kiki3 wrote:
Whenever there's a tragedy, people publicly weep and moan about how sorry they are for everyone involved. When I watch their public displays of sadness over human sufferings, I can't help but think that most of them are the same people who wouldn't befriend one of us if their own lives depended on it. How are we supposed to believe that they have so much empathy for others when they laugh, roll their eyes, or completely ignore people in everyday life who are different??? There's more suffering going on in this world than that which is associated with natural disasters, terrorists, etc.
I think when someone who is NT shows sadness over human suffering such as death or abuse, it is something they can understand. They may have known or had someone close to them that has died, so they can relate to that. They know that crying or feeling emotional is a natural reaction to someone suffering in this regard.
When it comes to an NT understanding someone with AS, I believe they don't know what to think. They see someone with AS and that person looks normal to them. There isn't any outward abnormalties, so they expect that person with AS to be "normal" as defined by society. Not many people know someone or have a loved one who has had to live with and deal with AS, so there is no experience for them there. Having no experience with someone with AS, and meeting someone with AS who looks perfectly normal on the outside, it surprises them when there are huge communication issues or ticks or obsessive interests in certain things. The behavior to them is odd. They don't know what to think or what to say because they don't understand. They aren't educated to understand.
My son has AS, and a boy down the street has AS, too. While my son, who's AS is not as noticeable to some, is allowed in other children's homes to play, the other boy, who's AS is very noticeable, is not. I feel really sad for the other boy, and we do our best to make up for how the other's treat him. He knows this, and I think he really tries his hardest to make their friendship work. I think both boys do.
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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson