Envious of other minorities

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Lately, I've been obsessing over the fact that so many minorities have gotten more and more rights and widespread acceptance while autistic rights and acceptance remain low. I'm not saying that other minorities don't face challenges, but I know of many people who preach their tolerance for LGBT rights and other races' rights while completely ignoring autistics, sometimes even hypocritically shunning us. I'm bisexual myself, but I'm not part of the community, nor do I consider it a core part of my identity. I do consider autism a part of my identity, though, which is why the treatment we receive depresses me. I don't think people are even aware of the struggles we go through, and a huge portion of people still don't even know what Asperger's is. How are we going to progress as a group when people don't even know we exist? I've just been very envious of the minorities that at least have a somewhat sizable number of people who champion their causes.

We are where LBGQT rights were in the 70's. We have Autistic rights organizations and some media sympathy but a lot of the public and a lot of the scientific community stiil think we are deviant.

Black civil rights organizations were around 100 years ago, gay ones 60 years ago. Autism rights organization have been around only since the 90's which makes sense as Autism has only been known since the 1940's and less severe autism has only really been known since the 90's.

Pretty much everyone agrees with who is a black and what constitutes bieng a homosexual, lesbien, bisexual etc. is. There is not only no such agreement as to what autism is but fundemental disagreement as to what autism is(natutral variation or crippling disease). This cripples our attempts to present a coherent and consistent message. Other rights movements have gone through a similar process. Then there is our communication difficulties. We probably had a role in creating and are better using online tools which are only going to continue to grow more important.

In the meantime it is pretty frustrating in an era of emphasis and overemphasis on diversity to be left out.

I agree with this, as a autistic woman and also as a member of the LGBT communtity (bisexual) I feel that I am content with the representation I get both as a woman and as a bisexual, but not autistic. Feminism is so mainstream these days that I feel very safe, protected and advocated for as a woman. Also, since half of all people I know are women, I have plenty of opportunities to interact with other women and talk about the problems we face in society. And as for the LGBT community, there has also been a lot of advocation for us recently as well. Present day I feel that I would be safe to bring my same sex partner out in public in Canada without worrying about violent discrimination. There are also other LGBT people in my community so I can talk to them about LGBT issues as well.

On the other hand, being autistic totally sucks. The stigma surrounding it is SO BAD! I see news articles all the time where parents will MURDER their autistic children and get away with it! People still view autistic people as their practical joke and/or human defect. There is not much activism for autistic people and it is really hard to find other autistics to take to outside of the internet because we are such a small number. I feel so lonely because nobody understands. Did you also know that in the United States autistics are still fighting for voting rights because the government views autistics and other disabled people as "mentally incompetent". Its ridiculous that we are still fighting for these things in the 21st century!

I CAN RELATE! Every other minority group, including those with other mental disabilities, has more positive support and acceptance (as opposed to awareness) than autistics. THIS HAS TO CHANGE.

But it has to be ACCEPTANCE, not awareness, like I said. I'm also content to be seen as a woman because it's not stigmatizing in this day and age, but not content to be seen as autistic because of all the stigma and wrong stereotypes of me due to the diagnosis.

... still think that we are underhumans. FTFY.

i think part of the stigma is the simple fact that, on the one hand, you can't say we are underneath an apparent difference, just like them. and on the other, nothing is more disturbing to them than a secret they can't get at.

so, contempt but also: paranoia. it's the cognitive dissonance between those two attitudes that makes it hard for them to consider us as three-dimensional personalities. they would act the same toward space aliens if space aliens ever landed--but at least they could tell the space aliens apart.

I always thought that it's hilarious that 99.9% aliens from science fiction are so much similar to a "neurotypical human". I mean, in their behavior. More than we autists .

I don't normaly come in here , but just wanted to read what the Troll was dishing out.

It's funny that you think science fiction aliens are similar to NT humans , I see them being similar to the media stereotype Aspie ( e.g. logical , no empathy , misunderstanding social rules )

I don't really see how a neurological condition like aspergers that has disabling aspects/symptoms is comparable to being homosexual or a racial minority, neither of those are disabling conditions. I mean what sort of representation are we talking? I mean of all the things I relate to and bond with people over, having aspergers is probably the least important one. I mean for the most part people here on W.P all have aspergers...but sheesh take a look at the love and dating forum or politics and philosophy its not like we all get along and relate to each other on account of being on the autism spectrum.

I am pretty sure there are lots and lots of different types of science fiction aliens....that certainly does not describe them all. I mean just star trek alone has various different aliens some certainly have more empathy, aren't so logical and all of them misunderstand each others social rules more or less as they have different cultures and such.

I've written it before: when I get everything right, it merely qualifies as normal.

I don't think that people in general consider my intermittent social awkwardness as a part of a syndrome. Why would that idea come to mind? People get some sympathy for autism if they make a severe enough display to seem disabled to the average person. Recognizing HFA takes some sophistication. Appreciating the impact for a specific aspie takes even more sophistication and attention.

Plenty of people still think of homosexuality as profoundly disabling because of the lack of ability to procreate or put and receive penis in vagina. It is physically possible but very uncomfortable to pass as a heterosexual with some similarities to autistics passing as NT's. If you were a homosexual in the 60's when doing what came naturally was illegal and got people arrested and rumor of homosexuality got you fired you might have found the ideas of homosexuality as a natural variation and homosexual acceptance as ridiculous notions.

With being black often comes with many disadvantages. They have to pass in order to find work and more importantly to avoid getting shot.

The difference is the LBGQT community did not accept the disease labels and made massive changes to how a lot of people view and treat them. Blacks have been less successful, but it is rare that any hint of racism goes unchallenged. But autistics are just supposed to accept that the way we were born is inherently disabling and not ask for at least tolerance of autistic ways. I can not accept that.

Oh, that's interesting. I'm not just a troll - I'm The Troll!


I take it that the only sci-fi you know is Startrek, and the only alien is that Spoc guy?

It all didn't end up well for Turing, for instance.

ASD is a new to me so I can only base it on my memories of aliens , I did not have these opinions a year ago.
Nah my sci-fi extends past Star Trek but if we stay with it and off the top of my head the characters I identified with were 7 of 9 , Odo , Worf and Data ( I know he's not technically an alien )
Because I haven't been diagnosed I might be identifying for a different reason and nothing related to ASD.

I did reply to you earlier but something must have happened. I am only basing my opinion on my limited knowledge of ASD and the way I remember how I felt about alien characters