How would a country run by autistics and aspergians look?

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Like a third-world country with no one in charge, and everyone trying to get everyone else banned.

jackinblack, that sounds good, in principle. So, guys based on the idea of a business, how would you like to see that set up to reflect our various needs in order to work efficiently?

fnord, stop negging and take this seriously, come on.

Don't we get bored of moaning about poor us? Let's try to make our own corner of this world. Do we really want to keep leaving our destiny in the hands of people(NT's) who don't even like us half the time?

I am serious.

Most of us can't seem to get along with anyone else in person for very long - there goes any hope for reaching a consensus agreement among equals for such things as infrastructure, building codes, street repair, public safety, fair regulation of businesses, et cetera.

Most of of seem unwilling or unable to even hold down a job or maintain meaningful relationships with our families.

WrongPlanet is an example of an autistic community. Just read through the posts in the L&D and PP&R sub-fora. If "Autististan" were run by autistics, it would be a true anarchy, but without anyone willing or able to cooperate long enough to present a united and cohesive front against invasion.

Btw ... "Negging" is a behavior used by pick-up artists to attract insecure women. Your use of the term in the context of this thread's topic is both inappropriate and irrelevant.

I disagree, like any other country the people who are most interested in and most capable of getting in power will get in power, with varying degrees of competency. The leader/president/king/queen/prime minister may occasionally give lectures on pokemon (random stereotype), but by necessity be somebody also interested in politics, and capable of navigating a political realm. And that person will be just as corrupt as any NT leader :-p

I think such a country would look exactly the same as any other country, at least externally and politically. Social rules might be a bit more different and more accepting of individuality and diversity (at the cost of other social freedoms, such as unwritten rules about how loud you can be in public and such). But then every country has slightly different social norms anyway.

Also the title of this thread is a little weird to me because having Asperger's Syndrome makes one Autistic anyway. Ah well.

If you want to find out what Autististan's society would be like, just read through the 20 or so most popular GAD, Haven, L&D, and PP&R threads.

Hopeless and chaotic ...

It wouldn't last long before being conquered by a country run by bullies. And then the victors would pass a Constitution declaring every bully's perpetual and unalienable right to bully every autistic they meet.

You're assuming those would be the autistics that rose to leadership positions in the society. I don't think that would be the case, it's one thing to talk about and debate issues, it's a different one to lead-- and yes, aspies can lead, it's just very rare. One example is Augustus Caesar, probably the greatest leader the planet has seen. I know the peril in diagnosing through history, but Augustus fits the bill much more than any historical figure-- bookish and nerdy as a youth, calculating as an adult, noted for his endless stare, superior focus, keen sense of sound as well as his adherence to Roman rules and morality. Not to mention that he was considered "aloof" and not very sociable. Oh yeah, he also had seizures (as the Romans called them) where he would "flap his hands like a bird" and pace endlessly for hours-- sounds autistic to me. All that said, he set the foundation for Rome to rule for 500 years after his death, even when the NT's that followed him tried to f**k s**t up, the foundation Augustus set down was strong. So yeah, I don't think bickering and arguing would ensue, it's one thing to argue on a forum, it's another to actually set down the foundation of a country.

Also, WP is merely a small sliver of the autistic world, one which doesn't even give a real view of the people we are talking to because it's merely text. What's to say that in person, many more of us decide to negotiate than argue since the impersonal barrier of internet text is taken away and thus our anonymity. It's also possible that the best and brightest of us, the true leaders of said society don't even visit this website.


Side note: the flapping of arms comes from Tacitus, who was writing about fifty years after Augustus, and was making reference to it to describe a genetic madness of the Julian line he blamed on Caligula and Nero's behavior. It may or may not be true, but when I was diagnosed with autism one of the first things that came to my mind was Tacitus' description of Augustus' arm motions.

I bet the majority of people would work from home.

Who would build those homes? Who would build the power grid, the water works, and the sewage lines?

Where would we find enough capable people to actually run the government of Autististan?

Again, you seem to think we're all lazy and just not capable. I don't buy that line one bit. I can do physically demanding jobs, I'm willing to do physically demanding jobs, and I think a lot of people on this forum are as well. As for planning it and designing it, who do you think does that now-- a bunch of people with autistic traits.

It would suck as much as any other country. In the years since I've found out I have Asperger's, I have found that Aspies are just as likely to argue, offend, and be offended by other Aspies than anyone else - if not more so. I know I'm right about this, so don't try to argue with me...

[opinion=mine]

Not lazy, just incapable. I've lost count of the threads where people complain about not being able to handle a job, not being able to handle a job interview, and not being able to handle a classroom environment where they could learn the job skills to get a job. Then there are the people who complain that they are offered only menial manual labor, and how they get paid less than others. I'm not so idealistic as some; instead, I'm considering the population of WP as representative of the population of Autististan.

As for planning and designing Autististan, "a bunch of people with autistic traits" is not the same as being a bunch of people with autism. It's like saying that people with flu-like symptoms have the flu, when they may only have allergies or reactions to drugs. A person with autistic traits may only be an NT with a few odd quirks, and nothing more.

Autististan would have to be financed, constructed, and maintained by people with autism. Otherwise, it would just be another ghetto owned and operated by NT councils - the members of which would have no idea what it is like to be one of us - and who would want to move into a Council House (unless they were in an even worse housing situation, of course)?

Lazy? Maybe not.

Incapable? Most likely.

[/opinion]

I'm sorry you have such a low opinion of us.

I would point out that judging a potential society by those seeking help is a little unfair. Those aspies and autistics who are getting on fine are not gonna be asking for advice. And, then again, there's nothing wrong with asking for advice. It's healthy and useful. NTs struggle with their jobs, and sometimes feel like they can't cope. It doesn't mean they are incapable of meaningful work.