How Did Some Americans Become So Stupid?

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Let me explain. People on the spectrum, especially those with poor Theory of Mind, have difficulty with communication because they either overestimate or underestimate how familiar the person with whom they are communicating is with the context of their remarks. OTOH they generally say what they mean, even if their audience misinterprets that, but nevertheless they are sincere. Granted there are some who may have malicious intent and certainly some of those have shown up on this site, however let's assume those are very much in the minority. So it's reasonable to take what a person on an autism forum says at face value. If you don't understand what they said, or it comes across as an intentionally snide remark, then I think the proper thing to do is ask what they meant and maybe explain why you reacted as you did.

NTs, on the other hand, tend to "read between the lines" and deduce what the commenter meant by what they said, which isn't necessarily what the person actually said. So lately some people have take things I've said and reacted to them in terms of what they assume I was trying to infer, imply, insinuate, whatever whereas I never said what they insist I was saying. To me, this makes the site feel less safe as a space where I can speak freely. In addition, although I don't think this applies to me necessarily, autistics, especially straight men, often come across as "creepy" or "weird" by simply being themselves. Again, some may be actual creeps or "weirdos" (whatever that means) but I think we can assume that most aren't. So within reason, those people should have the freedom to be themselves on this site, unless they've given good cause (by deed as well as by word) that they deserve to be disciplined or banned.

And yes some have left, including a couple of women who had been participants for quite some time.

The school system isn’t perfect, but it’s not that bad.

^ Not true.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-c ... he%20NSCRC.

I’m just seeing a lot of generalizations, exaggerations, and misinformation in this thread.

They were probably banned. Several, including a couple of women, were banned recently.

You could express your concerns to a mod if you think specific members have been driven off or that people are breaking the rules in some way.

^

and those women requested to be banned, so I hope no one will be casting shade on other members for causing it.

I wouldn't know who those are (the women) except I am aware that one was self-banned which really isn't the same thing.

Certain members did not like receiving pushback for homophobic/transphobic remarks even though they may claim victimhood.

It is the same thing if they spread misinformation about WP and our members, or become belligerent to admin afterward.

That leads to being permabanned, which lo and behold it did.

Then why are you blaming current members when you aren’t fully aware of the situation?

or racism ^
or the site rules in general

^ Good point.

I don’t know what you’re talking about here.

Obviously, the vast majority of people here aren’t “creeps” or “weirdos.” It’s possible that there are some I’m unaware of. People don’t need a diagnosis to use this forum and people on the spectrum aren’t always good, either. In any case, the only people I’ve referenced in those terms were groomers/perverts. If people are using those words towards current or named, previous members, they need to be reported because it’s against the rules.

Let’s get back on topic.

^

Maybe he’s referring to lostonearth35, a long time member who quit because of misogyny. Maybe it’s about Flea who temp quit because of rampant transphobia, or Babybird who’s on another break because of trauma from abuse.

One person blamed me for causing the only problems on WP since they joined over ten years ago (lol) — because apparently I write pornography on the site while also being a prude.

Was it them or did you miss that by not staying up overnight?

If I write about sex it’s usually in response to your questions Max, so maybe you’re a pornographer and you ruined the site too. (Jokes)

I still can’t think of anyone else who was driven away against their will.

If people have concerns, they should probably talk to a mod about it rather than derail threads and make accusations and/or personal attacks. There’s a good chance that they don’t know the full story or have only heard one side of it.

I’m still here.
Many more good people on this site than bad.

I couldn’t agree more.

Well... I had no idea what a "chat GPT" is ...until I heard Chris Christie accuse whathisname of "sounding like" one, and had to look it up on Wiki. Still dont quite get it. I think that its one more scary AI thing...an app that generates robotic conversation.

Were all "ignorant about SOME thing" as Will Rogers said. Which kinda goes to the theme of this thread.