Autistic brony insult?

[Virulence 254]

Saying someone is "Autistic" is one thing, but if your trying to insult the person and say that, that's plain rude and disrespectful. There is nothing wrong with people who are autistic, and people shouldn't be using that as a hate word.

[WarGrowlmon1990 94]

Wow. I've never known anybody who has used the word "autistic" as an insult. That's just so cruel. I myself have wondered if I'm slightly autistic, seeing as I have a hard time starting conversations and whatnot. I'm probably just extremely socially awkward though. I've noticed that many people on this forum have stated that they are autistic and I never would've guessed it. I don't know much about autism, but I do know for a fact that people with autism don't deserve to be mistreated. Using it as an insult is truly disgusting. Unfortunately we're in that day and age where kids are growing up believing that this kind of behavior is okay. I'm actually terrified for my stepdaughter and my baby cause they'll have to grow up in such a hateful era. 

[Twilight Dash 28]

Those with the most severe type of autism can be incapable of communication with others and have no acknowledgement of the world or of others around them. Even less serious forms can be crippling. 

 

Even if someone is incapable of communication with other people, that does not mean anything bad. The ability to communicate is not the only quality a person can have. I doubt that some people have no acknowledgement of the world. Even some of the most "low functioning" people with autism are not mindless idiots. They have interests like any other person. Just because you don't know how to communicate with someone or you don't know there language does not make that person an idiot. A person who has "low functioning" autism may know how to communicate, but not in English or whatever language you want him to speak in. He or she may know how to speak in English or whatever language but that person may choose not to speak. It is not a problem if a person chooses not to speak.

 

The acknowledgment about other people thing that you wrote may be true for some people, but that does not always have to be a problem. It may be a problem in some cases, like when an autistic person stabs someone else, hurts someone or even kills that person. How do we solve this problem? We need tell that person why killing is bad or why what that person is doing is wrong. There are three ways of doing this. We could use religion, punishment, or common sense. I dislike the first option because we are lying to someone to explain why something is bad. Punishment is something I also dislike, because the person does not know what he or she is doing wrong. Punishment is also bad if the person does not stop what he is doing because of the punishment in place. The last thing is common sense. There is reasons why killing is bad. The reason is that we need each other. We need each other to live. This should come naturally to any person if there is someone who is needed for them. We could tell what that person is doing wrong by not telling them, if that makes sense.

 

When you say less serious forms can be crippling, you assume that autism was ever even crippling. If autism was ever crippling, it would be because we say it's crippling. It is similar to when we say being LGBT is crippling.

 

I think that counts as a "disorder."

 

Why would that count as a disorder if the person is doing nothing wrong?

 

However, I do take your point that those with the milder forms of the autism spectrum can appear to be perfectly normal, albeit with a few quirks. This makes autism one of the more challenging issues to deal with; it manifests differently in different people and what one person thinks of as "autism" may be vastly different from what somebody else assumes. 

 

 

What makes autism challenging to deal with, autistic people are just people who are different.

 

Ultimately, autism is a disorder, but it varies in seriousness from so mild as to be indistinguishable to so profound that it leaves a person utterly crippled and helpless. 

Why would autism be a disorder, if all it is is a harmless difference and it's harmfulness only comes from trying to change that person. If something is indistinguishable, then how can it be a disorder. Autism can not make a person "crippled". "Crippled" is just a term used like sinful. Autism is a word used by the bourgeoisie to divide us.

[Scaredypants~ 133]

Yeah, I'm a girl age 16, I have asperger's syndrome, I love MLP and I play TF2...e_e I don't see like..how this makes me autistic if I wasn't.

[Dark Moon 965]

Wow, this is really nice. I had no clue that so many people had Aspergers as well on the forum. Actually thought I was an oddity but this is great. On the topic described at hand, I haven't seen any discrimination within the brony community whenever I mention my Aspergers. Is this actually happening within the forum? Most on this forum seem to be really great people. Would suck if there were people like this on the forum. I get that it happens elsewhere on the internet (though I've never seen that either). I'm rather new to the internet.

 

Anyway, I was only diagnosed (I started the discussion) the day before last Thanksgiving, I'm 18, so that was "fun". Feels like I fell right through the cracks, can't believe my parents never picked up on it. Explained a lot of the bullying I went through, but actually makes me feel better about myself. It empowers me now and I have a lot of control over it now, although I seem to have become obsessed with Ponies and this forum.

 

Also I think Team Fortress 2 is just mmm'k and I dislike Sonic. At least I like MLP. We're all different. (I love Halo and DeadSpace!)

[Edgeworth1001 648]

I think that the two reasons why people with autism are discriminated and why some bronies are called autistic, is because the word autistic have been thrown around so much that nobody on the internet knows what it really means, with the second reason why is probably because of people like Christian Weston Chandler.

 

What does he have to do with MLP, you ask? Well, let's go back to to 2007. His girlfriend at the time, Megan Schroeder, introduced him to the toy-line when they were shopping. In his FUTURE MESSAGE, he has confirmed that he loves the toy-line and he have made some fanarts of it with his 'original pony characters'. At this date and time, not only has he shown that he's the fan of FiM, but some people have consider him 'the original brony'.

