The victimization thing
23 Mar 2013, 8:28 pm
I don't think this has ever been well explained in an article etc but I'll give it a go here.
My whole life it felt like any crazy thing could happen to me, I could probably go out without ID and end up deported to Ghana or something. Why? My guess is that it was two things.
1.I didn't realize how what I was doing/wearing looked to others, with this lack of inference it was hard to control perceptions which normal people are doing all the time whether they realize it or not.
2.Those making judgements in power like authorities are mostly relying on intuition about a person, at least with me this would be wildly inaccurate. Or they just couldn't get a read on me, or found me too odd so they never gave me the benefit of the doubt.
Basically I realized I just don't react like people expect, which can make them sure I'm hiding something. I've noticed this with both cops and immigration agents, they pride themselves on reading people but at least me they can't read so they either ignore me or go crazy thinking something must be there.
I can understand fully how an autistic individual could end up victimized by authorities such as police.
23 Mar 2013, 8:46 pm
I know a woman who was victimized by the authorities because of her autism. I do not think your feelings are unfounded. Have you considered carrying some kind of autism awareness card that you could give to someone should you need to?
_________________
Mom to 2 exceptional atypical kids
Long BAP lineage
23 Mar 2013, 9:04 pm
My whole life it felt like any crazy thing could happen to me, I could probably go out without ID and end up deported to Ghana or something. Why? My guess is that it was two things.
1.I didn't realize how what I was doing/wearing looked to others, with this lack of inference it was hard to control perceptions which normal people are doing all the time whether they realize it or not.
2.Those making judgements in power like authorities are mostly relying on intuition about a person, at least with me this would be wildly inaccurate. Or they just couldn't get a read on me, or found me too odd so they never gave me the benefit of the doubt.
Basically I realized I just don't react like people expect, which can make them sure I'm hiding something. I've noticed this with both cops and immigration agents, they pride themselves on reading people but at least me they can't read so they either ignore me or go crazy thinking something must be there.
I can understand fully how an autistic individual could end up victimized by authorities such as police.
You know, I got myself into a situation that involved a cop recently. He acted like he was going to throw the book at me. A lot of times authority figures think I'm lying to them or being purposely evasive or misleading or whatever. I could tell this was how the cop was reacting to the way I was answering his questions and explaining things to him. It gets far worse when I'm worried or scared. So I leveled with him and said, "you have to understand that I have autism, so that's why I'm acting this way". His attitude at that point completely changed for the better. He waved any action against me and we parted on friendly terms. He didn't cut me loose because of the autism, like it was a "get out of jail free" card. But because he knew I was being up front and honest with him.
23 Mar 2013, 9:16 pm
Right, the thing is was that because they knew she was autistic or because they didn't know and got the wrong idea? I just tell people these days in situations like that,"I have autism". A card isn't a bad idea. Kind of carries a little weight. I could probably even get something written by my doctor.
When I was called for jury duty, I didn't want to do it because of my autism and the ADHD that goes along with it. I wouldn't want someone like me sitting in the jury if I was on trial. So I had my doctor write something out for me and I was dismissed. I probably won't ever get summoned again because of it.
23 Mar 2013, 9:18 pm
I really think that a lot of cops are prejudiced towards people with autism.
So the negative reaction you get where they "insist" we are hiding something, can often be covert harassment under the pretext that they are just doing their job.
That sounds cynical, I know.
But if you look at the profile of people who become cops, they probably by and large don't have family members with autism. That fits more into the doctors, engineers, scientists, professors etc who tend to have autistic sons and daughters. So they are largely ignorant of autistic traits and individuals and likely guided by a certain negative bias.
23 Mar 2013, 9:20 pm
Right, the thing is was that because they knew she was autistic or because they didn't know and got the wrong idea?
They didn't know. Her behavior was misunderstood.
_________________
Mom to 2 exceptional atypical kids
Long BAP lineage
