MoonlitSunshine

He's not trying to hurt you, s_k, that's a lot of what he's saying. I know a lot of... socially challenged people - I'm studying maths, so we tend to get a fairly high proportion of that end of the spectrum. While we make concessions for the fact that something that comes easily to some of us is a lot more difficult for others, we don't pussyfoot around them - we still tell them when they've done something stupid or unacceptable, because you can't learn if noone tells you. It's not that we don't like them, or anything like that, it's because if we didn't tell them that they were doing something wrong and just said "oh, he has asbergers, it's not his fault" then the guy would be being screwed over by us a lot more than if we told him. We know that he often can't help it, but we'll still say it, on the off chance that he can not do it, but doesn't realise that he's doing it. Does that make sense?

Where I think part of the problems are arising is that from a non-autist perspective, some of the things you have to do, or say, are inexplicable to us. So there are times when you'll say "Hey, I can't help it" and that's cool, I can totally understand (well, I can accept that it's the case, saying I understand is assuming) that. But other times, you'll take a stance on something that doesn't make sense, and you won't say "I can't help it" and then we can only assume it's not anything to do with Autism, it's just a particular view you have. In that case, I don't see why people should hold back any criticism, because to do otherwise would be discriminating against you, because we aren't affording you the same... err, input... as we do everyone else.

So basically, it boils down to this: I, and probably others, like you, in general. You do some weird stuff sometimes, but hey, who doesn't, and you have a better excuse than most of us :P However, I don't know exactly what Autism entails, and I probably never will, because I know I've looked it up before, and it's damn hard to remember all of the consequences. So we either have a choice of treating you like we treat everyone else, or pussyfooting around everything you say or do that we disagree with, and I'm sorry, but I refuse to do the second, as I think that that amounts to greater discrimination than the first.

So if I'm ever having an argument with you about something, or I point something out that you can't help, feel free to tell me you can't help it, and I'll do my best to understand, but bear in mind that just like we need to remember that you don't think the same way as us, you need to remember that we don't necessarily think the same way as you either, and that what might come across as a barbed insult may just be an honest question or piece of advice.

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