 

And I do not like Sonic, I've never played TF2, and I doubt that every aspies like FiM.

 

 

why on earth is autism bad i know i have it

 

1. autism increases the effected persons intelligence

 

2. people with autism have better hobbies

 

3. aint nothing wrong with autism

 

1. True, but autism can also decrease social and speech abilities.

 

2. That's a opinion.

 

3. I'll agree with that. Nothing is necessary wrong with having autism, but many people don't realize that yet and there are a couple of 'cure autism' artwork on deviantART,

[Radiance64 7,051]

I've never even heard of aspergers before joining this fandom and seeing people claim they have it, autism in general I had heard of of course though, my older brother has it a bit. Seems like more of an odd coincidence than anything to me really.

[Stormwind 53]

People who use autism as a derogatory term make me sick. I am not autistic but my best friend has mild autism and another friend of mine has aspergers syndrome so i know something about it. People who do not understand something are more likely to use it as a way of insulting others.Unfortunately, saying someone has autism has become a way of calling someone stupid or strange. Try not to take these people seriously as they are usually too stupid or ignorant to be reasoned with.

[Shanks 10,811]

Anyway, I was only diagnosed (I started the discussion) the day before last Thanksgiving, I'm 18, so that was "fun". Feels like I fell right through the cracks,

You are quite lucky I myself started out with a much more severe case which later became milder due to years and years of therapies and interventions. I was diagnosed at age 2 with Autism after losing what little language I had (I regained it back at age 5) and started exhibiting severe behavioral problems and sensitivities to certain sounds. The doctor thought I was retarded, would never amount to anything, could turn into a vegetable at anytime and recommended in institutionalizing me although the doctor was right that I have Autism he was wrong about what form I had and of course wrong that I would never amount to anything. Today although I still have some challenges most people can't tell I have Autism and many of them are surprised when I do tell them.

Edited May 2, 2013 by EarthbendingProdigy

[Righteous Fury 344]

Another Asperger's here. I think. I used to be AS, then I was just autistic, now I don't even care. When the DSMV comes out it's all the same anyway.

[GrimCW 658]

I usually just twist it back at them.

Calling myself a retard or acting like an idiot just to peeve them off and then claim its because of my autism.

 

People have a hard time ragging on someone who's to open about it, its when you openly become offended (what they seek) or try to hide it that they find entertainment in it.

 

TBH i think it all just falls back to the whole survival of the fittest routine. Where the "strong" (usually not the brightest though) are capable of taking out the weak (usually the smarter none the less) and then end up just inbreeding themselves into a stupor before the species dies from the mutations that come forward and nature decides its time to put them out of their misery.

[Bigmethod 239]

This is something I want to bring up in the community. It's my last post today actually, don't want to post too much. I have aspergers syndrome and I noticed that I love what every other aspie loves. I love Team Fortress 2, Sonic and even MLP FIS. I am not meaning to offend anyone in this forum. But I need to bring it up because it fascinates me. Because I know many bronies that do have autism. But why are we labeled with our hobbies in a negative way? Here's some example

 

" Oh you like TF2 and MLP what do you have autism or something."

 

So I am just saying why are the bronies labeled as people with aspegers?

Because some people are intolerant assholes? That's my guess atleast, until the hate goes away from the bronies ( nevr) I wouldn't keep my hopes up for anything else!

[squareyes 153]

If it's a label that bronys have aspegers then I have to disagree. As the average internet user I had no idea what it was until a quick trip to Wikipedia. Even then I thought many just consider us weird.

 

I wouldn't worry about that if I were you. As the famous quote goes

 

'Haters Gonna Hate'

[WhiteFang 14]

I have never had a problem with discrimination against people that have mental disabilities.  I don't see why you need a topic about it.

[WildCard 1,037]

My personal theory on why this occurs (I have autism myself, and i don't intend this to be a condemnation): Real-life autism often involves the person with autism having passions (and sometimes obsessions) that are much stronger or otherwise remarkable than the average  person. However, autism also comes with handicapped social and/or behavioral skills, so it's more difficult to control their passions and to otherwise act appropriately about it. (I.E: they talk endlessly about their respective interests and absolutely refuse to talk about anything else, giving off the impression that their life revolves around said interest; or throwing a fit whenever their interest is criticized or they otherwise don't get their way). This comes into stark contrast with a neurotypical person who is just as passionate: they've had an easier time learning social skills and behaviors, so they can behave themselves much more appropriately.

 

However, when the passion in question is belonging to a certain fandom (Say Sonic the Hedgehog, Star Wars, Pokemon, the Furry Fandom, or the Bronies), the lines for some reason become blurred. Take this article on Fan Dumb for example. When people get passionate about whatever franchise, they sometimes tend to exhibit behaviors that are just like people with autism who never learned how to appropriately handle their neuroses. My theory is that, to the average person, they end-up appearing to be the same kind of thing.

