Where did Wrong Planet lose its autism?

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I was diagnosed when I was 11. I'm sick to death of hearing others' experiences. I'm not remotely interested in reading about females specifically diagnosed with AS either. Been there, done that, over and over.

..But I realise most here probably wouldn't agree with me. Each to their own as they say.

Ever the optimist, Kraftie!

BirdinFlight is right to say that the current political climate in the USA and Europe is very much on people's minds, which might be why there's not so much autism discussion. But if you consider the nature of politics at the moment, it's not surprising that WP members are preoccupied with what's happening. The far right and extremists of all kinds are in the ascendant, and historically they have always been hostile to minority groups, whether these are people with disabilities, or those of a different race, ethnicity, religion, culture, sexual or gender orientation. Far-right hatred is always directed at those who are Other.

Donald Trump mocks those with disabilities and talks about building a wall, but several European countries have already erected walls to stem the arrival of refugees from Syria; France has banned Muslim women from wearing 'burkinis' (full-body swimsuits) on the beach; while in the UK, the Conservative government has made deep cuts to social security support for the disabled, as well as the mental health budget. Everywhere you look there is hatred, intolerance and violence of a kind not seen since the 1930s.

Personally I find it oppressive, and I imagine a lot of other people here do too.

On a gaming forum I'm on, a bunch of arguing will break out in one or two threads once in a while.

So there are people who will then say the forum is being ruined by all the arging in every single thread every day.

It seems like for some on forums, 20% ends up as 100%.

tbh, some of the threads I Was like , to. Especially this one. Also some are just not in the appropriate sections and they haven't been moved yet.

I for one am extremely sick of hearing almost nothing positive every time anyone mentions autism and that we're all a bunch of failures and how society hates us and wants us all dead. So I go to other forums to focus mostly on less depressing subjects like making video game references or telling jokes.

But, but, but.... There are an abundance of topics about SJWs, BLM, Trump, Hillary, TRUMP!, HILLARY! and what it is like to hate SJWs, BLM, Trump and Hillary ... online generally and at WrongPlanet.net. Doesn't that fact satisfy even the most (or least) socially aware autist? Shouldn't we quit being so autistically privileged?

Or, maybe I am misreading the tea leaves. It is, of course, difficult to read trollish tea leaves.

Then again, maybe the novelty of autism has worn off among the denizens of the online world. Too bad for those who are only now learning about their autism. But, hey ... TRUMP! HILLARY!! And, even a guy who gets laughs saying ****!

Sorry for the sarcasm, but I do agree completely.

I think that there are a lot of discussions on autism. But I like that Wrong Planet has discussions about things unrelated to autism. While autism may be of great interest to people newly diagnosed, a lot of autistic people are certainly more interested in discussing non-autism things on the site.

We still cant decipher what you are complaining about.

It IS an election year. And the election may even have some implications for autistics as autistics.

Even in nonelection years there has always been buckets of vitriol flung around by members over subjects not directly related to autism here on WP. Indeed some of the more high profile vitriol throwers have actually left the site, and caused things to come down recently. If anything things were more partisan in past years, and not less so.

I think you're expressing nostalgia for a past golden age on Wrongplanet that never existed.

Indeed. And, I wouldn't have it any other way, Alex. But, there is a dark side to the various "other" topics discussed insofar as opinions are expected by too many at WrongPlanet.net to conform to certain social parameters. These expectations make it difficult, at best, to have a civil discussion about ideas that others consider offensive to their world views. Even when challenged by the more emboldened Wrong Planetians, topics become mired in games of tit-for-tat and repeating the latest tired tropes. This all has the effect of dragging down the cohesive nature of an online autistic community regardless of how lawful and legal it might be.

My titling of this topic was intentional. During the two years or more that I have been a Wrong Planetian, I have witnessed a distinct retreat from a primary focus on autism and individual life stories. What has filled the vaccuum isn't nearly as supportive or informative. Too bad.

Am I asking for you or the moderators to prohibit such discussions? No. My creation of this topic wasn't to encourage additional enforcement of existing policies. It was to nudge those who appear to me to thrive on their Oppositional Defiant Disorder to relax, make their comments more inviting, and welcome friendly ways to "disagree without being disagreeable."

But, as long as I have your attention on the matter, is returning the focus of Wrong Planet to its core goals related to autism something that could be influenced from its decision makers? I believe it can and should. In my own experience and private-message discussion with others, I believe that many Wrong Planetians feel as I do. A free-for-all style of communication whereby a relative handful of members are able to behave in much the same way toward others as the professional and social bullies do already creates an environment to drive away those who feel that they have no recourse apart from behaving just as disagreeably.

Just a thought, Alex.

AspieUtah, I enjoy reading your posts. They are well written and make sense to me.

There are many here who take pleasure in hurting others. As though, their self-esteem requires a constant reinforcement from delivering snide remarks that proves their intelligence.

I find this behavior to be boring and self-destructive. Improving the underlying atmosphere of anger, contempt and intolerance is a lofty goal.

Keep up the good work

Thank you.

Sorry, but at the end of the day autism is a disorder. Wrong Planet is varied in its discussions most of the time, that's why I keep coming here. Forums speaking endlessly about just autism, are boring and they often go stale.

Why smother the variety? Variety and freedom of speech, and well, hearing of others' opinions makes life far more interesting.

I don't want to see story after story of people and how they've learned to "cope" with their disorder. I'm not denying that we all have to cope, it's just depressing to talk about all the time. Our lives are far more than just autism, it doesn't define us just by itself. We're individuals. We have interests.

^
Yes Smudge, I agree completely. WP should be able to accommodate discussions and opinions of all kinds, as long as these are expressed in a reasonable way. I think the point that AspieUtah was making is that the site isn't as supportive as it has perhaps been in the past. Over the past few months there has been quite a lot of nastiness, and even if it is confined to certain forums (PPR usually being the main culprit), it inevitably spills over into the rest of the discussions. People's sensibilities vary, but I would guess that many members are highly sensitive, so a combative atmosphere isn't exactly conducive to making people feel welcome and expressing their views.

It's good that this subject is getting an airing.

Autistic people have various difficulties discussing their interests IRL but still have a need to do so. Wrong Planet the only place for them to do it sometimes.

I do not think there is any less autism discussion but as noted above and in countless other threads the tone of the discussions and overall view of Autism is much more negative then in the past. There have been a few necrobumped threads from 2010 recently. Reading the posts from then it was hard for me to comprehend that I was reading posts from the same forum.

Ah, I think I get you now.

In my case, I have a mother who is completely obsessed with autism and what a tragedy it is, and attacking conservatives in a war on Twitter constantly about the disabled and vulnerable. It is a massive obsession of hers, and she's focused solely on it.

I'm sure if she looked on the forums for AS partners she would be agreeing with them all and leading them all into battle.

So...yeh. It will have to be someone aside from me who tries to put discussions of autism in a more positive light, cos I might be a bit biased. Sorry.