Why do people in these aspergers videos all look ret*d?

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The only guy like that that I remember, is The Hamburger Guy.

You have no friends, OP?

THAT person didn't have AS EITHER!

I have nothing against mentally challenged people but yes, I do find it somewhat insulting. I'm sorry if that bothers you, but I'm just being honest. If someone said "you look slow" you're telling me you wouldn't be hurt by that? Mabye not, but everyone is different and I'm just being honest. I don't like to hear that. It bothers me.

Anyway the point of the thread is when I think of aspergers, I think of mabye someone like Keanu Reeves for example. Watch some of his interviews. Very monotone, yet intelligent sounding at the same time. And it is suspected he has Aspergers. Thats basically what I picture A.S. as.

Yet some of the videos on youtube...the people on there who have A.S. don't really sound like that. It's hard to explain this, you're going to think I'm bashing ret*d people but I'm not intending to do that. I'm just wondering why there are no videos of people with A.S. on youtube who sound more like Keanu Reeve, or me, or others I have met who have A.S.

The "Corky" example was not meant to demean. I think his character was terrific in bringing awareness to that issue. It's all I could think of to compare though. I'm just not sure if I want A.S. to be represented in that same way when I feel it's inaccurate.

So I'm wondering if these people who post videos on youtube who say they have A.S. really do have it, or if they suffer from something else. That's all. I'm just saying when I see them I don't think of aspergers, I think of something else.

They probably do have AS. Since the autistic spectrum is a spectrum there are probably as many ways to be and appear autistic as there are autistic people.

I did care in the past and even believed people when they told me I was stupid, but now I don't really acknowledge people who try to call me stupid because, whatever, I know what I can do.

I do think that abandoning "ret*d" as a word to describe people is really a good course of action. There are a lot of good reasons as to why described in various places online. There are better ways to communicate this.

Rule of thumb: If you say ret*d, people (AS and NT) will focus on that word and miss the overall picture so therefore you won't get a very good responses.

It's sad how society has turned it into a bad word so we must PC it now. Say "low IQ" or "mentally challenged" or "mental retardation." That will keep the attackers off your back and won't miss the overall picture.

Why has ret*d became such a stigma? Even I hated being called it as a kid but yet if I was called autistic back then too I bet I still would have hated it. I even used to take offense to when I get asked if I was ret*d or not. Now I just don't care anymore. I just think that is all they could think of. There are lot of conditions out there that can make someone look different and ret*d was all they could think of. Think about it. That's what makes it funny now. But no one hasn't asked me this in years now in real life.

I guess ret*d has become idiot, stupid, imbecile, and moron but why don't people freak out over those words when you say them? Those other words used to be medical words for low IQs too depending on how low their IQs were but people started to miss use those words as insults to put people down and now they are no longer medical words. Doctors don't use them anymore but the original meanings remain in the dictionary but they don't mean that anymore out in the world. That's what people started to do with ret*d. I guess now I am going to have to accept times have changed again and ret*d has become the new stupid, idiot, moron, and imbecile. But now to wait for the double standards to end.

Actually, some people do get upset about "idiot, stupid, imbecile, and moron." I don't get upset about them but I prefer to avoid insults that suggest things about people's intellect. I used to call people's arguments and opinions stupid, but I try not to do so anymore.

"PC" as a description of using language that doesn't piss people off strikes me as fairly dismissive, like there are only superficial reasons for not using stigmatizing language, when perhaps there are deeper reasons. Of course, using kinder language doesn't mean people will think kinder thoughts. I tend to prefer that people understand the history of the words they're using, and they can come to their own conclusions. As if I could stop anyone from using particular words. I do, however, consider their willingness to use such words when interacting with them.

I like this post about political correctness, that explains why using it in such a way is questionable and problematic:

http://replay.waybackmachine.org/200906 ... _prop.html

You're right, if I called someone stupid or dumb and those other two words to their faces, they would get upset, especially if they caught me calling them it behind their backs or found out I called them it. But what I meant was if I were talking about how stupid people are in general or saying how dumb my ex's were, I doubt it would draw negative attention. But if I said ret*d, then I might negative attention because people would react to that word. That is the double standard there. Not everyone reacts to ret*d of course but there will always be someone who will speak up. Saying that word out in public, yeah you might get a reaction out of a stranger saying how they have a kid with Down's syndrome or autism or any other special needs or if you're luckily, they might politely ask you to not use that word. But no one asks you to refrain from using the words stupid or moron or imbecile or dumb or idiot. Like if someone were to post a thread "My mom is stupid" I doubt the OP get attacks. But if he said ret*d, oh yeah. But then I am sure some people would say how it's not polite to call his mother stupid over something she did or what mistake she made.