The increasing use of 'Autistic' as an insult

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I have seen it a lot in You Tube comments and comment wars especially.

Never read the comments section.

I see the autistic insult get passed around youtube all the freaking time it's annoying and insulting. Most of the time I see it on videos relating to My Little Pony by fans of the show.
Of course, other fans have called these trolls on such actions but it never seems to do any good since more people from the same fanbase show up using the same variety of insults.

I think it's a matter of self esteem. I have never noticed anyone using "Autistic" as an insult, but maybe that's because it wouldn't bother me if they did so to me, by using that word in particular. It would be the intent and spirit of the insult which would bother me; not the words chosen. As far as words go, I'm a self-proclaimed autistic bastard... Literally by definition, so anyone who might call me those, would be accurate. I'd probably be more insulted if someone calls me a "steroid queen", as I'm not on steroids and am not a queen (literally, by slang, nor figuratively). That would be insulting because it would insinuate that I am not as dedicated to bodybuilding as I truly am, and that somehow I don't deserve to look the way I have worked so hard for 30 years to look.

Charles

Is it the new gay.

And then it will be old when the stooopid people have found a new insult.

Any word can be used a an insult. You cannot make people stop using it, a word is only successful as an insult if you get offended by it.

The best way to combat it is to emphasise its positive aspects, or to use humour.
Examples are: gay, wog, b***h, slut etc.

Using humour cab be very successful, there was a successful stage show here (Australia) called "Wogs out of work".

There was a comedian on TV, etc who had cerebral palsy (I think), he used the stage name "steady eddy".

The following song "I've been everywhere man", usually includes a very long list of all the towns the singer has visited:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAzK8lFluSA[/youtube]

The following is topical, as we have just changed our Prime Minister again. If you are offended by four letter words, don't watch it.
The term "abo" here is not generally well recieved, but then .....
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29q60NsewUA[/youtube]

Cheers

THANK YOU! I was waiting for this to be mentioned before I said anything, but yes, I have noticed that, in a LOT of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic-related videos, the word 'autism' is thrown around a LOT by trolls. Well, if I may be allowed to ask one simple question...

What the f**k does being a Brony (a fan of MLP) have anything to do with being autistic, and vice-versa?!

If anything, I'd see the label of autism as a compliment, and I'll explain why. You see, a common trait in most high-functioning autistic people is the ability to REALLY get into subjects/topics that they care about, to a depth that most other people wouldn't go. Take for instance, the Trekkies: Some of the most hardcore fans have written extremely detailed essays about the mythology of the Star Trek universe. And the majority of Trekkies DO happen to be autistic (Temple Grandin watched the show too, and related a LOT to Spock). The same could be said of Doctor Who.

It's the same thing to me with the Brony phenomenon: there have been SO MANY fan works (art, music, fiction, and even fan-produced animation that rivals the show itself!) created in the current generation of MLP that it gives me a headache! Just like the Trekkies, Bronies also have conventions they attend a few times a year; they sometimes dress up as their favorite characters (cosplaying), and sometimes the people behind the real show make guest appearances.

I guess the reason why trolls like to use 'autism' as an insult to the Bronies is because they figure grown men who openly enjoy a show meant for little girls have to be 'fag*ots' and man-children. Well, let them. To me, 'autism/autistic' is not an insult; to me, it means I have this wonderful ability to see deeper into the things/shows which I care about and love.

That's all I wanted to say. Love and tolerate.

Fluttershy11

I'll link all who use autism as an insult to this post.

If I'm brutally honest we kind of ask for it. (High functioning) autistics can be some of the most awkward, insufferable people I know, myself included. Too mild to get the sympathy severe autistics get but just enough autistic to be annoying.
So next time someone uses autistic as an insult, just think back to your last social faux pas...

Now THAT would be annoying. And yet typical of political incorrectness.

This sort of has a little to do with the thread, but not much but it's interesting so I'm posting it. Ya'll know we live in a small town in the Deep South, in a very rural area in the middle of nowhere. My kids went to the county high school. My youngest daughter is a junior there. She's fairly popular while her group isn't the cheerleaders/football player top of the social ladder type thing, her group is the next one down along with several other groups that share the same level. There are the stoners, and the brains, and the eccentrics, and the kids who are into lots of extracurricular stuff, the imitation gang and rap kids that all share that second level. The lowest level is the emo's for some reason. Not all of them, but the ones who go overboard with it, and also the bullies and ho's are all at the bottom level. Oh, and the snitches. The special kids fall into whichever level their group is on and some are in a lot of the groups on the midlevel like my daughters group, and there are crossovers as well. Her group is a crossover between the brains and the eccentrics. She hangs with a group of about ten or twelve kids. Boys and girls, black and white, gay and straight. I don't think there are any special kids in her little group but there could be and I just didn't notice. Anyway, her group, which is popular, has this one extremely popular boy in it. Let's call him Nate. There are three or four others but he's the most popular and he has the most popular gf in that group. Remember, eccentrics/brains, but on the middle level of popularity - things have changed a lot since I was in high school, thank goodness. So, Nate is sort of short and chubby and wears glasses and looks an awful lot like Eddie Izzard. There are several guys who are more traditionally better looking than him, and just as nice, and all the guys are Bronies. Even the one tall guy who is on one of the varsity sports teams. However, even though all the boys have cars, and they are all fun to hang out with (the girls say) and watch Dr Who and play D&D and go geocaching, and watch MLP and Adventure Time and such, Nate has a MLP car. Yessiree, the most popular boy in one of the actual midlevel cliques in the high school has a regular economy car, four door, but painted MLP. Not just the colors. Horse decals. Seat covers, steering wheel covers. He, and all the girls and other guys too will tell you "It's not a chick car". They do wear a lot of MLP stuff and Dr Who stuff, along with other, regular fashion, and have the multicolored hair but when I was in high school, that would have been social death for a girl to have that car, let alone a boy. It's that popular now. Even the cheerleaders like to get rides with him in it. Get their pic made by it. For real, and not being smarmy or talking down to him about it or anything like that. Everybody thinks that car rocks. Nobody has said "autistic" for anything to do with the car, MLP, or any of that.

I just wanted to post about it, since some people put it down.

The thing here is... Anyone can turn the name of ANY disorder into an insult. And because Autism and Asperger's Syndrome, for example, are becoming more well-known, more people are aware of them and of how autistic and Aspie people may behave. So they can then target them. I wouldn't say it was particularly with Autism in any way, just people happen to use it as an insult, because they are sad, annoying, attention-seeking people who have nothing better to do with their lives.

Dude. I love you. In a totally platonic way.

Poor Mental Hygiene.
I am so stealing that line. It's beautiful. Next time I see someone use "autistic" or any other "category" of persons as an insult, I am going to calmly slip in a comment about their poor mental hygiene.

But incidently, not everyone has an as*hole:
I didn't have one until I was 8 months old!

I was playing World of Warcraft... damn degenerate game these days... and someone posted on trade chat: don't be a aspie mouthbreather [sic]

I nearly died... what is going on!???

The scariest part for me is that being an adult Aspie, kids are starting to see it in me, my traits I've hidden pretty well over the years. They just know about me and their behavior changes, it's accommodating in a way, like how we pet the donkey in the zoo but would rather go see the tigers!

I actually have not seen the term used as an insult, I've only heard of it being used as such.