 

People with autism have a very negative reputation on the internet as being incredibly spoiled and childish, since the ones who are the most visible are the ones who never learned how to act appropriately in public. And when you see a 20 year old man throwing a temper tantrum at a McDonalds because his Happy Meal had Berry Punch instead of Pinkie Pie, it's kind of hard to be sympathetic towards that person.

 

So, "autistic" ends up being used as an insult to be laid at these people, whether they actually do have autism or not. And more often then not, the people insulting them don't even know what "autistic" actually means (someone with a disorder that typically includes a handicapped ability to pick up non-verbal communication), since they're only familiar with the stereotype and are big enough idiots to believe that those stereotypes are true.

 

If any of that made any sense.

I can only agree with you.

As a person who doesn't have autism, but who has a good friend who is autistic, it took me quite a long time to become a closer friend with said person.

Reasons for that are that, in this case, said autistic friend is quite smart, but thinks he knows everything about topics he has no clue about, whines a lot and is really narrow minded and thinks he's always right. While he can act appropriately in public, it's hard for him to respect opinions from people who have a different mindset. Nevertheless he's a good friend and once I really got to know him I started liking him a lot.

As for why it is an insult on the internet. I would say because 4chan got it "trending" and some immature people think they are cool when they use it. Kind of a new version of "I banged your mum" and other "classics"

 

[Estella 88]

I believe it has to do with the fact that those people believe that there's something wrong with people who enjoy a certain thing. A fine example is that, I bet you the person doesn't enjoy TF2 or MLP: FiM so they discriminate against those who do enjoy those things, by belittling them using mental disabilities as a reason to harm or hurt you.

 

Another way of this being the case is used in many ways. "Oh, you like cars instead of trucks, that's SO lame and girly!"

It's simply used to discriminate against people who enjoy things they don't understand, and it hurts a LOT more when that's actually the case, and you do have something like autism.

 

In the end, it's used to harm people mentally for liking things they don't.

[Castle Bleck 19,167]

I haven't seen any such discrimination thus far. Where'd you see anything like that?

P.S.: I'm a 22-year-old male with Asperger's, so I can relate with this subject.

Edited April 30, 2015 by A.V.

[Boop 102]

It's pitiful anyone would relate a general group of people who like MLP and make Autistic people feel like outsiders. I don't have the disorder, but I share the same interest among my friends here. It's disgusting to see us be tormented by these sick bullies that generalize us. We are all people and people together with or without Autism.

[Guest]

Hahaha, I've been given sh*t for having aspergers lots of times but I don't care. In fact I have to give thanks to the internet for thickening my skin over the years to better help me not give a shit what others think, and to just not worry about it. Someone pokes fun at me for having aspergers I'm like 'yeah, so what? I was born this way, what am I suppose to do about it, and what's it matter to you'.

[Luna's Husbando 60]

"Autism" and "asperger's", as they're currently being used on places like 4chan, aren't anything more than terms used to describe people who are socially awkward or unaware. They're not actually persecuting people that are legitimately autistic, they're just using the term to describe somebody that has traits loosely associated with the disorders. The best and most reasonable thing you can do when someone throws those terms around is to just not take it with a grain of salt; it's not aimed at you and as long as you don't act out in public or on videos and you show that you have decent judgement when it comes to how you behave, it doesn't even apply to you.

[Thunderchild 875]

               

 

Stupid people will always try to label others who they think are different than themselves-we continue to divide ourselves into little exclusive groups where everyone who doesn't look, think or act exactly as we decide they should is labelled as deficient in some respect.

 

As I've said many times before, at 43 years old I'm older than most of you-and have never enjoyed my time on any forum as much as I have here. Who gives a crap what the idiots who hate on people think?

 

I'm delighted to know you all, and I enjoy your company. My $.02 fwiw.

[Zygen 6,065]

People just like to pick something to discriminate at and make others feel bad for.

 

Honestly its really stupid in my opinion. Just ignore the idiots insulting people like that.

 

I personally have a bunch of respect for anyone with a metal disorder like that, simply because I already have enough trouble living without one.

 

At the very least I don't think you'll be discriminated here .

[AstralDrip 67]

Blame 4chan for all this bullshit. They've pretty much turned "autistic" into an insult on the internet, to the point that almost no one even knows what "autistic" even means anymore.

This^

I'm not autistic, so I can't truly understand the situation, but it seems like "autistic" has become such a common insult on the Internet that people use it as a label as much as possible just to set themselves apart from the stereotypes associated with it. It's gotten to the point where the stereotypes have transcended anything to do with actual autism.

 

A lot of people also get autism mixed up with general social awkwardness and they're not the same at all.

[EndtheRaven 161]

I hate how people try to use autism as an insult and stereotype it with people who like certain things. I have Asperger's myself, so I find it rather amusing how ignorant people can be. 

[Zaylles 27]

Yup, "Autistic" became an insult because of 4chan. But for people on /mlp/ it's a way to analyze your dedication to FiM. There's an image of some things like "Who's your favorite pony" and "Do you own pony merch" and every answer has "Autism points". Quite hard to explain. But to be honest, they also have many amazing writers and artists there.