Aspie Elitism

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Wow, thanks Dent that means a lot to me!

Ditto and no joke.

I don't think it's the Aspies, or the Alex secret Ninja army. We are watching you Jerry.

Wrong Planet The online community for Autism and Asperger's.

The core of this place is the inside view of Autism. It has been very helpful to me.

While I may have a few talents, developed through long term obsessions, which having spent more time, with intense focus, over long years, I am a lot better at than most humans.

The other side is I have learned there is something called social skills. I never knew they were of any importance. ToM is also a mystery to me, I do not see the need.

My main problems with this site have come from people demanding that I respond to their social needs. I should understand their thoughts, and respond with compassion.

As always, I ask the wrong questions.

I see social skills as manipulation, and ToM as a rigged guessing game.

I do know what compassion and empathy are, and if that is what you want, post in the Haven.

Not that I care, but I am rule following, and the Haven is a protected place.

The discord I see here seems to come from a small group, they have social agendas.

Some are phishing for other sites, using this as a platform, this is not a community they support, but a place to shop for easy marks, and they do not like their motives questioned.

Some are shopping for lab rats, Doctor Eddie and others, many undergrads. Some are Freshmen writing a paper for Psych and using this site to run a test.

A lot of the, Do you hear voices, Are they out to get you, Are people talking about you behind your back, seem to be some Psycho Major with a paper to write. They say nothing about themselves, do not add to ongoings discussions, and their questions seem chosen to split the group into two, and play let's you and him fight.

A common type comes on a thread and says everything you say is wrong, backs that with a claim of a Degree in the subject, but is much too busy doing important things to even start telling you how wrong you are, such as bringing up facts that can be checked.

X-members and trolls, sock puppets, are a minor problem.

Some seem to be in the employ of the National Psychobabble Society for they refer everyone to Professional Mental Health Treatment, before it is too late.

garyww asks how many here are autistic or asperger's, and that starts a defensive wave, some claiming to have been Dxed by Dr. Asperger himself. A large percentage claim garyww has no right to question them. Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.

Some are here to study for the Asperger's Test, so they can get special accomidation in the university, a free laptop, private rooms, more time for tests, and better grades to get into Grad School. After they mine the Disability money, they will claim that the social problems have been dealt with and all they have left is a high IQ and creativity ready to go to work for corporate capitalism, and they fill a disability and minority slot.

I am amused by the strong defense of NT's. 99.33% of the population is perfect in every way, and no comments from the ret*ds are allowed. We are supposed to spend all our effort trying to be like them.
OK, give me a $10,000,000,000 bailout and I will give you a $1,000,000,000 political donation.

All disagreements with how things are run just show how ungrateful we are, are labled NT bashing, Elitism, and worse. Most of this seems to come from the group that claims special psychological knowledge, and uses it to show we are in denial that it is all our fault.

The most problem I have had comes from Zombies, created by a psychobabbling witch doctors with magic pills. They come when I say I like myself, like the way I am, for I have never known anything else. Then I hear Brains, Brains, as they tear down the door, they dealt with their problem through therapy and drug treatment, and they have to be right, for they spent a lot of money.

It is very wrong that I dealt with my own life, sat on a hill and watched the moon rise, with my doctor, Jack Daniels, and never made payments on some yuppie's BMW.

I am here because some things do reach me, Millie's lumpy brained people from far left field. I don't do sports, but it sounds right.

I might be a four cylinder engine running on two, that is what IQ tests said, I run real good on two, no one could fix the engine, but I found that if I pulled the valves from the cylinders that were not working, did not care about things I could not change, quit wasting fuel on them, they just added to the mass of the flywheel on the two that were working very well.

My goal is not to be a normal human, a point of disagreement, but to be the best I can be and get through life.

I am not well rounded, but the direction of everything has gone to specialization. It is accepted that there is more than can be learned, so is neurology any different than information?

By normal definition I am half of a human. I have heard of the other half, but it just does not work for me. I am a follower of the great teacher of the modern age, Danielismyname, who said, "I do not care." Those words set me free.

Being as I put all the energy of a human behind being a half human, I get results.

Normal is being developed in all directions. Most are, and IQ 100. Some might be developmently delayed in some directions, they can catch up, others like myself are permanatly ret*d. It would be a waste of my life and anyone elses to try to change that.

I am half mentally ret*d, which is still a nice way of saying, missing. The other half is not mentally ret*d, it is in fact over developed, as I had nothing else to do.

I am a half wit, but play my half well enough to get by. I only play where I can win. Half Wit Elitist.

