Surviving or thriving inside a suppressive country?

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For those on the spectrum living or lived in countries like East-Germany, USSR, China, Burma, Iran etc.. What coping strategies became successful when the natural inclination is towards truth and especially being outside "the norm" nor any interest in propaganda, be it political or religious?
Or did it result in a implicit genocide?

While I can't say much about Burma, I think the USSR and Iran might have been easier countries for those with AS to function in on some levels, than free world countries. In the USSR you were given a place in society, and you were often given extended "family" as well, due to communal living environments.

Persians are incredibly hospitable people and tend to be a tight knit bunch. They tend to congregate in groups. Even the shyest individuals seem to find themselves with social connections.

Not that I'd ever want to live in those kinds of countries but I've often wondered in the way Chronos put it. I think in our society especially in the US, we're pressured to be extroverted and to have successful careers and be extremely self reliant....which isn't easy for all of us on the spectrum. I have a pen pal from Egypt who says most of the people take care of each other especially the women. I'm not sure what he meant by women but that was the way he put it. I would also love to know how one with AS would cope in some of these countries. I'll say one thing, I would hate to be arrested or put on trial just for expressing my thoughts and feelings about my country or a religious/political establishments and lack of rights. I've even gotten in trouble by my fellow "comrades" over this stuff.

We Muslims are tight as hell.

Even the people who hate each other take care and respect one another.

I find it extremely difficult to live in India.
THere is total lack of mental health facilities
Superstition and blind faith take predominance here with people resorting to all types of
alternative healing techniques but ultimately getting no where.
Most of the families are close knit but my family is having bipolar disorder and they are least bothered about me
they dont even know they are bipolar or borderline. My mom is a narcissistic personality and she is not aware she is having this mental disorder
The person who has to live with such people has to strive real hard to adjust its a nightmare on all perspective.
There are so many different languages here with different culture in all the 27 states its a total rat race and people from northern india are totally different to those from southern india i cant get along with anyone from anywhere here.
Woman are supposed to bring in good amount of dowry, good amount of salary but i am unable to earn much and my mother in law is unhappy with the little money i make.
my relatives taunt me because though i am qualified i dont hold a good job
i dont have lot of kids either just a single kid because i cant cope up with bringing up a child
Overall i am not a idle indian daughter in law, neither a mother, neither a good enough wife who can socialise well with others, neither good enough neighbour nor a good daughter to my narcissistic mother..........
i am sick living in this country with 1000rules and regulations.

@namaste, What work are you qualified for?, university/college degree?
Emigrate?, or move to a place like Bangalore? lot's of work in IT with salary to go with it supposedly. And a more free social environment.

i am graduate i told my hubby several times that we should move to bangalore the city is good and its not having competitive people
but he isnt a risk taker very dumb kind of guy

In the IT field there ought to be more competition in Bangalore. Or how do you mean?
Any obstacle to just move regardless weather he joins or not?

i am too dumb to leave alone in any place
then i am not in IT field i just teach part time in a NGO...a low paying job
people usually dont hire me:(

i live in china. i didn't grow up here, though. i'm from the US. so maybe my reply is not sought for here? apologies if so.

i've lived here for about two years. the experience thus far has confirmed my suspicions and defied my expectations simultaneously. it has confirmed my suspicion that the chinese are a pretty socially conservative bunch. true, true, true. they're terrified of something as relatively harmless as marijuana and yet alcohol is pretty universally accepted, even to the point that the sales of alcohol to minor laws are very rarely if ever enforced. quite possible and common for high schoolers and even sometimes middle school students to begin drinking. but not that devil weed. oh, no. smoking marijuana apparently is a motivator for you to take your clothes off and join in some crazed orgy (i wish i were making this urban myth up. i'm not. i've heard it repeatedly.) not saying EVERYONE in china buys this, i've met people who smoke. but it's rare, at least to my knowledge. and if you argue against it, people do get very upset. so i've learned not to. btw, i don't smoke, but i don't really see the point of demonizing pot. just don't see it. it's a halfassed theory of mine that it goes back to the western a**holes that tried to break china with opium. so in a way, you can't exactly blame the chinese for being wary.

and then, there's getting married and having kids. EVERYBODY does this, whether they want to or not, and you'd better do it at a certain age, or everyone will talk s**t about you. again, safer not to argue against it.

and then the fashion. people generally do not vary much from whatever is the current fashion. so i get advised pretty often about that. not that i wear anything that crazy. just dark, loose fitting clothes. sort of like my personality. subdued, low key, easygoing, and maybe a bit on the dark side. but definitely not stylish, anyway.

so yeah. conservative bunch. before you go thinking that i'm totally bigoted and embittered against this country and its culture, i'd just like to say i'm not, really. i like this place and its people in general, but i cannot romanticize or idealize it. everybody has things i like and dislike about them.

as for the defiance of my expectations, well, i'm ashamed to admit it, but i had thought that the chinese would be much more politically lockstep than they really are. actually, it's been my finding that they routinely denounce the government for being ineffectual and corrupt. you can't print or publish anything like that of course, but it's not like nazi germany where even your drinking buddies around the bar will go report you for talking some s**t while you were in your cups. people generally as far as conversation goes, can and do say whatever they like. the west (and this includes me, i denounce myself as well) thinks it knows everything about china's political problems. we don't know the half. these people are more aware and critical of their surroundings than they are given credit for. way more. and we are dumb to think otherwise. we also don't realize how incredibly hard it is to speak out here. the government doesn't just go after you, they go after your whole damn family whenever you publish something. it's a choice i know i personally wouldn't be prepared to make. i don't think it would be right, and i don't blame them at all for keeping quiet.

anyway, in the long and short of it, i think any place has its own set of taboos and things you don't question. the US as much as china. true, on the public, official level, things are kept hush hush. but really, on the personal level, i don't see it as being like that much more conformist than the states, if at all. just different lists of things to conform to. i could go on about the US myth of pulling oneself up by the bootstraps and all the bull that goes in that, and how people will shut you up and glare you down if you question that, but maybe that's for another time and another post.

I were mostly thinking on the situation where an AS child would point out the truth that officials don't want. And getting reported by teachers, neighbors, parents to friends etc.. that would end up in trouble for speaking out at a young age.

I do find the report from China very interesting however!
What's good in China?

yeah, i'm realizing the irrelevance of my reply now. is this the classic insensitivity to actual topic and actual interest level of audience AS trait manifesting itself before thine eyes? probably. sorry.

china's cool, man. i just rant too much. and i took up your post. maybe someone more knowledgeable will actually respond, outside of the nice people above me. my fault. didn't mean to hijack.

@DeadOperaStar, It's slightly beside the topic, but I still found your post very interesting.

(now hierarchical discussion trees like on Usenet has less of these problems.. )