In my personal opinion, the prejudice towards people with Autism/Asperger is pretty similar to racism and religious prejudice.
In the simplest terms, it comes down to a lack of understanding and respect for other people who are different.
Causes of prejudice? My best guess would be:
1) Stereotype
The American culture emphasize too much on conformity and 'follow the norm".
So when the media, Internet, books constantly displaying negative image about the Autistic community, then that will affect the overall opinions as well.
Just look at the high school/college culture for example; unless you're are some presidents, cheerleaders, look or at least dress like an American Idol, know the latest celebrities gossip news, act happy and cool, have certain beliefs, blah, blah, blah.... you either won't be acknowledged or will be picked on in some way.
The "genius", "nerds," "loners," "Aspies", "minority race", .., and any type of non-conformist always gets the heat. The mainstream are not comfortable with people who look or behave differently. They cannot think/choose for themselves, so they copy or wait for the next voice to tell them what to do.
It's just a stupid game people play. So the question is: "Do you want to join the norm in this stupid game at the expense of being true to yourself?" "Do you you want to lose your character, integrity and good qualities just to be like the norm?", "How many people say what they mean and mean what they say?" Some of the so called acceptable norm values have totally screwed up the world!
I can tell many of us hate this game but have no courage / no idea how to get out of it!
But the good news is, this so called 'peer pressure' gets better with age. You will understand what I mean when you are older.
And by then, some of your disadvantages can become your advantages if you know how to put them to good use.
2) Unfamiliarity/Fear of the unknown/Ignorance
Xenophobia is the fear of people who are different than yourself. People fear what they do not know or understand. If someone hasn't grown up around an Aspie or have the opportunity to have Aspie friends, then there is more of a chance the person can be bias toward that particular group. This is especially the case if they have been exposed to negative publicity/info. Most of the NT friends I have never even heard of the term Asperger and know little about Autism.
3) A need to feel superior to others
Humans are sometimes very selfish creatures. They do things to make themselves feel good at the expense of others. That's why many NT people with low self esteem tend to exclude and exploit Aspies to make themselves feel superior. They may also do so out of jealousy when they see some Aspies are smarter or have skills/qualities they lack.. It's the same reason why some people pick on nerds irregardless of whether they are NT or AS.
4) Self fulfilling Prophecy
A prophecy declared as truth when it is actually false may sufficiently influence people, either through fear or logical confusion, so that their reactions ultimately fulfill the once-false prophecy. So if the irresponsible media project the image that Aspies are inferior compared to the NTs, ultimately it might cause some Aspies to fulfill this false prophecy.
Also, according to The Law of Self-fulfilling Prophecy, people respond the way you expect them to respond. You get what you expect. If you expect people to be bias against you, they will sense your -ve energy, inferiority complex or expectations and react accordingly. This is very true in racism. It's a vicious cycle that must be broken.
We can never stop prejudice/racism completely cos we can't control how people think or act. The only things we can do is educate and inform and breach the gap and bring about a greater understanding. Hang around people who appreciate and respect you for who you are. They may be few but they are the ones that matter. When it comes to friends, quality not quantity counts!
"Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.” - Bill Gates
15 Jan 2009, 4:36 pm
