general Why Does Autism Get So Much Flak?

[Soren Peregrine 4,606]

So some people have been using 'autistic' to me as an insult, and it made me wonder...

 

Why does autism get such a bad rap? Why is 'autistic' used as an insult? I mean I know that it is considered a mental disorder, but is it really that bad? All of the people that I have met who have it actually seem to be more friendly many times than average people. Autistic people also seem to be able to use their brains in ways that many of us can't (i.e. Temple Grandin), and they see the world differently. One thing I have noticed about MLP:FiM is that it seems to portray these kinds of people in a very positive light, which I think is very good because it teaches us to be understanding and accepting of others even if they are different.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is if it is really a logical thing to use as an insult, or whether it is an uneducated thing to say. What do you think?

[BlueBook 169]

I've been trying to find this out myself, since I am autistic

[ShadOBabe 18,997]

It's a very uneducated thing to say. People that use it as an insult don't actually know jack about it, assuming that it is synonymous with the word "retarded" (which is ALSO a nasty thing to use as an insult).

[Libra 11,691]

people use stuff like "cancer" and "autism" as insults because theyre trying to score edgy points to look cool.

[ReverieRiver 526]

It's a basic misunderstanding of autism rooted in ableism. Because autistic people think differently and approach situations differently than what is considered "normal", oftentimes autism is related to stupidity by those that don't know anything about how our brains actually work.

I'm autistic, and I've gotten a lot of flak from my own grandmother from failing to understand what she thinks is "common sense", but it isn't to me because I process information differently than she does.

So yeah, there's people out there that use "autistic" and "r*tarded" as insults because they think autistic people are dumb, and it's a trend that I wish would stop

[King of Canterlot 9,603]

37 minutes ago, Soren Peregrine said:

I guess what I'm trying to ask is if it is really a logical thing to use as an insult, or whether it is an uneducated thing to say. What do you think?

It's simply an uneducated insult, there's nothing wrong with Autistic people, in fact most of the time they're some of the most friendly happy people I've ever met. Using it as an insult means that the person throwing the insult at you clearly has no idea how degrading it is to actual Autistic people, and how overall uneducated it makes them look. 

@Soren Peregrine I'm sorry you've been called Autistic lately, clearly those who are calling you that have no respect for Autistic people and have a bad moral compass, they need to find something better to fill their time with rather than throwing hurtful ignorant insults at you   

Edited May 11, 2018 by King of Canterlot

[The Recherche 29,967]

It all comes down to what's not "normal," really. Unfortunately, discrimination (psychological or outright physical) is always going to exist; it's just a human thing that everyone does. Not to mention, a lot of it might come from parenting; you would be surprised how many KKK members teach their children to hate black people (or any other group they dislike), for example. If things like that stopped happening (teaching your children to hate people for no reason), I think some would be surprised just how much discrimination and judgments would take a hit.

Do autistic folks (or anyone else) deserve this? Absolutely not, but unfortunately, some people let their ape-brains control them too much. While it's only a natural behavior to make judgments, folks need to realize that they're just that; judgments. The best way to make discrimination as weak as a maggot is to simply give respect to everyone. You don't need to revere everyone you meet, but show some damn decency; don't make premature judgments, don't generalize too much, do what you can to listen to their stories... you get the idea. Failing to do these can give you a horribly misguided view of someone, or a whole group of people.

Discrimination, psychological or physical, all comes down to ego. Some like to view others as inferior to them, or as subhumans... but that just shows how primitive their mindset is. We don't live in the age of caves, constant threat of predators, small tribes, or anything like that anymore. We as a species have built a civilization, and if we can do that, then I don't think it's much to ask for everyone to show mutual respect for another, especially in this day and age. Like I said; discrimination will always exist in some form... but people need to be taught to swallow their pride in those circumstances.

Sorry if that seemed aimless and scattered... but that's just my opinion on this, anyways. 

[Sliding Bolt 4,358]

I hate when people use it like that. It’s just such a low thing to say and anyone who uses it as an insult probably doesn’t even know what it means. I’ve got an autistic nephew and I think of him whenever someone calls someone autistic. It makes me angry.

