care for your family who I know will be grieving you immensely.

Vale Tim Fischer. Autistic. Politician. Leader. Changemaker.

Originally published at A Transtistic Life.