Does your autism impact your political views?

Post Reply New Topic

Whatever your political affiliation is, do you think your Aspergers plays a role in the views you support or oppose?

I think my Aspergers does make me more inclined to be a Libertarian/Anarcho-Capitalist or Minarchist Republican.I consider myself Libertarian but I vote straight-ticket republican in all races since I was 18 because the Libertarian Party is not a viable party in terms of real political power.I dont really think I am a social conservative in the political sense of the word.

Like I believe in traditional values about some things but I want all drugs, prostitution, gambling,tobacco,alcohol,guns,weapons,fast food, caffeine and the sin industries to be legalized,extremely deregulated, and heavily commercialized and legal for everybody.I think we should exempt all businesses and non-profits from all taxes.I think we should exempt the top 20 percent in terms of wealth and income from all taxes.

Yes in some ways, I think that my political views tend to be unconventional for my social setting. Also they tend to be inclined towards individualism as opposed to communitarianism (if such a word exists). And I think autism has something to do with that. In my teens and early twenties I was an individualist anarchist, now I'm a libertarian. Both are individualistic in nature. Also they take the form of special interest.

Not particularly, there are other things that impact it much more.

No

seems most autistics here are liberal or left

im very conservative

Not really. Neither side of the political divide really gives a damn about my autism or bipolar disorder.

It might, both from experiences as well as possibly due to how ASD impacts one's way of thinking.

Where it really impacts is areas that aren't inherently political but are often politicized.

Even as a small child I noticed that girls and boys were both given different and unfair treatment, I noticed rules were bent for some people more than others, I noticed some people were scrutinized more than others.

Gradually I started to notice some patterns behind this.

I noticed some perspectives were considered more important than others, often with no real justification beyond some of them being more closely aligned to the establishment narrative.

Besides that, once I hit the work force I started to see more of the same, but with more factors in play. I noticed how often people who have no hope of improving their lot in life often tend to be resentful towards those who might still have the option, especially if there's a belief that those people are receiving help.

I noticed facts don't matter to many of these people when their 'common sense' is at odds with reality. I noticed these people view many historic issues like sports fans, where they just want to celebrate their team and not worry about the atrocities that might have occurred to achieve that "victory". I notice these people are resentful over other people's problems being treated with a higher priority, no matter how reasonable that prioritization might be.

Gradually, as a result of being surrounded by conservatives and self-proclaimed moderates who are anything but, I came to realize I strongly disagree with most of what they stand for. Ironically, for a kid who had significant sympathies towards conservative causes by the time I hit adulthood those sympathies were long gone.

I think my autism played a part because I’m used to being an outsider. I live in a very conservative area; my family is very conservative. Most people just seem to go with the flow and stick with the political leanings of the people in their environment. Having my own thoughts and opinions came naturally to me because I was an outsider already and was used to it.

Most people’s conservativism in my area is based on religiosity. Since I did not latch on to religion, it left the door open to other questions as well. The social aspects of the religion I grew up in did not mesh well with my autism. Neither did its departure from reason and rationality.

Having had various unpleasant life experiences indirectly related to my autism, I care especially about things like women’s rights including (but not limited to) access to safe abortion.

I suppose in the sense that having disabilities makes me more aware of disability activism and the stuff people need to understand about various disabilities.