[Will Guide 21,360]

Same here. Because I'm autistic, I may have trouble communicating but I have a more unbound mind that doesn't let social norms restrict my thinking.

[Pr0m4NV14 839]

Because people make fun of thinks they don’t understand because they are afraid of what they don’t know.

[JonasDarkmane 19,785]

1 hour ago, ShadOBabe said:

It's a very uneducated thing to say.

It is also very uneducated to say that it is very uneducated to say, isn't it? 

You just fell into the same trap as those who use the word "autistic" as an insult. Your own academic prowess doesn't necessarily mean anything to another person, especially not if you use it as a way to denigrate another person. 

 

1 hour ago, Sylveon said:

people use stuff like "cancer" and "autism" as insults because theyre trying to score edgy points to look cool.

 

I don't think so. I just think they are using those words as insults and nothing more. 

 

1 hour ago, King of Canterlot said:

uneducated insult

What is an educated insult? 

 

1 hour ago, Soren Peregrine said:

I guess what I'm trying to ask is if it is really a logical thing to use as an insult, or whether it is an uneducated thing to say. What do you think?

There is nothing uneducated about it. By treating it like that you are doing the exact same as the ones using "autistic" as an insult. A lot of people who use it as an insult fully know what autism is and how it works. They still use it as an insult because it is just fully ingrained in their environment. In schools, in workplaces, at home, anywhere really. 
Basically, it is just an insult that has no logic bound behind it. I think it has to do with the fact that autism was looked as stupidity or just as something very negative back in the days and the word has stuck with people as something negative, thereby it is still used as an insult. Just like the word "gay" was more used as if it meant something bad back in the days, even though there was a full definition of it that everybody understood. 

 

So no, there is nothing precisely logical behind using "autistic" as an insult. But it is not necessarily "uneducated" either. Just a tired insult that makes less sense than it did before. 

[Libra 11,691]

1 minute ago, JonasDarkmane said:

It is also very uneducated to say that it is very uneducated to say, isn't it? 

You just fell into the same trap as those who use the word "autistic" as an insult. Your own academic prowess doesn't necessarily mean anything to another person, especially not if you use it as a way to denigrate another person. 

 

I don't think so. I just think they are using those words as insults and nothing more. 

 

What is an educated insult? 

 

There is nothing uneducated about it. By treating it like that you are doing the exact same as the ones using "autistic" as an insult. A lot of people who use it as an insult fully know what autism is and how it works. They still use it as an insult because it is just fully ingrained in their environment. In schools, in workplaces, at home, anywhere really. 
Basically, it is just an insult that has no logic bound behind it. I think it has to do with the fact that autism was looked as stupidity or just as something very negative back in the days and the word has stuck with people as something negative, thereby it is still used as an insult. Just like the word "gay" was more used as if it meant something bad back in the days, even though there was a full definition of it that everybody understood. 

 

So no, there is nothing precisely logical behind using "autistic" as an insult. But it is not necessarily "uneducated" either. Just a tired insult that makes less sense than it did before. 

i can understand, but theres billions of words you can use to describe something you dont like, and to see people having LeafyIsHere levels of volcabulary just irk me off.

although, i suppose thats why the block button exists. People suffer from autism, and to see it being degraded to a playground insult by some twats is just, ugh.

however, conaidering the internet grants people anonymity, people belive they have a free pass to say anything as an insult that they couldnt say in real life.

although that'a just my opinion.

[JonasDarkmane 19,785]

4 minutes ago, Sylveon said:

i can understand, but theres billions of words you can use to describe something you dont like, and to see people having LeafyIsHere levels of volcabulary just irk me off.

although, i suppose thats why the block button exists. People suffer from autism, and to see it being degraded to a playground insult by some twats is just, ugh.

however, conaidering the internet grants people anonymity, people belive they have a free pass to say anything as an insult that they couldnt say in real life.

although that'a just my opinion.

Yep, people have thousands of way of insulting someone, which is why "autistic" happens to be one of those that sometimes gets chosen. 

