Traditional / Old Fashioned Thinking

I don’t think having autism can be an excuse to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. It’s things like this that I feel give autism a really bad impression to people in a world where autistic people are already struggling to be understood.

I struggle with change, I can say the wrong thing at the wrong time.. however I still fundamentally know what it right and wrong, and wouldn’t ever use my autism as an excuse to be a bigot or to say I was unable to make any changes to past beliefs. 

The world is always changing… there certainly wasn’t a forum on the internet 20/30 years ago to discuss autism, yet you’ve managed to change and learn the skills to use the internet and a forum and use technology, so you can deal with change. So I don’t see how this is any different. Yes change can be difficult for autistic people but it is not impossible and should NEVER be used as excuse to speak hatred about other people. You’re just being picky about what changes you will and won’t fundamentally accept or be prepared to make.

if you know that your way of thinking (whether it’s developed from the past or not) is not acceptable in todays society, then do better. 

thank god we live in a country where people can love who they want to love, can be free to express who they are and are not internally tormented for who they were born to be. Imagine being told that something, just like your autism, that you had no control over and was born with, is being used as a reason for others to judge you, condemn your way of living, to not agree with you and your existence.

the fact that you have admitted to saying things ‘muttered’ and have put the word behave in quote marks would suggest that fundamentally you actually still hold the bigoted beliefs that you grew up with. I feel really sad for you that you are not prepared to accept people for who they are and question who they were born to be.

I am also in the LGBTQIA+ community, so I imagine you may also feel that my viewpoint on the whole matter is somewhat biased. 

But i simply cannot understand and never will understand how who someone loves, how they choose to dress or act, what they look like or who they feel they really are has any impact on anyone else and why this would be an issue or problem for anybody else. I literally couldn’t care less who someone identifies as.. I just wish that person could live in a world without hatred, self hatred, judgement and bigotry. 

People DO judge - simple fact. It may be conscious or unconscious bias.

It is obvious by your comment Sloan and many other peoples' comments that I have been judged. I was "brave" enough (or foolish enough depending on your point of view) to share an honest concern that I have about the possible impact of my recent diagnosis.

Does it not occur to anyone on here that Autism may only be part of my psychological makeup and challenges? Oh no, let's all jump on the bandwagon and try to ostracise someone for having a different experience to our own.

I find it very sad that I am feeling so much hate for this honest and open thread.
If it were really THAT controversial, provocative, hateful, etc then I would have expected that the mods would have jumped all over it at some point during the past 10 hours - especially as I have reported the thread to mods and emailed the community manager.

If you guys want to keep attacking my thread, fine - I will continue to respond. 

But yours is conscious. From what you’ve said it is clear you are well aware of your beliefs, therefore all the judgement you have is a conscious decision youre making against other people. 

You chose to write your comments on a public forum, you can’t now turn around and call out other people for “judging” you on that, you chose to write something controversial, you can’t now ‘oh poor me’ when people respond with their viewpoints. 

There is not one part of my post that is hate towards you. In fact it is the total opposite..I said i felt sad for you. Sad that you feel that you can use your autism as an excuse to judge, criticise, rant and mutter about people who do not fit into your beliefs. 

I was just trying to point out you can’t pick and choose when your autism or your inability to change suits you and you use it as an excuse for your beliefs, and was trying to show you that by the simple fact of something like now being able to use the internet means you are capable of change, of learning new things, of changing how you see the world, when clearly from your posts you felt that this was not something you were able to do. 

my point is, if you wanted to change your “old fashioned traditional thinking” you could. You are just choosing not too, and then blaming your autism for that. That fact would remain the same whether it was about sexuality, gender, or anything else like technology. 

But yours is conscious. From what you’ve said it is clear you are well aware of your beliefs, therefore all the judgement you have is a conscious decision youre making against other people. 

You chose to write your comments on a public forum, you can’t now turn around and call out other people for “judging” you on that, you chose to write something controversial, you can’t now ‘oh poor me’ when people respond with their viewpoints. 

There is not one part of my post that is hate towards you. In fact it is the total opposite..I said i felt sad for you. Sad that you feel that you can use your autism as an excuse to judge, criticise, rant and mutter about people who do not fit into your beliefs. 

I was just trying to point out you can’t pick and choose when your autism or your inability to change suits you and you use it as an excuse for your beliefs, and was trying to show you that by the simple fact of something like now being able to use the internet means you are capable of change, of learning new things, of changing how you see the world, when clearly from your posts you felt that this was not something you were able to do. 

my point is, if you wanted to change your “old fashioned traditional thinking” you could. You are just choosing not too, and then blaming your autism for that. That fact would remain the same whether it was about sexuality, gender, or anything else like technology. 

Sloan said:

I was just trying to point out you can’t pick and choose when your autism or your inability to change suits you and you use it as an excuse for your beliefs,

I would hope that none of us need to give excuses for our beliefs. We may wish to but I don’t believe we ought to need to. A world in which people need to give excuses for their beliefs sounds very Orwellian.

The issue is whether he needs to give an excuse for his words. Lots of people share the belief that gay marriage is wrong. For example almost all sects of Islam, many Christian dominations and Orthodox Judaism as I understand it, and I don’t claim to be an expert, reject gay marriage.

it would be a troubling world in which they were persecuted for their beliefs. or for that matter for expressing their beliefs. however prominent figures in these religions tend to express their opinions on gay marriage extremely carefully and sensitively.

The question is not whether autism is an excuse for his beliefs on gay marriage, he doesn’t need one. The question is whether it is an excuse for expressing those beliefs in an insensitive way, and it absolutely must be in my view.

Sorry, but I don't see anything in your bio that you're a psychiatrist. I'm not sure that you are qualified to say that I have conscious bias.

Yes, this is a public forum, but caution needs to be exercised - especially when there are potentially libellous comments being made. Being a public forum, people are entitled to respond with their viewpoints, but some of those viewpoints include indicators that could be considered close to the line.

I haven't asked you or anyone to feel sadness for me - that is something that is completely up to you...it has no effect on me.

At no point have I tried to use my autism (or other undiagnosed psychological conditions) as an EXCUSE. I have simple openly expressed concern that the impact that they could POTENTIALLY have on my behaviour. I am not saying that my condition(s) make it right to go around spouting hatred. That is the key point that is being missed by so many.

Do you really think that I want to pick and choose my autism to suit me? WOW just WOW!

Who exactly are you to say that I could change my "old fashioned traditional thinking"?
I want to change lots of things. I want to change the fact that I am autistic for starters....not happening!