IMHO Yes. In general Aspies are subjected to significantly more bullying than NTs.
As a child transitions into being a teenager, they are confronted with another major transition. In this age bracket they pass into puberty and teasing and bullying becomes a major force in their peer group. Those terms are very understated. The term teasing and bullying are terms developed to protect the abusers. They minimize the offense. A more accurate phrase is cruel and relentless torture. In adult society, the terms used are physical abuse, psychological abuse, and assault and they are criminal offenses.
* Bullies are very adept at what they do. It is almost like they took a course in the subject.
* They instinctively recognize those that are weak, alone and defenseless - venerable individuals. * Bullies choose to torment individuals away from the eyes of authorities. They know where in the playground or inside the school, they can strike outside the purview of the authorities. So the location of the fight generally was well hidden – not only by location they had chosen but also by the crowd of spectators that form.
* They know how to inflict the maximum amount of pain without leaving visible marks as evidence [such as a jab to the ribcage, a kick to the nuts, or a chokehold].
* They know about the unwritten rules such as the “Code of Silence” and the “Never Snitch”.
* They enforce these rules to silence witnesses.
* In general, bullies are cowards and rarely fight fair.
* They operate as a group, a gang with lieutenants and soldiers.
* In a conflict, it is always about the one (the victim) versus the many (the gang).
* You show up armed only with your fists to protect yourself, while they might show up armed to the teeth. Any fight is rarely fought on a level playing field and the conclusions are rarely left up to chance.
* And in the aftermath of the physical and verbal attack, it is always the word of the many (the gang), combined with the silence of the eyewitnesses (unwritten code of silence) against the word of the one (the victim). And in general, the victim is blamed.
To understand bullying one must look at it through the lens of a primate. The reason why teasing and bullying is exhibited in humans is because it is an evolutionary trait that evolved in primates. Primates exhibit a social tribe structure based on Alpha, Beta, and Omega members.
This structure is also exhibited in tribes of humans. Humans form into societal groups called gangs. A gang is led by an Alpha Male (otherwise known as the bully) and his lieutenants, Beta Males. Generally this tribe encompasses the entire school class because the other members of the tribe participate as soldiers in the gang or as silent eyewitnesses. The leadership of the gang is determined by brute force. A male Aspie fills the role of an Omega Male, a communal scapegoat or outlet of frustration.
One of the interesting observations about school bullying is that generally for males it peaks in the Junior High School years. This is no accident. What makes the timing of that phase interesting and special? It is because males are transitioning into puberty at that age.
In primates, Alpha Males often gain preferential access to sex or mates and as a result to reproduction and offspring. In humans, this bullying is part of thinning out the herd just prior to the mating age. It either mentally cripples Aspie males for the rest of their life or causes them to become loners and leave the tribe.
Once abuse and torture enters the picture, do not expect the child to advance any further along the stages of natural childhood development. For some (Aspie girls) who are further along socially, they may even digress backwards. I feel that girls tend to mimic the action of others and this is actually part of the natural process of becoming an extrovert. They are further along in social development and forced backwards into becoming an introvert by their girl tribe. As a result they are separated from their tribe, shunned and abandoned. Once you drive a turtle back into its shell in fear, don’t expect it to come out anytime soon. Aspies exhibit paralyzing fear, afraid of sticking their head out of their shell, because they don’t know what they did wrong to have their peer group turn on them, even their best friends, with great meanness pushing them out of their tribe.
In the primate world, an Omega is the lowest caste of the hierarchical society. An Omega is given two choices. Either an Omega can remain submissive to everyone and will commonly be used as a communal scapegoat; an outlet for the tribe’s frustration or the animal can leave the tribe.
In humans, an Omega can select the same two choices. They can remain an Omega Aspie or they can leave and become a Non-Conformist Aspie. Those are the two types of adult Aspies.
02 Sep 2019, 3:16 am