I see where you are coming from though. I am pretty positive that the word "autistic" will stop being used as a way to insult someone in the future, just like the word "gay" has for the most part, at least here in Iceland. Though, there is always the possibility of alternatives, such as the word "fag" was and "retarded" probably won't be leaving us any time soon either. 

 

[Libra 11,691]

Just now, JonasDarkmane said:

Yep, people have thousands of way of insulting someone, which is why "autistic" happens to be one of those that sometimes gets chosen. 

I see where you are coming from though. I am pretty positive that the word "autistic" will stop being used as a way to insult someone in the future, just like the word "gay" has for the most part, at least here in Iceland. Though, there is always the possibility of alternatives, such as the word "fag" was and "retarded" probably won't be leaving us any time soon. 

 

I can live with that.

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

I'm not sure, but what I will say is that if people keep that up, it'll end up like the word "retarded" which was the actual term until people started using it as insult so much that we he had to come up with another term for it.

[Babyyoshi309 1,829]

Well to be fair. Some of the most cancerous and annoying people in fandoms are autistic. So people probably just associate them together. 

Some autistic people are just normal people, while others are the kind you cannot stand to be around because they are completely clueless when it comes to basic social interaction and human decency.

Edited May 11, 2018 by Babyyoshi309

[ShadOBabe 18,997]

19 minutes ago, JonasDarkmane said:

It is also very uneducated to say that it is very uneducated to say, isn't it?

Um... no it isn't. If you are calling someone "autistic" as an insult, you are very blatantly showing to the entire world that you don't know jack about it. In other words, you're uneducated about it.

The only alternative to that is you DO know what autism is, but you still think those people are inferior and thus worthy of your scorn. If that's the case, then you're not uneducated, you're simply dispicable.

Edited May 11, 2018 by ShadOBabe

[JonasDarkmane 19,785]

19 minutes ago, ShadOBabe said:

Um... no it isn't. If you are calling someone "autistic" as an insult, you are very blatantly showing to the entire world that you don't know jack about it. In other words, you're uneducated about it.

Why does that have to be an absolute? 

I don't think that is the case at all. Being educated about something won't stop you from falling into any fallible pitfalls. 

 

19 minutes ago, ShadOBabe said:

The only alternative to that is you DO know what autism is, but you still think those people are inferior and thus worthy of your scorn. If that's the case, then you're not uneducated, you're simply dispicable.

Why do you have to think that people with actual autism are actually inferior to apply the use of the word "autistic" as an insult? Again, why the absolute? 

Have you ever been in a situation or seen a situation where someone uses the word "autistic" as an insult against someone who was an autistic person? I have. They did not know the person was autistic, but they fully knew what autism was (they were studying for psychology, that was their field and their future). They used it and the person only responded that "yeah, I am actually autistic. What about it?". 
There was only a flush of red on their face as they knew they could say nothing more and they just bowed out of the conversation. There really is nothing logical about using the word "autistic" as an insult, it is just an insult that people use without paying too much attention to it, even if they know full well what it is. 

[ShadOBabe 18,997]

6 minutes ago, JonasDarkmane said:

Have you ever been in a situation or seen a situation where someone uses the word "autistic" as an insult against someone who was an autistic person? I have.

I am autistic. But I had someone who was trying to be nice to me call someone who was saying nasty things about me "autistic".

So to them the aggressor in that situation had to be the autistic one, because autism to them was a "bad" thing.

It is scummy, and if you keep trying to defend it to me Jonas, we're gonna have some problems.

Edited May 11, 2018 by ShadOBabe

[dedacct6 2,591]

6 minutes ago, JonasDarkmane said:

Why does that have to be an absolute? 

I don't think that is the case at all. Being educated about something won't stop you from falling into any fallible pitfalls. 

 

Why do you have to think that people with actual autism are actually inferior to apply the use of the word "autistic" as an insult? Again, why the absolute? 

