I'm kind of offended by The Autistic Pride movements

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im asexual we are only less than one percent of the demographic most people dont even know what asexuality is
(asexuality is the preference of not liking males or females or anyone/thing for that mattter)
i am sorry for your pain though

sincerely, joey

I don't think The is going to be back.

What I don't get about the "Pride" movements (LGBT and Autism) is what exactly the "Pride" is for. The only dictionary.com definitions of "pride" that would make sense in context (i.e. not a group of lions, etc.) are:
"a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc. "

"the state or feeling of being proud. " (with "proud" being defined as "feeling pleasure or satisfaction over something regarded as highly honorable or creditable to oneself")

"a becoming or dignified sense of what is due to oneself or one's position or character; self-respect; self-esteem. "

and

"pleasure or satisfaction taken in something done by or belonging to oneself or believed to reflect credit upon oneself: "

The first and second definitions seem unusual, because they would imply that gays/autistics are superior to heterosexuals/NTs, which should offend the latter two groups. However, I do not believe that this is the case.

The third definition is possible, but something tells me if there were to be a "Heterosexual Pride Day" or a "Neurotypical Pride Day" then the minority (GLBT for the former and non-NTs for the latter) would be offended. So this wouldn't make too much sense either, since it's implying that they are "special" when in reality, what they (for the most part) want is to be considered just "different" yet at the same time, a regular person.

So, we come to the last one. For some people, this makes sense. But once again, it implies that being gay or autistic is something that should make you feel proud and special, which in my opinion is wrong. It is no different than saying you feel proud for liking chocolate ice cream when most people like Vanilla. And the fact is, even there, if someone were to say "I'm proud to be heterosexual" to a gay person or group of gay people, it would be perceived as homophobic. And if someone were to say "I'm proud to be a neurotypical" to a group of people with AS or autism, then those people would take offense. Yet it's still perfectly okay for a homosexual to say "I'm proud to be gay" or for someone with Aspergers to say "I'm proud to be autistic". So, at best it's self-paradoxical and at worst, it's offensive to heterosexuals and NTs. But with political correctness as it is, nobody's going to come out (no pun intended) and say so, or they'd be labeled as homophobic/offensive.

I'm both gay and Aspergian. I have had more hatred and bigotry flung at me for being on the spectrum in the four months since I have been diagnosed than I ever have had flung at me in the 23 years that I have been out as gay.

I have never (knowingly) lost a friend because he/she discovered I was gay. I HAVE lost some to Asperger's. They think that I am making it up or faking it for attention (like I need that at 46).

All of my family stood by me when I came out as gay. After I came out with my diagnosis, my favorite aunt stopped talking to me. She didn't understand Asperger's and from what she did understand, I was a psychopath.

I have never had men NOT date me because I was gay! Heck, I was pretty popular actually, but as soon as I tell them that I have Asperger's, they're gone.

I can find videos on YouTube and sites on the web that make arguments that we (AS people) should be wiped out, that we are sissies and cry-babies, and that we are damaging to the cause of low-functioning autistics.

No, actually the GLBT community has little in common with autistics psychologically; gays support each other, so that when they are having a hard time in life, they have somewhere to go or someone to turn to. But as a result of my Asperger's, I cannot relate to the gay community; I don't understand the neurotypical gays any more than I understand any other neurotypical people. So, as soon as I got my diagnosis, I began to immediately identify with autistics. THESE were people I could understand.

If there were ONE gay man who bothered to try to understand me in twenty years (outside of my current boyfriend), then I may have had a sense of solidarity, but I found myself ridiculed and ostracized by fellow gay men, just as much as anyone else.

So, to make a long story a little shorter, you're really not going to ever find me comparing the GLBT community to the autistic community. Gays for most most part can blow me (pun intended), I have found my cause and I have found peace.

We are talking apples and oranges here.

Yes, there are autistics who have died in circumstances in which their autism was a factor. Generally, however, this was due to ignorance, rather than malice. A police officer shoots a person in a mistaken belief about the person's erratic behaviour is awful--but it's hot a hate crime. Violence directed against GLBT people tends primarily to be of a malicious origin.

In contrast to dyingofpoetry, my experience as a gay man and as an Aspie has seen me face far more overt discrimination as the former than as the latter. I have never had to challenge my employer over accommodation of my aspie needs, but I have had to fight them over recognition of my same-sex partner. The employment equity policy of the Government of Canada will recognize AS as a disability. It does not recognize sexual orientation.

I am, to this day, permanently deferred from donating blood, because I have had sex with another man. I am aware of nothing that I am prohibited from doing on the basis of my sexual orientation.

Autistic Pride has an important place in improving our visibility and understanding of our particular circumstances. But Autistic Pride should establish itself on its own terms, not in terms of what has come before it.

Ah, but Visagrunt, you are overlooking the one very basic difference between the apples and the oranges: Without sex there is no sexuality.

Just keep your penis (or vagina) in your pants and the gay goes away. Stop having relationships with people of the same sex and there are no more gay issues. It's called hiding it. It's sad, shameful, and pathetic, but hey, people have been doing it for centuries. Further, if gay men and women stop having sexual and romantic relationships, it brings them a lot closer to the autistic experience... but you know what? That condition doesn't go away.

Both homosexuality and autism may be caused by brain wiring, but gay men and women can gain acceptance just by pretending to be straight! Even if just for a little while. No change in lifestyle will make the Asperger's go away. Some neurotypical people think that works, but even if we try to behave neurotypically, our poor objective self-awareness will make it more clear to others than ourselves just what a terrible job we're doing at hiding it.

And herein lies the reason that I identify more as an autisitc man than as a gay man. People can tell that something is "wrong" with me, though they don't know what, fairly quickly. I'm easily taken advantage of and can't form friendships. I worry lately that I can't live independently. None of that comes from being gay and no one guesses that I am gay. All I am to those around me is strange. I know many, and so do you, successful gay people who head companies, have multitudes of supportive friends, handle their finances well, and are competent and important people in their community.

For autistics (though admittedly at differing levels) those things just don't happen and never will. When gays fail, it is because it is often because they are more concerned with being gay than with being responsible. When autistics fail, it is because of a basic brain difference that affects nearly every aspect of life and often becomes worse if we try to hide it at all in public.

I am gay and proud of myself for being the person I am, but it only makes different my way of forming love relationships. The Asperger's trumps that and makes those relationships, difficult, frustrating, and short-lived. So, you can't give blood; does that make you cry? Feeling isolated and being alone every day makes me cry.

And THIS is why I say that autism is a far greater issue. We can't just "stop and act normal" as I have been told I can many times.

QFT, dyingofpoetry!
No-one knows that I will at times be attracted to women, unless I tell them. I don't act on it (as I believe it's immoral), but unless I say something about it, it is my secret.
But, people can 'tell' that there is something differant (the Asperger's), without me even telling them. I act 'off.'

People will kiss my butt for being 'bisexual,' but they will deny me opportunities because I have Asperger's.

People with Asperger's wouldn't have been targeted by Eugenics because of their average to high IQ's. And it wasn't just the Nazi's that sterilised or exterminated them; it was also done in the Western countries.
But still it was horrible what happened to those people with mental disabilities.

I think the division between pro and anti-gay is still an issue as well as racism. I find it offensive that people try to relate their struggles with autism to that. Sure there are people that target autistics but it's very small compared to gay or people with different coloured skin. That is not to say that it isn't horrible.

And this whole anti-cure thing. I abhor this movement. Parents want the best for their children and it's a struggle to raise a profoundly autistic child and it's even harder when your country doesn't provide the right services. No one is forcing a cure on you. You just feel threatened that people are saying you have an illness just like people are offended at having their own freedom taking away by a mandatory government internet filter.
There are so many more important issues to deal with. The most important thing for me is to have mental health services and a government that works with the working class and conserving the environment so future generations can have an easier life.
People that say that autism is not a disorder then if it wasn't we wouldn't be getting pensions and getting a leg up with finding work or finding accommodation and financial support.

Did anyone see this?

http://autismgadfly.blogspot.com/2010/0 ... emale.html

People certainly have been killed for being Autistic. and it *definitely* is a major political issue.

Here's an idea. How about everyone with Aspergers acknowledge it's a difference and that's it? It's like being gay. So what? I never asked you.

If you find yourself behaving awkwardly and people are asking you what your deal is, then sure, tell them you have Aspergers. They'll either understand it or not, if the latter then it's their problem.

There's no point in saying it unnecessarily when you're not asked. A gay guy doesn't walk into a grocery store and announce "I'm gay and you must respect my differences", same with anyone with any mental disability.

Talking metaphorically here...if given the choice to be either an aspie or gay, I'd rather be gay.

Here 's the thing...

Society embraces people based on personality and social skills. A LGBT person can still possess these things and that is why it has become easier for them to gain more sympathy and support from the rest of human society.

An autistic person can be straight but their social skills will turn off just about anybody from sympathizing with them...including parents.

Speaking of which:
One thing that really creeps me out about the various murders of people w/autism is that alot of the victims were children...most likely killed by parents who could not tolerate their differences or the difficulties in raising them.

I dont blame people though. It does seem much more appealling to look from the perspective of "it's okay to love someone who is the same gender as you or it's okay to feel that you are the opposite gender than that you were born" than it is to think "it's okay to be a person who's trapped in their own mind, who doesnt communicate with people, and has the occasional meltdown with no explanation".

Logistically speaking: race, religion, sexuality, and disabilties are ALL in their own separate different categories of discrimination. You can say that discriminating one is no different from the other...but only in the moral, metaphorical sense where you believe everyone deserves respect. So if you do make arguements like this, make sure you're being specific.