What are the odds of this being another William Freund?

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Fear not folks, we'll soon have this place to ourselves again. If I remember rightly, when we were slashdotted visitors peaked at around 2000, then dropped back under 100 within 2 days.

Hopefully some of our visitors will leave with a better understanding of what people with autism/aspergers are actually like, instead of the stereotypes.

The Will Fruend saga, though a sad one, has had some good come from it.

I was diagnosed with AS 12 years ago. My relatives were hush-hush about it, and made more than one attempt to sweep it under the rug. It was something that just wasn't discussed around the house.

I've struggled for years to find a place of belonging. Granted, I didn't go out and off my neighbors in an attempt to locate that place, but it's been a place of suffering in silence for too long. I've danced solo with the demons for a long time because there's been nobody with whom I could share with..... Then I found this place through the news reports.

In this particular thread, I've found that a lot of bickering and finger pointing has taken place. As a newcomer, essentially an outsider looking in, it would seem to me that some lessons could be leaned from this tragedy, and pull together as family/friends instead of attempting to rip one another apart here. Has nothing been learned?

The person to whom you're responding to could be very close to that proverbial edge. Truth be known, you know nothing of the person who hides behind the anonymity that a user name provides.

Will Fruend, by all accounts, was a "little weird".... But aren't we all, in some way, a little weird as well? We all have the potential there to become as Will Fruend, were it not for the good fortune of having caring friends and loved ones around us.

My heart bleeds for Will Fruend, for his parents, and for the families of the lives that he ended. My heart also bleeds for the countless others who are, as I was, wandering around without a place of belonging, in search of such a place as this.

Jon

Agreed. If the media starts publicizing the fact that he had AS, it will give people just one more reason to ostracize and discriminate against aspies.

The guy obviously had a lot more wrong with him and his life than just AS. And there are people on this board who have shown that people with AS can lead healthy and successful lives.[/quote]

The very thought of this is making me uncomfortable! It was bad enough that AS started to become a household word already...

Well I guess I found the thread about Freund. I have my own comments regarding this on my blog. Again:
http://www.spaghettiman.blogspot.com

He sent me a PM a couple of weeks ago saying how my life would never get any better etc, etc. I reported him today (only just checked my PM box).

What's slash dotted?

Slashdotting is a term used to denote a site swamped by a lot of visitors, usaually by exposure in the media, particulary slashdot.com

Well, the news reports are better than most I've read for other things wher I knew the whole story. I strongly doubt there will be any backash against us, and it will probably raise awareness about mental health issues. I would hope that they mention responsible gun ownership at some point, but I'm definitely not getting my hopes up.

DrGonzo wrote:

I'm very surprised that this story hasn't made its way around the internet already.

Me too. What really freaked me out was one thread on a newsgroup that actually blamed his apparently being Jewish on the massacre!

I am pretty sure the kind of comments in that thread were illegal.

The Los Angelas Times should have asked if they could read my posts.

I feel like banging my head on a wall.