Catch-22

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We have to wonder who ever came up with the life-denying idea that being normal in and of itself was a good thing. What if "normal" became something horrible like blood sacrificing racist baby eaters or suicidal nuclear war enthusiasts. Someone needs to stay weird in order for everyone else not to get so far off track.

>>>>>I want to be treated like "normal" but I can't because I have these AS tendencies that hinder my allusion of normality. Thus people act very awkward around me like they know something's different about me, but they don't know what. So if I told them I have AS they would treat me like any other NT would, like a a person with a mental disability. Thus the biggest catch-22 ever. I want to be treated like a normal person but it's impossible.

OK, tell the truth..... You've been watching "night of the comet", haven't you? It is a movie about a comet that turns EVERYONE into zombies that eventually become DUST. A few kids end up surviving because they spent the night in steel shelters. The movie ends with EVERY person gone except for 3 females and 3 males, as I recall. The FUNNIEST part though is how the oldest female really hates the fact that this guy keeps beating her at this video game. The high score keeps getting changed! In the end, apprently her SISTER ends up going out with him! Anyway, that is one of the times normal wasn't a good thing.

I think this post has pointed out something I'm thinking about at the moment, so I thought I would come over and post as well.
Im currently starting the process to official diagnosis, and so this is the time when deciding to tell people about AS or not is coming up. I've told three people about it, and one of them has suggested I tell two other people as well.
I don't like the idea of telling people and have them judge me for it and treat me differently. However, the people that I have told have known me for a long time, so it's not like they don't know I'm weird anyway. So far it doesn't seem to have made a difference.

I think it all depends on your relationship to the people, and to a degree their life experiences, intelligence, outlook on life etc. Sure, there are a lot of pig-ignorant people out there who'll treat you like an incapable child if you tell them, but there are plenty also who'll be interested in the syndrome, how it affects you and will be more willing to make accommodations for you if you tell them. The hard part is figuring out who is who.
I'd venture to say that those people that you find you're getting to know reasonably well and already tolerate your awkwardness are probably of the sort who'll be interested to know why you're so awkward. I'm in the process of trying to figure out how many people I want to tell - my wife is firmly of the opinion that if those with AS want to be accepted by NTs, they actually need to be more open about their condition. The reason is, a lot of the social difficulties, especially inappropriate comments, looks etc. can simply make you look like a bit of an ass. And there are plenty of NT asses out there, probably more than there are folks with AS - if people don't know, they will often react badly to you because their perception of you is that you're just not a nice person. Give them an explanation, and they'll be more tolerant towards you. I'm not sure I'd want to be that open with many people, certainly not folks I'd only just met, but I'm starting to conclude that there's probably little damage to admitting I have the syndrome to most of the people I have regular contact with outside of work. (Work's a different question - I'm totally unsure of how that admission would affect things there, so I figure better safe than sorry. These aren't people I'd want to socialise with normally, so my read on how they'd react is that much worse.)

I'm trying to figure out what my AS "elevator speech" would sound like. Basically, try to come up with a 30 second or so explanation of what AS is, so I can very quickly cover the basics to anyone I decide to tell.

i never understood why people said catch 22. i always think of guns whenever someone sais it

Well, when they use it to mean "a no-win situation" it's an allusion to the novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. As far as I can tell, Heller settled on 22 because other numbers that would be more significant were taken (e.g. Mila 18, Stalag 17, Ocean's Eleven) , but the official explanation is that it's the number 11 which has mystical significance, multiplied by the number 2 to represent déjà vu. "Catch" is in the sense of "What's the catch?" or "There must be a catch."

In the book, "Catch-22" is the rule that says that if pilots are crazy, they're not allowed to fly; but not flying is sane, therefore a pilot who doesn't fly is sane; therefore he has to fly; but if he flies, then he's crazy and therefore not allowed to fly ...

Or in other words, it means absolutely nothing at all by itself, it only means something because the author of a novel decided to call it that and everyone else adopted his usage.

HUH... I'm going to have to check that out. I thought the rule was that if a person was insane that they could leave. They wouldn't be fit for duty. They could never pursue such a diagnosis though, because that would be proof of sanity.

Remember max klinger in Mash? HE couldn't get out because everyone knew he was sane. One day, a person relieved him and he acted sane! He acted like he LOVED being in the army. He shot down some planes, and pilots, but there was one problem! NOBODY saw the pilots/planes, but the AMMO was REAL! HE ended up getting kicked out. Once out, he made the planes and pilots REAL, AS TOYS! He wasn't insane at all!

OH YEAH, Don't forget stalag 13! They took stalag 17, dumbed down the nazis, renumbered the stalag, and hogans heros was born!

I LOVE the book Catch-22! I would recommend it to anyone!

In a world run by "normal" people it's necessary to conform to some standards to stay alive and compete economically. But aside from the basic necessities I see no reason to follow the crowd on most personal issues. I find sports boring and dislike large gatherings of people. I have plenty to do by myself and enjoy being alone.

[b]I see no option to delete this post which is repeated. I apologize for its appearance)

Last edited by Sand on 30 Oct 2007, 11:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

In a world run by "normal" people it's necessary to conform to some standards to stay alive and compete economically. But aside from the basic necessities I see no reason to follow the crowd on most personal issues. I find sports boring and dislike large gatherings of people. I have plenty to do by myself and enjoy being alone. Most people have little or no idea what AS is all about and probably don't care.

I haven't been officially diagnosed yet, and I'm putting it off purposely. It would be too much. Right now, I could just try and deny that theres anything wrong with me and I might be able to convince myself to ignore my disabilities. But I can feel the truth right around the corner and like a coward I say to myself.. "Ignorance is bliss..."



I understand what you're saying, and you're right. People would probably be more receptive to me if they knew the reason why I act so weird. But still, it's bloody scary to think about coming out and telling even close friends and especially family that the guy they've known all these years, the guy they've all come to love is... kinda ret*d. *sigh*

Thanks for the advice mmaestro.

Whenever you figure that out, let me know. I'd love to hear it!