For me the whole idea of treatment is hopeless. All I can do is go with what I have.

Out in the border lands, the Aspie NT interface, change might be possible, take that case by case. Just knowing the mental range of humans seems to help many who have had problems they did not understand, that reading about Asperger's showed in a new light. Know your enemy works. It also works both ways, as NTs seek advantage through claiming AS as a disability.

As for Aspie Elitism, 75% of people say they are in the top 25%.

I do not think there is an anti NT bias, or an anti Aspie bias, "I don't care", covers them all.

Equal opertunity is shown by the computer mouse, it was designed so that an opposed thumb is not needed.

Hello. I hope I have never come across as elitist in here. I do admit to being honest about loving having Asperger's Syndrome. But I say that because I regard Asperger's a best friend to me. I realize that without having Asperger's I would not have the interests in my life that give me joy. To not have Asperger's would take away the things that make me who I am. But I hope that doesn't come across as elitist. I admit to having problems in my life. I see a therapist for issues involving my being a father of two sons, and a husband of a wonderful neurotypical wife. I want to be better for them. I highly respect garyww and regard him as one of the wisest posters here in the WrongPlanet.

My point here is this---if I ever come across as elitist please let me know. I don't want to come across that way. I have high respect for all of you wherever you fall on the spectrum---and I do not feel superior to any of you. As for you garyww, please remember that there are more of us (at least I hope I am right on this) that are not the superior feeling types. And I highly regard you and highly respect your posts. Also, whenever you respond to my posts, I feel honored.

glider18

I can see that it might be a good thing to offer more choices than "Aspergers" and "other autistic spectrum diagnosis" in the profiles - it does seem to weigh things in favour of Aspergers, and there are people here who talk like the forum is for Aspergers only, which has always puzzled me.

What I find confusing and stressful is that I have a very high IQ, but I can't hold down a job (and couldn't work long-term anywhere even with accommodation), so what is autism, and what is functioning? In HIQ land, there is a vocal minority that believes that if you have a high IQ, you can never have any real problems because you are God's blessed or whatever. They refuse to believe that disability can trump IQ, level it even, flatten it to the ground. I really got flamed over that one elsewhere.

I can see how young people, in their 20s, still in school even, would be more optimistic about their chances in the real world. I wish them all the best, truly, and I think I was like that on one level myself back then (though on a deeper level I think I always knew I was in trouble). And I don't want to puncture any balloons, since they're going up against enough as it is. (Plus we need people here who can hold down jobs, to donate money to keep this place going. )

But I think we need to remember at all times that right now in history we are not doing well as a group, so if there is a subset of people on the spectrum who are doing well, we can perhaps learn from them, since surely it is not just IQ that gives them an advantage?

Well Inventor, I haven't earned any special accomodations or free laptop or whatever for that matter. In fact the only thing that's been gained is knowing I had it all this time but didn't know.

Most people don't get a special disability or financial help just because of ASD anyway, at least not here.

Anemone: " What I find confusing and stressful is that I have a very high IQ, but I can't hold down a job (and couldn't work long-term anywhere even with accommodation), so what is autism, and what is functioning? In HIQ land, there is a vocal minority that believes that if you have a high IQ, you can never have any real problems because you are God's blessed or whatever. They refuse to believe that disability can trump IQ, level it even, flatten it to the ground. I really got flamed over that one elsewhere. "

This is the story of my life, so far, here. I actually don't think that it's a minority of people who think that high IQ affects real life, pragmatic performance, and other problems. In the world, in general, I've met far more people who will accuse me of arrogance or elitism if I say I'm smart, intelligent, or enjoy pursuing certain subjects often thought to be that of the cognoscenti, even though I've never said that my IQ is such a number ( I don't know what it is, I don't test well on those things anyway, and the tester wouldn't tell me ), but I'm still judged for it. Even if I did throw out a number, I'm not sure that alone should matter either.

When someone is good at sports or art or cooking, or whatever other some or mostly socially accepted abilities, talents, forms of intelligence, perhaps, most people don't complain. We hold up sports champions as heroes, defend their rights to be proud of being "undefeated." What's the difference between knocking a guy out with one punch, and being a "genius", grasping things quicker than others, or even coming up with new or at least, functionally new ideas, interpretations, seeing relationships between things that most will never even begin to comprehend?

