anti-autism
I have a lot to talk about, and I'm not sure where to start.
My ex-fiancé was emotionally abusive. She engaged in gaslighting, isolating, love bombing, grooming, and other forms of abuse. I didn't realize it at the time, but after I did extensive research on the matter I found that many of her behaviors were consistent with patterns of narcissistic abuse. And after two and a half years of abuse, she broke up with me via telephone, at a point in my life when I was struggling to find employment after college, and she added insult to injury by calling me a bum and loser.
What happened next is where it all started: because she is a woman and I am a man, everyone believed her when she said that it was I who abused her. She has cerebral palsy, which is a disability that was easy for people to see and understand; while nobody understood what it means to be on the autism spectrum. People just thought I was rude, arrogant, and inconsiderate. And because this all happened after two and a half years of having my insecurities nurtured and being groomed to be completely codependent, in addition to all the other stresses I was already experiencing at the time, it all culminated in me having a meltdown on Facebook. All of the aforementioned made it extremely easy for me ex, who is very skilled at manipulation, to convince everyone that I was the bad guy. And they ate it up!
I was shunned. Labeled a monster. And lost nearly every friend I had at the time. This all occurred in 2009, and I was still getting attacked by feminists on social media as recently as 2017.
I have been contemplating suicide ever since.
I've had a bachelor's degree for twelve years, but despite that I could never get a competitive job. There are many jobs I'm qualified for and am fully capable of performing, but I can never get hired because I don't have the skills to network or pass an interview. Every job I've ever had has been a low-paying high-turnover job that immediately hired anyone as soon as they pass the background and drug tests. And even many of those turned me away for being "overqualified".
I've been told that I need to "check my male privilege". That my struggles aren't real or don't count. And this persisted even after I had thoroughly explained that I'm on the spectrum, am suffering from severe anxiety and major depression, and that I was unemployed and homeless. Even after explaining all of that, feminists continued to insist that I was unemployed and homeless because I was too lazy to hold a job.
I've lost count of how many times gate keepers have told me that, because I'm a straight cis white male, that I cannot be marginalized or discriminated against. I was expelled from a local support group for disclosing that I'm a survivor of multiple sexual assaults.
Any time I've attempted to talk about being depressed because I can't get a girlfriend, I'm told that I hate women. That I think I'm entitled to sex. I'm labeled an incel and a misogynist. For the crime of having feelings! And again, this continued to persist even after I had fully explained that I have autism.
Just think about all the feminist rallies. All the protests. The lectures. Now tell me: where are the marches to support people like us? Where's the affirmative action for all the people on the spectrum who are fully capable of performing many jobs, but can never get hired because we stem or struggle with eye contact? Even in the age of growing movements to support women, immigrants, and the LGBTQ community, and all other minorities; we remain ignored by mainstream society. We remain invisible. We remain hated, even by those who claim to fight for equality and social justice.
Last edited by dorkseid on 06 Dec 2020, 11:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I'm not sure any political party is really helping autistic adults, there is possibly more of a push from the left to help autistic children, I don't think there is that much gap on that issue. the left plays identity politics, so they will judge you on your race and gender first, where the right might judge you on not being successful and not being motivated. be an independent swing voter and everyone will kiss your ass.
So very true.
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"There are a thousand things that can happen when you go light a rocket engine, and only one of them is good."
Tom Mueller of SpaceX, in Air and Space, Jan. 2011
The answer to this is very simple, actually. Who do you think are the people who organize and take part in events that drive forward the rights of women, LBGT folks, black people etc.? Most of them are women, LBGT folks, black people etc. In other words, for there to be visible supporting events for those on the autism spectrum, us on the spectrum should act on it. The problem? Many of us lack the skills to network and convince others to join us because we're autistic, which is why it's harder for us to make such events. There are movements that support those on the spectrum and spread the knowledge but yes, they aren't as visible as pride, black lives matter etc. However, we can change that bit by bit by taking part in them and spreading the word. If you want there to be more information on autism, you could try helping by googling what kind of autism support voluntary work your area has, contacting them and asking how you could help.
In my experience, second wave feminists are anti-autism and seem to assume all autistic people are amab and just putting it on in order to force women (they assume all men are straight as well... and don't get me started on their transphobia...) to do emotional labour.
Never mind that not all of us are amab. Never mind that gay autistic guys exist. Never mind that a lot of autistic people are single.
Second wave feminism isn't all the Left or even all feminists.
I think autistic people do a lot of emotional labour because it doesn't come naturally to us so it's harder and more like work. To an NT, a lot of it isn't really work if they're honest about it.
It's why I laugh when people say 'feminists just hate men nowadays'. Most of us are fourth wave now. Third and fourth wave don't hate men because things are more complicated than that. NT, cis het, non-disabled white guys? Sure, there are fourth wave feminists who hate them and they need to stop that cos it gets us nowhere. But the days of the SCUM manifesto are the days when our mothers were growing up.
I'm sorry these people are being bigoted to you and not believing you're autistic or not taking your neurodiversity seriously
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auntblabby
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I'm really sorry you're experiencing it.
Of course women can be abusive.
We all need to do better than assuming someone's guilt or innocence based their belonging to some group - weather it's traditional prejudice or politically correct prejudice, it's just as harmful.
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Let's not confuse being normal with being mentally healthy.
<not moderating PPR stuff concerning East Europe>
True but what annoys me is that people act like ableism is unavoidable, even on the left.
It's rampant in our society.
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Not actually a girl
He/him
Dorkseid, I hear that you are in pain from a variety of causes and the political rant at the end sounds more like a cry for help and understanding than an actual political position. I could be wrong though.
Leaving the politics aside, i am sorry you are feeling so bad, so betrayed and so miserable.
Is there anything we can do to help you feel better?
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The river is the melody
And sky is the refrain - Gordon Lightfoot
auntblabby
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Joined: 12 Feb 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 114,561
Location: the island of defective toy santas
True but what annoys me is that people act like ableism is unavoidable, even on the left. It's rampant in our society.
they see it not only as unavoidable but as something actually desirable, a feature and not a bug.
Clearly the OP needs support, not criticism, hence why he posted this here. He doesn't need to be told about privileges and or be told none of this happened, bla bla bla.
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Son: Diagnosed w/anxiety and ADHD. Also academic delayed and ASD lv 1.
Daughter: NT, no diagnoses. Possibly OCD. Is very private about herself.
Clearly the OP needs support, not criticism, hence why he posted this here. He doesn't need to be told about privileges and or be told none of this happened, bla bla bla.
I hope he doesn't read this stuff
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Let's not confuse being normal with being mentally healthy.
<not moderating PPR stuff concerning East Europe>
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