Autistic people hating successful Autistic people?
My observation may not be accurate, but I've seen way more autistic people hating when another autistic person has gained success. (compared to NTs hating on another NT's success)
Recently, a blind, autistic male has won America's Got Talent.
While there some autistic people who are happy for him, there seems to be even more autistic people who hate him or felt angry about his success.
They said they felt triggered, and claimed that the winner's mother was insensitive.
Some even said things like "She (the winner's mother) is implying that we don't try hard enough."
Or things like "People need to understand that not all autistic people are talented."
I've also seen (on separate occasions) that autistic people trying to tear down other autistic people for gaining some success.
I don't understand why they do that. Why can't we be more supportive towards other autistic people?
Why do people feel the need to tear them down?
"How dare you diminish the severity of my suffering by proving that it can be overcome?!"
"Your success denies me my right to use my disability as an excuse for all my failures!"
"It's people like you who are the reason why I can't get a girlfriend!"
I also believe that, deep down inside, they feel that someone else's success only magnifies their own failure; that this magnification is even greater when the successful person has the same disabilities as they do; and that this feeling is commonly called "Jealousy".
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dragonsanddemons
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I don't have anything against successful autistic people (or successful non-autistic people, for that matter). What I take issue with is being compared to them, like "This autistic person was able to do that thing, why can't you do something similar?" or "If this autistic person could do that thing, then you should be capable of doing this other thing - you just don't want to or are not trying hard enough." Said autistic people are not me, I don't necessarily have skills or talents in the areas that they do which allowed them to succeed. Good for them, but it doesn't make me any more capable of success.
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dragonsanddemons
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No. Sure, I might be a bit jealous sometimes because I don't have any skills or talents to make use of (at least, not that I've found so far), or feel bad about myself for not being able to do something similar, but I can't recall ever actually resenting someone simply for being successful.
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Yet in my new wildness and freedom I almost welcome the bitterness of alienage. For although nepenthe has calmed me, I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.
-H. P. Lovecraft, "The Outsider"
+1 Agree totally.
"How dare you diminish the severity of my suffering by proving that it can be overcome?!"
"Your success denies me my right to use my disability as an excuse for all my failures!"
"It's people like you who are the reason why I can't get a girlfriend!"
I also believe that, deep down inside, they feel that someone else's success only magnifies their own failure; that this magnification is even greater when the successful person has the same disabilities as they do; and that this feeling is commonly called "Jealousy".
Fnord, you have a way of articulating on an issue in a direct and insightful manner. Well said sir.
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ASPartOfMe
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While not the only reason it must be noted that jealousy is a part of human nature.
I have not seen personal animus directed at Kodi Lee the autistic America's got talent winner. People have been offended at the perceived inspiration porn NT reaction to him.
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DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
I agree that this behavior is prevalent in NTs as well. I've heard that trashing someone else's success is similar to a phenomenon noted in crabs that are caught in a trap, tank, etc. Apparently if one crab tries to have a go at escaping (ie succeed), other crabs apparently pull the escaping crab back down among them to prevent it.
That's what people do but in a different way.
I wish the world was inundated with successful autistic people, personally.
The only thing that I'm cautious about is the world correlating autism with the various activities or causes that certain autistics undertake or represent. People should be viewed based on the activities, causes, efforts or accomplishments apart from their autism. Autistic people are human as well and prone to fallibility. The last thing I'd want to see, for example, is "the world" to correlate autism with Greta Thunberg's cause. I have nothing wrong with her cause, but she's human. What if she turned out to be a hypocritical sham in the future? Leave autism out of that.
"How dare you diminish the severity of my suffering by proving that it can be overcome?!"
"Your success denies me my right to use my disability as an excuse for all my failures!"
"It's people like you who are the reason why I can't get a girlfriend!"
I also believe that, deep down inside, they feel that someone else's success only magnifies their own failure; that this magnification is even greater when the successful person has the same disabilities as they do; and that this feeling is commonly called "Jealousy".
This is a really great explanation.
Now I understand completely.
Thank you so much.
"Your success denies me my right to use my disability as an excuse for all my failures!"
This mentality is prevalent in some Facebook autism communities!
I've seen people using autism as an excuse to justify their failure and for really bad behavior (such as insults)-- swearing at people, calling people trash, just to name a few.
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