If one makes a claim, not even to that level of intelligence, but anywhere close, one might as well expect to be crucified. Maybe it's because most people feel that they can learn a sport, or an art form, or even get a college degree....those are skills....but that one can never learn to be brilliant. Maybe brilliance in itself is unfair. But then again I can't dance, or walk without worrying about falling, that could be considered unfair also. I'll never be a ballet dancer, I'll never be a champion soccer player or swimmer or a famous, and good musician, even if I could learn to play in tune. At any rate, I try to do what I am good at, because it's not useful to focus on things that not only, am I not good at, but will never be.

And I think I know what you mean about "knowing that you were always in trouble." I'm not worried about bursted bubbles.....I'm worried about my own long term survival. There are so many other things that affect, compromise, and potentially negate IQ. What does being intelligent mean anyway? I can read the post-modernist philosophy of Foucault, but I can't work in a basic retail job? Philosophy doesn't help me flip my pancakes any better, or not spill my glass of water. It doesn't keep me from getting lost, or give me better directional understanding. It hasn't improved the quality or quantity of my relationships with others. It doesn't make my sensory issues make any more sense.

Inventor: I take your post as pretty much spot on. And I don't see it as saying that everyone is seeking a diagnosis so that they can exploit the system. I assume, that the word "some" means "some". With that being said, I don't think that anyone who needs accommodation should be denied it.
However, I'm not sure I would define myself as "half-human". Who gets to define what human is anyway? If it's the majority, however they may be comprised, and I/ we are not in the majority, then why should they get the sole defining rights, and why should I accept their exclusive definition? Even if I did accept such a thing, at the core, it doesn't change what anything really is necessarily.

As far as therapy and medication, much can validly be said for and against it. I think that it, like anything, is contextually dependent. Whether it "works" or not.....is really irrelevant, I don't believe in cures, even the "cured" from any category, not just Autism, either learn to cope, live with, accept, be happy with, or have "symptoms" subside or appear to, and live their lives in ways considered "positive", usually meaning--socially accepted, productivity-even if somewhat eccentric, or not. Either one is or becomes "happy" with oneself, or one doesn't. And even then, one's level of tolerance is and will change depending on many factors. Happy isn't a word I like to use.....maybe accepting or tolerant..content? At some point, I think, that we all have to deal with the fact that we exist, in this form, in this time and space, on this planet, with certain sets of circumstances, and we can either deal with that in the most pragmatic and effective ways for ourselves, individually and otherwise, or not. And that we will either deal with it or not. As has always been done.

As for compassion and empathy.....I'm not sure I would say that I lack those traits. I think that I lack them in the ways that they are traditionally defined, as by a far more social and emotional majority, commonly referred to as NT.
Even being a "loner" as they describe me, in my day to day life. Even preferring the company of other animals to humans. Even finding many "social" situations intolerable, or if forced into a situation, forcing myself to muster all the strength I have to survive it, I am aware that I live in a planet, a world, a universe, that is inextricably intertwined, for better or worse, whether the sun is shining or a volcano is erupting. Even if I were to buy camoflague and live off the land and try to keep my contact with others as minimal as practically possible--my presence on Earth is affecting that of others. I'm taking from the land and maybe giving to it. I will interact with someone at some point, however briefly.

We're here on this site, we're communicating, well or badly or somewhere in between, but we still are--with each other, persons. If the act of sharing our thoughts, perhaps one of the most intimate things one can do, maybe the most, doesn't automatically necessitate compassion or empathy, although, not always involving it, at some level, then what does? To "speak" in any form-verbal, written, visual, kinesthetically, telepathically, etc., is an act of reaching out, of acknowledging the existence of an entity other than ourselves, and even if, in only a barely perceptible way, conferring some degree of worth, of recognition on another. And while, I'm Not stating that anyone seeks confirmation of their identity or existence......I think that people do, if not consciously, subconsciously. And I know that probably contradicts myself....but too many problems come from not being able to accept simultaneous possibilities and existences.

As I originally said
"Sometimes it appears as if a few posters exhibit what could best be described as a form of ‘Aspie Elitism’ in that they assume that having Asperger’s Syndrome makes them better or superior to people who are just plain Autistic, even more superior than those fortunate enough to be high functioning Autistics".
Some of us, even some high level Aspies are not gifted with the intellectural or social graces a few members have. For some reason, I call it elitism, they forget that many of us do have different perceptions and skill sets so when we complain about something in a thread it's seen as asking for special treatment which we shouldn't need.
For instance I know how you're supposed to play a Utube video by clicking on the 'arrow' and don't need to have this pointed out in a thread. I'm not quite that stupid. I can't however understand the video and only wanted clarification. Anyway there are Aspie elitists and I also know that there are elitstits in every area of life.