NT’s View of Autism

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I’m a Technical Manager of an Electronic and Temperature calibration lab. Part of my job is to set up new customers in our system, write procedures, test points and tolerances and train technicians to do the work. All this is done one on one with my customers at their facilities. Recently I was working with a customer who started a conversation with a few other people about gun control. The customer tried pulling me into the conversation. I avoid politics and religion conventions at work. And as much as possible outside of work. So I stayed out of it. Apologizing for not getting involved as it is my companies policy. The customer at this job said, and I quote. “Every one of the shooters involved with school shootings is on the spectrum” I said nothing and kept on with my job. For doing this I feel like crap. I’d like to hear some opinions on this as I don’t know what the right thing to do in that situation is. Call me an spineless a**hole, sell out, I did the right thing or???

Politics is a very sensitive subject & you probably wouldn't of been able to change his mind if you tried. People like that tend to be very closed minded. If you would of somehow said you were on the spectrum, he might of flew off the handle at you. I think you did the rite thing.

In that particular case, I would almost certainly let it ride. As you say, you were acting as a representative of your employer, who naturally has no policy of correcting customer's personal beliefs. Potentially, you could lose your employer a valued customer, or even end up facing disciplinary action for unprofessional behaviour if things get out of hand. It can be frustrating sometimes to know that the person is going away unchallenged, but I don't think it's the time or place to be getting into heated arguments about personal beliefs.

In more general conversation, I play it by ear (of course, I don't always get this right!) As nick007 so rightly said, there are many battles which simply aren't worth fighting, and IMHO it's usually people who make the most crass generalisations who are least likely to have their opinion changed in the slightest.

If I think the person is open-minded enough to be worth arguing with, my usual tactic is "[citation needed]" - before I even make an objection, I throw their claim straight back at them by asking them to justify it with sources/examples and to reason out their argument. Either they won't be able to back themselves up, which will put them on the back foot a little, or they'll supply you with plenty of ammunition for demolishing their position point by point. I think that this is also more likely to convince other parties to the conversation that you know what you're talking about and are arguing in good faith, which is very useful if you do end up needing to be rescued because things get too heated.

One thing I have found which doesn't usually work out well is to play the "well, actually I'm autistic" card. I find that it tends to make people even more defensive (they probably think it's an attempt to embarrass them or shut them up); or worse, the argument will become about the validity of your diagnosis, whether autism even exists, or accusations of being a "snowflake". There's absolutely no point in making yourself the target of someone who you know full well is prejudiced against you, whether you win the rhetorical battle or not!

What a neotard. I'd never be able to keep my feelings to myself if I heard someone utter such garbage.

Neotards have had their tiny brains washed by the media and will never learn that it's mainly people on the spectrum who are most commonly the victims of violence, not the cause of it.

You may as well poke me in the eye with a sharp stick. That would have hurt less.

Some times you can't say anything and shouldn't. The guy's life is probably his punishment. Don't worry about it. I do wish psychopaths' lawyers would stop trying to use Autism as a defence, though. Their clients psychopathy is the problem with shooters.

I think you did the right thing. As Trogluddite pointed out, you were acting as a representative of your employer, and if you had gotten involved, it could have caused consequences for your employer and yourself. You handled it very professionally. You should be proud of your restraint IMO.

edit: I'm surprised an NT used the term "on the spectrum”, as I thought that was a term more used by us. I would have thought an NT would say: “Every one of the shooters involved with school shootings is autistic/ has autism”

I’ve spent so much of my life keeping my head down and my thoughts to myself. It drives me crazy to do it even if for the right reasons.