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Autism and you
2 years ago
I've remarked on this before but this fandom has gotten way less tolerant in recent years and it is very aggravating. I thought I would rant a little on the topic.
Autism is a mental condition that makes it difficult to connect and interact with people. It also manifests as a hyper fixation on very specific topics. In my case it's pretty obvious that I'm head over heels (all 3 of them) with multilimb and mulifurry content. There's way more detail to autism than that, but this difficulty is what most people see. Autistic people can seem brash and abrasive. That is, if they even dare to speak at all. Often they don't even try because of how poorly they get treated and that is a terrible tragedy. This makes it even harder for them to learn appropriate social skills.
I often hear, "Autism is not an excuse to be an asshole" and this is the worst possible kind of ableism. In this hypersensitive environment people are itching for excuses to see the worst in others and if one is looking for it, they will find it. It is very easy to misconstrue a statement and blow it out of proportion. Autistic people have difficulty understanding why something might upset another. They're not trying to be an asshole. It's simply a genuine difficulty to express empathy. When others don't even attempting to convey why something may be offensive and skip straight to a block or ban that is perpetuating that ableism. It also can be triggering as autistic people are used to being pushed to the fringes of social groups. And if these people react poorly to the ban/block (as I most certainly have), well that's because the trauma of a lifetime of this kind of mistreatment can be very frustrating.
This kind of treatment leads to a lot of autistic people being very, very quiet and reluctant to interact all precisely because of how they often they get mistreated and how often they see others mistreated. So when you do see someone that is autistic get mistreated, try to be more understanding and speak up for them. Don't remain silent. Stand up. Being an ally depends on it.
Autism is a mental condition that makes it difficult to connect and interact with people. It also manifests as a hyper fixation on very specific topics. In my case it's pretty obvious that I'm head over heels (all 3 of them) with multilimb and mulifurry content. There's way more detail to autism than that, but this difficulty is what most people see. Autistic people can seem brash and abrasive. That is, if they even dare to speak at all. Often they don't even try because of how poorly they get treated and that is a terrible tragedy. This makes it even harder for them to learn appropriate social skills.
I often hear, "Autism is not an excuse to be an asshole" and this is the worst possible kind of ableism. In this hypersensitive environment people are itching for excuses to see the worst in others and if one is looking for it, they will find it. It is very easy to misconstrue a statement and blow it out of proportion. Autistic people have difficulty understanding why something might upset another. They're not trying to be an asshole. It's simply a genuine difficulty to express empathy. When others don't even attempting to convey why something may be offensive and skip straight to a block or ban that is perpetuating that ableism. It also can be triggering as autistic people are used to being pushed to the fringes of social groups. And if these people react poorly to the ban/block (as I most certainly have), well that's because the trauma of a lifetime of this kind of mistreatment can be very frustrating.
This kind of treatment leads to a lot of autistic people being very, very quiet and reluctant to interact all precisely because of how they often they get mistreated and how often they see others mistreated. So when you do see someone that is autistic get mistreated, try to be more understanding and speak up for them. Don't remain silent. Stand up. Being an ally depends on it.
We are responsible for other people's actions. The self-styled morality police that have been attacking me certainly think they're responsible and need to control me. Likewise they need to be controlled because they are unironically radicalizing people with their authoritarianism.
Still, thanks for sharing! It's nice to be able to discuss this when it pops up.