Post-Autistic Subculture?

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I don't think you quite get one I'm saying. What I'm saying is a "good" trait of autism. It means autistic people are more likely to see something as special even if it doesn't resemble a typical human. What I'm saying is the the person with autism will find the man behind the mask to be just as valuable of a person as one with a full range of facial expressions.

Yeah, here I'm referring specifically to autistic communities, not autism communities. I say a Post-Autistic community is a specific type of autistic community. It has to be one that is fairly inviting and non-radical, or else it would be less likely for some someone who is not fully autistic to draw an attachment to it. It should be more likely to come from a neutral or anti-cure one as someone without a diagnosable condition probably wouldn't want to be changed, and they would probably find it easier for them to relate with people who consider themselves different than diseased.

Long before I knew I was autistic, I considered the internet to be a form of assistive communication device. Then again, I consider automobiles to be assistive mobility devices.

Using your definition, the online Autistic community, which was partially inspired by the Deaf community, has always been post-Autistic.

In other words, Internet forums (like this one), email lists, and chat rooms are not group therapy. No one has ever been required to have a specific diagnosis before being allowed to participate.

On the other hand, different groups have their own belief systems. After I changed my views a bit on the cure issue, I was removed from a couple of anti-cure email lists. I have never held any grudges against them. In fact, I expected it to happen.

I get what you're saying. And immune, I still don't think so. The theory of training effective soldiers through dehumanization is all about disconnecting the person from another via conditioning and reinforcement. I've read some stories about soldiers in World War 2 or Vietnam who spotted one of their enemies in the process of performing a human act (like taking a piss or eating) or staring into their eyes, and for some reason they could not/chose not to pull the trigger. If you've ever tried to kill a fairly large animal, it's much harder to do it when you're staring into its eyes, probably because you see/feel the life in it. Basically it's all about following orders, and conditioning an automatic reaction in the soldier so he can perform the act before he can even process it and have the time to hesitate, which can make a big difference in the battlefield. I know some people in the spectrum who are in the armed service and they can be very good soldiers. As long as they are given correct instructions they will perform it with no hesitation. Given the right circumstances, they could be very effective killing machines.

There are NTs who are socially isolated due to other problems. Presuming people with avoidant personality disorder or schizoid personality disorder aren't actually mislabelled autistics, they would be NTs with nearly identical problems to someone with AS in many respects. As an example.

Well, I guess they aren't immune, but I'm saying that humanization is different for aspies.

Your the sociologist, I'm just a teenager. I really don't have a concrete idea of what a Post-Autistic Community, only that it is derived from an autistic community, but no longer really is one. It may or may not actually exist.

Yes, that was my point to begin with (If "humanization" were actually a word. I should be, since dehumanization is. But then again it is assumed that we are all "humanized' in the first place by feeling some sort of connection to each other. NTs anyway. Perhaps Autistics need to humanize first? I'm getting off-topic here...) But yeah, definitely different, because dehumanization is all about severing the connection of a human from another human. And being Autistic, sometimes that connection may not even exist in the first place (i.e. that "alien" feeling), therefore dehumanization is not required. Some people call Autistics "aloof", mistaking them for uncaring, but often it's just a case of a lack of connection. It's not that they don't care, sometimes it's just that they don't feel the gravity of the situation of another person getting hurt. Instead of being very passionate about it like what usually the social norm is, they are often left pondering to themselves (if not distracted) and processing what is going on, most probably in a very logical manner. Or maybe they are feeling sad, they just don't understand the emotion enough to acknowledge it. How many people here have trouble with funerals? I think I saw a few threads about funerals and not being able to cry. That usually gets them labeled "cold" or "aloof" when they probably really aren't. And I think this is what the writer was pointing out when he coined the term. The seeming "aloofness" and "uncaring nature" and "disregard for human life" in people with AS (as seen by NTs), and he likened that to how people on the internet fail to connect with each other.

Not quite what I'm going after. What I'm saying is that aspies have different markers for what they see as "human".

Well, your age doesn't matter. I was just giving my views on what you wrote.

Well said, I'm not sure I'll ever got to get tested but finding this site and that there are others similar to me, has made a difference. A diagnosis is only a bit of paper but it becomes official and could both harm and help dependent on a persons situation.

Yeah. And everything else to them is considered "not human" whose lives are therefore not as important, even if they happen to be physiologically humans. For example, a connection with cats may exist, but not with some humans. They'll consider some cats "humans" but some humans "not human". That is what I understand by your saying "different markers".

And I don't think that's an AS-exclusive thing either; more like an individual person thing. Everyone has different markers for what they could consider as "humans". I doubt a person with AS has the same criteria as everyone else in the world with AS in terms of humanization, as I doubt every NT has the same criteria for humanization.

Very interesting thread, Ganondox! I think what you're proposing is entirely plausible. I, for one, would welcome a post-autistic culture developing -assuming we're not already in one, as nominalist said.

Why would I welcome it? I like the culture here and I think NT society as a whole could benefit from adopting some aspects of it, especially being more rational, communicating more clearly and responding to the topic at hand. When someone disagrees here they typically say either "why do you think this?" or "that's incorrect, because...". On many other forums a response like "you're an idiot" (or at least some kind of personal attack) would be more common. I think it's possible to combine the positive traits of aspies and NTs (to a degree) and a post-autistic culture developing would see more of that happening. The other benefit, if it became wide-spread enough, is that it may make NTs more accepting of aspies in general, because they're more likely to know someone who, while they may not be "autistic" as such, is close enough to bridge their gap in understanding.

On the downside, I can totally see some people being upset by this, because they would see it as eroding the "true" autistic culture - presumably that of diagnosed autistics or those who are severe enough that there is no doubt they have an ASD. That doesn't concern me too much, though, because I believe any kind of "autistic pride" should be secondary to helping people who struggle to function in society, regardless of their diagnosis or lack thereof.

Check out this article on spectrumites and empathy that I read today. I've just added it to my Cabinet of resources.

Interesting thought. A better society would possess more of the positive traits of both worlds, I have no doubt about it. The only question is, when.


I don't feel "autistic pride" either. I see my life as is, some areas of it are better, others are worse in comparison. And helping other autistics, including the lower functioning ones, makes me feel happier.