Using the Term Autistic Too Describe Something Bad

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Is it just me or is using the term Autistic to describe something bad,poor, and/or stupid offensive? It just ticks me off and is offensive when I see a NT type it in a comment, meme, or uses it in person as an adjective for the reasons I just typed. I always thought it was offensive since the first time I saw it being used. It makes it look like and stereotype us as being bad and stupid people. And I don't like it one bit.

This has to be something fairly recent among teens. I've never heard the term being used as a pejorative except when people bring it up on WP. When I was younger, kids commonly used the "r-" word that way, though. I suppose now that the old term is widely regarded as off-limits, young people have appropriated Autism as the new word to indicate someone is "less than."

I thought it was the opposite. "ret*d" was used to the point you didn't think twice reading/hearing it, but "autistic" was new so it stood out more and was much more offensive.

That's more or less what I was trying to say. But I may have been unclear.

Well, where I come from, "autistic" isn't the equivalent of "ret*d", instead it describes obsessive behaviour, like with minutia, or intense focus.

I've seen the term being used to describe a behavior a person does that is consistent with autism like "autistic lack of empathy" to mean someone genuinely doesn't understand, not that they are an as*hole and don't care or the time I was watching a documentary about Russia's toughest prison and an inmate there said in the video inmates there go in their autistic state of mind because none of them were allowed to interact with each other and they were all kept isolated and couldn't sit or lay on their beds so they had to pace at all times in their cell.

But over at Reddit I have seen the word get thrown around and I have no idea if that is meant to be an insult or if they are armchair diagnosing.

I've never seen it used outside of WP to mean anything other than its literal meaning (common misconceptions not withstanding). Then again, I don't think I've ever knowingly visited Reddit, so maybe I'm just out of touch with pop culture.

Since when has autism become a pejorative? I have seen this on a couple of occasions, my brother has seen it more and has actually been called autistic as an insult despite the fact he is an NT. He follows and comments on reddit and several other online platforms much more than I do and says it has become fairly common.

I will call something ret*d/autistic if it is bad or stupid. I go by the rules that if you have the condition, it gives you the right to joke about it. For example, I am also a cancer survivor so I will make cancer jokes and not feel bad about it because I had it. Same with autism.

It is more of a younger persons thing. However when I was reading the 65 year old Chrissie Hynde's autobiography when she used "Aspergy " to describe a British music critic's collection of rock music magazines. I think it was used more as a descriptor if not a compliment in her case as she is obsessive about music herself. I would expect most people who would read that word being used in that context would think of it as a pejorative.

Off Topic Note: After reading the book my impression is that she is atypical but not autistic as she demonstrated knowledge of social skills and communication and others motivations.

If I ever heard anybody using the word autistic to describe something bad, I'd just tell them that I'm autistic and I'm happy to be alive.

I have autism too. But I don't joke about it like that. Because why would I say a joke about my condition if I find it offensive?

Not sure about Dts888, but I find things funny because they are offensive, even (I may even go as far as to say "especially") if it's offensive towards me.

Personally, I enjoy self-deprecating humor. I'll joke about being Autistic, overweight, of French ancestry, or left-handed - because I am all of those things. I'm not offended if friends poke fun at my distinctive traits, because I know they're not being malicious. Likewise, I see the humor in things like The Onion video featuring the Autistic reporter because it's intended to be a comical exaggeration of traits that we know are based in reality. The video isn't implying that Autistic people are stupid or less than, etc.

I think the critical point is whether humor is being used to tear someone down or is just a way of lightheartedly poking fun at a thing. Most people with a sense of humor know the difference between a vicious attack and playing off stereotypes for comedic effect. (Unless they happen to be like some online activists I've had the displeasure of encountering, in which case they might be looking for reasons to be offended.)

Humour is a typical way of dealing with stress. I have on occasion joked here about autism and have on occasion joked about my need for a feeding tube and inability to speak. I have never joked about my cancer directly.

As for "offensiveness", I judge it on a case by case basis. The persons' neurology who is making an autism joke is a factor. I am not offended at the very idea of a nonautistic person making an autism joke or an NT actor playing an autistic for that matter.

I, too, enjoy "offensive" humour. I somtimes mock my stupid behaviours, and I get a laugh out of it.
I honestly think that a lot of people want to be offended at something sometimes.
(Also lol'd at "online activists".)