It seems as though there are two factions on this forum...

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I've been reading quiet a few of the threads on the various boards around here, and I've noticed that there really seem to be two distinct factions (or maybe just schools of thought) among the members.

The first group is the slight minority, making up roughly 35 or 40 percent. It is the people who are uncomfortable, though not necessarily unhappy, with having AS. They strongly desire to fit in, move into the mainstream. Essentially, they would like to be more like NTs, at least from a social perspective. I would probably consider myself a member of this group.

The second group, representing the majority, are those who embrace having AS. In many cases, they see AS as a positive trait rather than a handicap or something to work around. They are perfectly content with sitting in their room all day and see nothing wrong with cutting back offline contact to a bare minimum. They see consider their periodic obsessions as a great way of becoming an expert on a given topic.

Has anyone else noticed this? Which group do you think you're a part of?

Yes, I've noticed this, though I've never pondered the percentages between the two groups.

I would consider myself part of the latter. I am ECCENTRIC and PROUD!! !

Definitely in the Proud group myself.

Of course we also have NT relatives of aspies and other various groups on here, tho I'm not sure how they factor into the percentages.

I'd be a bit of both. While I'm able to admit to myself that normal isn't possible and do enjoy a few of the traits AS has granted me, I don't try to defend staying home all day or not socializing. I actually try to get out there as much as I can and work on becoming a greater person by expanding my skills in all areas, including social. I think holing yourself up indoors can only make you regress further into non-social tendencies and poor social skills.

*sigh* Like most things in life, it's fairly hard to really categorize me and stick a label to me. I guess I should consider that a good thing, but labels can be useful and finding someone like yourself.

hmmm... every time someone tries to split autistics into two groups, most fall into the gap in between...

I'd fall into both your groups - I'm uncomfortable about having AS, even unhappy about it sometimes.... I don't want to belong to the mainstream, I don't even like the idea of mainstream... I just want to be able to take part in some small social community of meaning to me - not to fit in, but not to stand out excessively.

yet I embrace my autism, I embrace it fully, even to the point of being open and honest about the dificulties too... I don't really see it in terms of positive and negative (positive and negative are rather limiting concepts I find)... it's certainly made life a hell of a lot more interesting than it might have been otherwise, and a lot more frustrating with it. I'm certainly not content with sitting in my room all day, because I want to be out there (even if I am stuck in my room nearly all the time for not having enough support to actually get out). but that doesn't mean I want to go out and pretend to be normal... I want to go out there and be me, be autistic.

and I am the stimming world champion, so there

Neither. I am a rebel, a 2 in a binary world.
I've learned to transcend these fool systems and their equally foolish rules.
'Aspie or NT?' Yeah, that's a common question of me here, and you know what the answer is?
'Neither. I'm a human being, not a posterboy for a label or a description. I am ME.'
Needless to say, everyone is a potential enemy to me, and no one is a friend.
I am considered freakishly dangerous and evil by all.
That's what happens when you offer them the red pill.
"Most of these people are not ready to be freed".
They don't want it. They don't want to understand.
Content with dividing everything into two, people?
Guess what? The world isn't that simple. There's more to it than that.
There's always a little something extra, coming to reshape the world.
That something extra? I'll leave it up to you to decide what it is, but it's there.
It could be anything, or anyone.
It could be the people protesting against the Iraq war.
It could be that man in a Christian church congregation who's devoutly religious but knowingly married to a Satanist.
It could be that stray A among the Fs on your report card, or visa versa
It could be that package bomb among your Christmas presents.
It could be the good apple in a rotten bushel.
It could be me.
The system always has exceptions.
Rules and standards were made so that someone would come about to put them to the sword.
That may not've been the real reason, but it was certainly an unconscious factor.
There aren't 'those who want to fit in' and 'those who want to stand out'. We all stand out, and we all have our own different beliefs. Sure, some of us unite under the same banner for a common cause, and I'm fine with that.
People have the right to fight, even kill, for what they believe in.
But creating divisions where there are none....
That is the only true sin.
I hope you enjoy Hell.

I think that there are alot more ways to idetnify and deivde factions than what was originally listed above.

I'm mostly in the majority. I enjoy my ASness.

Splitting them up into factions makes them sound as though they are at odds with each other. I am most definitely one who embraces the love of the wierd,

Humans, of all sort, need to put anything and everything into a group or a stereotype or a faction... So they can more easily prejudge everyone.

I am ambivalent about being different, but I love who I am. I have led a full life in the time it takes most people to start a career.
And it's all because -

I'm strange

I think I am mostly in the second group, but a bit of me could fit in with the first one too.

I don't necessarily feel proud to have AS, but I am who I am and embrace that. I understand what makes me who I am. Also, I think it is useless and destructive for people to constantly beat themselves up over their own personal traits.

At the same time, I constantly work to improve my social skills. This doesn't mean I try to make myself like everybody else (some people here seem to think that's what it means), but I try to improve my ability to hold conversations and form relationships.

For us to really grow as people, I think it might be best to have traits from both groups. Basically, I think all people should be content with themselves, but not too content.

I'm in the first group.

I don't go blabbing around AS, and most people think people like that are mental, so thats how I would be seen if I went and told people.