Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby

Post Reply New Topic

Did the thought ever occur to anyone here that the dilemma of communications between NTs and Aspies is somewhat like the story of Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby?

Today all the NTs in my apartment building have been going out of their way to show that each of them is the biggest gorilla in the gorilla patch. Tonight this reminded me of something funny that I saw during my last quarter in college. I usually hung out with several NT, but very cool guys including one very goofy guy from New York City named Phil and another free spirited guy named Leonard. One day we went to a display at a nearby art museum where there was a penny item sale going on (I can't remember the proper word for it right now). Phil bought a toy stuffed monkey that he found on sale there. That night he was talking to this monkey like it was just one more person in our group and trying to teach it how to behave. Phil began to get upset with this monkey when it never did what he asked it to do and when it never did respond to him. Eventually he took the monkey's thumb and stuck it up its a55 and sat it off to the side where it could cause no further problems. Finally he lost his patience with the monkey's silence and started whacking it around. Leonard grabbed one of the monkey's legs in an effort to defend and protect it and once the two of them pulled in opposite directions, that monkey split down the middle sending the feather stuffing everywhere. Then Phil really went overboard, ripping that monkey completely apart and sending a cloud of feathers flying into the air that eventually settled into the shag carpet on the floor. It was the second funniest thing I have ever seen and it all happened because of the silence and non responsiveness of that stuffed monkey.

Still later tonight, the thought of this story brought back memories of how upset Brer Rabbit got when the Tar Baby sat in silence and did not respond to him no matter what he said or did. That Tar Baby sure was Aspie-like in a way and NTs sure don't like it when we do not respond to them. Here is a link to the story:

http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/20 ... _baby.html

No I never thought of this before...you're right it's just like that story.

I have played the Tar Baby to an NT many a time.

That story is the epitome of perseveration if there ever was one. Trying to overcome obstructions usually ends up as a bigger mess for me

Phil has issues.