Could aspies ever be bullies

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I have always sensed aspies as people with a hopeless innocence to them that could absolutely never willfully do anything that even remotely resembles bullying. But I have heard a few people say that they've known aspies that do bully others for their own entertainment. I just have a hard time believing that it is possible. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone knows or has known another aspie that was intentionally mean and what they were like.

I am intentionally (but not unjustly) mean. I guess you could say that I am a bully because I pretty much am to anyone who starts stuff with me. We are as far as I understand very innocent but the whole lacking empathy thing could make someone unknowingly get them identified as a bully. I on the other hand do have empathy most of the time, but when people betray me I enjoy watching them cry, I'll laugh, and I'll laugh even harder if they call me a jerk or heartless or something.

There are many different personalities in AS.
And some people, when they are bullied, feel the need to do the same to someone else, because it makes them feel better.

Sometimes people bully others because they see people in positions of power doing it (like managers) and they think that in order to get into that position of power they have to do that also.

I always think it's funny when I walk into a fast food chain and you see a short squeeky voiced manager bossing everyone around. You can just look at them and tell that someone messed them up as a kid.

Power is definitely a psychological benefit of being the bully, doesn't even have to be related to job status at all. Just having the knowledge that you can drive a person to tears or self-harm is power enough for an instantaneous reward.

I think that it depends on the personality type, of the person with AS.

Yes, anyone can be an antisocial jerk. This would be like asking. Can Christians be bullies. Yes, a person is a person. Regardless of which ever hat they wear, they're still a human wearing that hat. And humans are prone to being an assortment of different people.

i could be a bully. unless you believe in faith. i'm not a buly because i have a strong sense of justice.

Yes, there are any number of intellectual bullies over on PPR.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to_nJRBcQRY[/youtube]



the video kids use to push me too it's called bullying. i hope i'm not out of line but bullying people can go both ways special needs or NT.

yes they can be bullies just like anyone else.
lol my 4 year old niece a few days ago beat up her therapies
lol. cute.

edit: nevermind. I should sleep.

Last edited by Apx on 03 Jul 2010, 8:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

I think so, in some cases it could be a symptom of unacknowledged post traumatic stress disorder such as having been beaten by ones father or witnessing domestic violence. This however is not an excuse. in terms of Aspiphobia by an aspie which can exist is the person (undiagnosed) hates the fact that he or she might have AS.

My hopeless innocence was shattered by drunken abusive parents a long time ago. I do remember it though.

Yes, some aspies can be bullies and knowingly and willfully be mean and cause harm to people. I was one in high school. I think the type of bullying might have been different. It wasn't a face to face name calling type of thing. It was a behind the scenes malicious and manipulative type of behavior, while leaving enough clues so people knew who was doing it, but not enough clues to get caught by the police. My juvenile folder was stuffed full of crimes and items I was being investigated for, but could never be proven. I wasn't a nice kid, you wouldn't want to be the one I'd choosen to get to. Tony Attwood in his AS book briefly talks about autistic malice. He says its rare, but that it is real. So yes. I can easily do it tommorow and I fight the urge every day.

I was actually a bully for about a year in elementary school b/c I started copying how my friends were treating a certain kid... I kinda doubt most aspies/auties can intentionally be bullies just b/c from my own experience I was "parroting" other people's behaviors to try & learn how to "be normal" (didn't work obviously).

I tried to be one once, because I was so desperate to get in with the cool kids and I was sick of being at the bottom of the ladder.
I was a crap bully of course, and whoever it was looked at me like I was mental. I used to call one guy a bible basher and try to look all hard, when he was clearly at a higher position than me socially and actually having an effect on him would be impossible. I tried to be nasty to one boy who turned out to be an aspie (we became great friends for about 2 years, until he became popular.) And I stole his stationary in front of him, I still have his sharpener now somewhere. And chased him in the playground shouting insults (once again crap bully) and he just thought I was being weird.
In junior school there was a girl who was mildly ret*d and people would pick on her, sometimes I'd be friendly with her, but others I would be bitchy to her. Because that's what everyone else did, and I wanted to be like everyone else and be at the top. Of course, people would have a go at me for it even though they picked on her. Because I wasn't worthy of bully status, I was right at the bottom at the same level as her. I am very guilty about this since I learned of my own disability. I recently saw her on facebook but couldn't add her because I remembered pushing her and saying insults in the school trip and felt too guilty.
I did not hate the people I tried to bully, I just wanted to climb up that ladder instead of being a loser. I was so jealous of everyone else and I couldn't understand why people hated me.

In junior school I also stole 20p coins from people's bags, once stole a carton of juice and no one knew who was. I was just copying other people and thought I was cool. That's how desperate, and clueless, I was.

Last edited by MONKEY on 03 Jul 2010, 9:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

Absolutely autistics of all kinds bully. There is no such thing as a category of people that is immune to bullying. The main reason autistics bully less is lack of opportunity.

I have known all kinds of autistics who bully or have bullied. One said she beat other kids up to make them afraid of her so she could force them to play with her. I have met many autistics who become fanatical about a cause and use that as an excuse to bully those who don't share their views. Some autistics, while not habitual bullies, have participated in bullying thinking we would fit in better (I remember saying "Let's all hide so (girl's name) doesn't know we are here" once thinking maybe it would help me fit in). Others do it when they find themselves in a community that accepts people like them, and the power coming from that acceptance corrupts them.

No group of people on earth is universally innocent and sweet That is a stereotype of many kinds of disabled people but never an accurate one.