Aspergers and the notion of equality

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I remember reading somewhere that one of the traits of Aspergers is a tendency to believe that all people are equal. I pondered this for a short moment, then it made perfect sense, because it's the corollary to the neurotypical mindset of socio-political pyramids & hierarchies, which seems to be ingrained in their DNA. Maybe in an abstract way, it's part of our tendency to see things as "flat" (or "black and white" thinking, as NTs might put it). Which explains why many an Aspie in the workplace, for example, might address a supervisor (or higher) as they would a peer - no adjustment for context due to the notion of equality.

This is also no surprise, since as I and others have alluded to on separate threads, Aspergers appears to be a collective discarding of evolutionary psychology norms (i.e. greater heed given to nonverbal communication, social hierarchy and herd mentality, expected conformance to unspoken norms of the tribe or be cast out, reliance on spontaneous intuition for decision-making, etc, etc.)

But in any case... this notion of equality in people with Aspergers doesn't make us totally blind to the reality that some people (a few people) have more power than others - we are aware of it in theory, but it's just not something that we unconsciously practice with the same finesse as a neurotypical. If that makes sense (It should, after all, because we tend to have a wider gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application).

Think of Thomas Jefferson, who has been widely speculated as having Aspergers (which I disagree with and you'll see why in a bit) - he basically coined the phrase that "all men are created equal" and was a real iconoclast for his day. He had great writing talent and used big words. His ideas radically departed from hundreds, even thousands of years of oppressive governments and human means of organizing a civilization or tribe which ended in 1% at the top (one could say this would make him naive for thinking he could change this). He also obviously wasn't exposed to heavy media as are leaders today, so could get away with more eccentricities as a public figure. So far so good right, he seems like a probable Aspie, but for the fact that he hung onto his slaves...so could he really have been that big on equality is the rhetorical question

By 'equal', I hope that you mean only "having equal rights and responsibilities under the law", and not "equally privileged" or equal in a physiologic sense.

I think that what you may be referring to is called "Egalitarianism", which is: (1) a belief in human equality especially with respect to social, political, and economic affairs; or (2) a social philosophy advocating the removal of inequalities among people. (Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

For instance, when I see an image of the Pope or HRM Elizabeth II, I see only two old people in odd clothing -- I do not perceive them as exceptional in any way ... while fashion models may look all 'hot' and physically appealing, I also see that they are only women with exceptional makeup, clothing, and hair ... sports 'stars' are just big guys with limited vocabularies ... and so forth ...

Very well-put. People are just that--humans, not superbeings.

There are several different things you might be talking about when you say "equality"...

"Equality" in the sense of, everyone is equally valuable and everyone has the same rights--a philosophy; not particularly associated with autism, but definitely an important part of disability rights.

"Equality" in the sense of not being able to understand social position--definitely an autistic trait. It is a social trait, not a philosophical position, but such people may decide once they understand social position to ignore it anyway.

Some autistics just treat everyone the same way because they don't switch between different modes of social interaction when they talk to different people. So they would talk to the governor, their five-year-old sister, and the cashier at the grocery store pretty much the same way. This is a social trait, not really a philosophical position.

My tendency to think that all people are equal is related to depersonalization. I don't really have a socially identity, so I don't have much of a point of reference. I only initiate conversations with people who I know relatively well anyways. I'll try to get to know pretty much anyone though, regardless of social status, if they try to get to know me. I don't really get why most people dislike the feeling of depersonalization and have a strong need for a sense of identity. I think they're just afraid to let go of the world. Depersonalization is just my default operating mode, and that's the way I want to spend the rest of my life. I've tried having more of a sense of identity in the past and I didn't like it. The slight sense of identity that I do have seems to only subtract from my happiness. I miss how little thought I used to give to having a sense of identity back when I was a kid. I'm actually trying to further decrease my sense of identity, not increase it. Most people are probably trying to do the opposite.

Plenty of NTs identify with them and pretend to be like them, which I find pretty sad and pathetic.

Best description I've ever read--this is basically me, too, except for the multiple roles I must "shift" into in order to manage day to day. Even that can be tiring--I like to come home and just shrug all of them off.

I think there is something at my core that is "me", but it's hard to describe or identify....

My 2¢'s is that having a life... just having one... being conscious, having words running through your mind 24/7, is the rarest occurrence in all of time and space. You are one of us! Make it work for you... and the people that are around you.

This was good to see after a post I saw in another thread. Exactly. Egalitarianism.

This is one of our strengths!
There is no reason to accept the truth defined or orders given by a recognized authority BECAUSE he/she is an authority.
A higher percentage of NT´s seem to be more prepared to do that.

yeah in that way people are all the same to me. I differentiate them by if they are nice or mean or scary to me

This. I can still be pretty oppositional if I think the authority figure doesn't know what they're doing, though thankfully I haven't had to do this at work in a long time. I am very happy with my team lead and supervisor, as they are good, reasonable people who would give the rationale for their decisions, etc. They are also always willing to listen to our input. My team lead can be a bit blunt, but she's so good at what she does and so reasonable in her decisions that i don't really care!

Yup this is me all the way, I mean philosophically I believe in egalitarianism, but I think it came from my natural lack of a social identity and inability to understand the social identity and hierarchy of others. It is almost impossible for me to correctly interpret social context, so I just ignore it and treat everyone the same.

You don't have to accept truth defined by a recognized authority but there are 2 good reasons to accept orders from such people:

1)to stay out of jail (orders given by police or judge)
if you are breaking what you feel is an unjust law, you must accept that going to jail may be the price you pay

2)to keep your job (orders given by your boss)
if you are refusing to follow what you consider a bad order from a boss, you must accept that losing your job is the price you pay. The exception is if the boss gives an illegal order, but in that case you have to report the illegal order to legal authorities and follow whatever instructions they give (which will usually be something like "let us handle it") so you are still taking orders from authority

There is even a reason to accept orders from somebody who is not an authority: if that person is armed and you aren't or can't reach your weapon quickly enough. If an armed mugger orders you to hand over your wallet...follow that order.

1. I never mentioned antisocial behavior.
2. In small things, - yeah, keep the boss happy and keep your job.

I cannot recognize social position/power emotionally, only intellectually.

Still when I know it intellectually, I hate treating people differently because of social position/power. I have had to do it at a job, but I did not do it enough according to them. I tend to treat those well, that treat me well.