Have you ever been in a situation or seen a situation where someone uses the word "autistic" as an insult against someone who was an autistic person? I have. They did not know the person was autistic, but they fully knew what autism was (they were studying for psychology, that was their field and their future). They used it and the person only responded that "yeah, I am actually autistic. What about it?". 
There was only a flush of red on their face as they knew they could say nothing more and they just bowed out of the conversation. There really is nothing logical about using the word "autistic" as an insult, it is just an insult that people use without paying too much attention to it, even if they know full well what it is. 

I mean, like, I'm gay and I use the word "faggot" a lot just as a filler word.  I feel like the context is very similar.

[JonasDarkmane 19,785]

1 minute ago, ShadOBabe said:

6 minutes ago, JonasDarkmane said:

 

I am autistic. But I had someone who was trying to be nice to me call someone who was saying nasty things about me "autistic".

So to them the aggressor in that situation had to be the autistic one, because autism to them was a "bad" thing.

And you don't think they might have done so without giving much thought to what they were saying? That they were just doing it because it was such a generic insult that is often used? Did this person know you were autistic? Did they bear any ill will towards you because you were autistic? 

 

4 minutes ago, ShadOBabe said:

It is scummy, and if you keep trying to defend it Jonas, we're gonna have some problems.

I'm not defending it in any way shape or form. In fact, I think it is quite illogical and even dumb to use "autistic" as an insult. But I don't think you are bringing an actual argument to the table by calling it "uneducated" or to deal in such absolutes that people who use it must hate autistic people. If you have a problem with that, that is on you yourself :T 

[ShadOBabe 18,997]

13 minutes ago, JonasDarkmane said:

In fact, I think it is quite illogical and even dumb to use "autistic" as an insult.

"Illogical", "dumb", "uneducated". Every single one of those words is used to describe someone or something lacking in intelligence. If we're just playing a semantics game here, then I'm not interested. Every single one of those conversations leads around in time wasting circles. But yeah, if you want to use the strictest definitions of words, then sure: Someone using autism as an insult might not be strictly "uneducated", but I'd sure describe them as strictly "stupid".

Edited May 11, 2018 by ShadOBabe

[FizzyWind 64]

It’s because Autism as a term rings of the tongue as an insult. It is usually because on the internet it becomes synonymous with being retarded or acting rediculous. Autism is less of an insult and more of a shock word to describe a weird convoluted situation on the internet. I am not sure why autistic people would be offended by it though. Typically in that context it isn’t a literal attack on autism.

[JonasDarkmane 19,785]

Just now, ShadOBabe said:

"Illogical", "dumb", "uneducated". Every single one of those words is used to describe someone or something lacking in intelligence. If we're just playing a symantics game here, then I'm not interested. Every single one of those conversations leads around in time wasting circles. But yeah, if you want to use the strictest definitions of words, then sure: Someone using autism as an insult might not be strictly "uneducated", but I'd sure describe them as strictly "stupid".

The fact is, uneducated does not make you illogical or dumb or even any less intelligent. This is a very elitist point of view that I have been noticing creeping up more and more these days and I think it does more harm than good. 

But notice how I never strictly used the word "illogical" or "dumb" to ascribe it directly to someone's character but rather to their own wordplay? I don't necessarily think that much lower of them for using the word "autistic" as an insult, I just see them as socially programmed to do so without being much aware of it. 

But that is my case on the matter. 

You can view it as semantics if you want. I view it as a conversation. 

[ShadOBabe 18,997]

1 minute ago, JonasDarkmane said:

You can view it as semantics if you want. I view it as a conversation.

If you want ACTUAL conversation, you need to work coming off as more sincere and less smarmy. Because you don't look like you're interested in an actual conversation, you look like you're deliberately attempting to be needling towards someone who is obviously emotionally invested in a topic.

I will agree with you on the elitism towards "uneducated" though. You are correct. One can indeed be the most educated person in the world, but it still wouldn't buy them sense or kindness.

So how about this... I will no longer say that people that use autism as an insult are uneducated. They MIGHT be, but it doesn't matter either way. What matters is that they're still insensitve and still a dolt for doing it and should really just not do it anymore.