STAY WOKE

I like the Kathy Burke quote "I love being 'woke'. It's much nicer than being an ignorant f*****g t**t"

Although I may not condone the choice of language, I stand by the sentiment.

Just be nice to each other and try to understand that we are mostly different and our colour, religious beliefs, preferred pronouns or sexual preferences generally do not impact those around us 

I detest bigotry in all of its forms.

Personally I just don't like other people in general and that includes myself.

Anyway here's some nice flowers and bees. Rant over ISH.

If "bad actors" are doing something abhorent then its obvious why they're called bad actors, but I agree that it's become a term for people who don't agree with what another is saying. The same way the term "woke", its used as an accusation by those who believe they have the right to say anything to anyone, no matter how horrid, demeaning or inhumane and not suffer any consequences, espcially when they're challenged.

TheCatWoman said:

who are the bad actors?

My experience is of it (woke) being used as a derogatory term (as has been the case on this forum).

I've not seen it used in a positive way.

That was never my sense of what the word means, who are the bad actors?

A lot of what you say has been my experience too.

Like many people, I wrestled in my mind with the ‘what could have beens’. I strive to keep focussed on the present but the thoughts return and I think many of those past events have led to my treatment resistant depression and anxiety.

pietro_21 said:

My main concern now is that Ii don't want to become desensitised to what I have learned, with diagnosis as awareness. People struggling at school or in the workplace, who may not know why

That is a concern as desensitisation to all sorts of things, including world atrocities is part of the human condition. Government policies on autism related issues change often, partly because ministers tend not to stay long in the job any more. The only thing I can do is to speak out (in writing) about the injustices autistic people go through. I support campaigns by autism charities and write to MPs about autism related issues policies and issues. It helps turn things round for myself and maybe my efforts will contribute to raising public awareness and potentially help others.

I don’t like the word ‘woke’ because it’s not always clear what people mean, although the intent seems always to be derogatory. 

The word means basically the same as "right-on". Sadly it's been co-opted by bad actors and can't really be used in its original sense any more.

Some history and context about "Woke", just for info:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woke

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ("NAACP") - Reclaiming the Word “Woke” as Part of African American Culture

I like the word, woke.  I think it sounds cool.

Good I think that world view should be challenged, I don't even think it's a majority view either, I think its the views of a self serving clique weilding undue influence over both individuals and governments. They all seem to set the tone of any discussion and come up with a load of jargon that means little and is inaccessable to the uninitiatedand then when we don't fall in with them we need correcting and regulating. If something accidently lands on my foot, then me swearing, hopping about and crying isn't a sign of being emotionally disregulated, not do I need my language or behavior correcting as it's appropriate to the situation.

I think the NT world needs disruptors and the NT's who run ND services especially so.

I don't believe they (school/governments) are knowingly so, to be wilfully ignorant of the fact would make them so, and they are not. Its just that neurodiversity is seen as a marginalised issue to the extent that it is virtually ignored.So played down to the extent that those affected do feel victimised. The issue is much bigger and addressing it would also mean significantly altering many people's comfortable world view.

I think its just a verbal shorthand for saying 'I woke up to the fact that our government/police/schools are institutionally racist, sexist, ablist. Obviously you add the institution of your choice and the effect it has on you and those around you. It's amazing how many people have somethig happen to them or someone they know and the whole world looks different, they wake up to the fact that the world isn't always a nice place.

I don't think a lot of NT's along with some ND's have the courage to admit that putting people in boxes dosen't work, there are not enough pigeon holes to adaquately describe everyone and everything and why should there be? Why can't we just accept who and what we are and inhabit it fully?

I don't particularly like it as a general expression, for what it is associated with. Its the clearest way for me to express and I meant the term to be interchangeable - as per the definition. In abstract terms. Also I feel like there is a constant sliding away from addressing the key points relating to ASD, even when they are identified - they quickly get hijacked or overlooked. Almost as if they are being avoided by greater powers. 

+It was in no way a criticism of NAS, who do great work, more a message to the newly and recently diagnosed and self aware to keep those points pertinent.

I do not like the word "Woke" - for a start, it's grammatically incorrect; woke is a verb, not an adjective. You can be aware, you can't be woke. It also feels like a group of people suddenly decided that they were more aware of the diversity and needs of others than most and that they were therefore better than most other people, and they gave themselves a label as an identifier. I don't like cliques - most of us just try to be kind and not abuse others, we don't need a label to do that.

However, this is not a criticism of your thoughts - I understand that you are discussing awareness of the needs of autistic people. I do not think you necessarily need a diagnosis to be aware of this though - I don't have one - and the poor treatment by employers and others is often down to lack of knowledge.So promoting awareness  and knowledge of autism is what is required, which is what we and the NAS try to do here.

And you have these answers because you have lived a thousand lives and you’ve tried every possible job?

There is a whole world out there.

Not every workplace is “built on social-interactions” as you put it. Why do you think that some of the smartest thinkers in our history have been ND? Because they couldn’t navigate their way around working at the local Tesco helping poor little old Dorothy to find her prune-juice?

No. It’s because unlike you, they recognised their own value in a world that clearly was not built to inhabit them. So, stop feeling sorry for yourself. Get outside, enjoy the air, enjoy many many things that you have been fortunate enough to use and see every single day, because there are an unlimited amount of ideas to think of and activities to do.

Not everyone is as lucky as you to be in a comfortable-enough position to be able to say that they are self-employed, and still have the audacity to complain about how awful their own life is. You’re not the centre-of-the-universe. You are a small thing, in a small universe, which is part of something a lot bigger. And even that is tiny. Never let your ego tell you otherwise.

I'm Pro-Life

The problem is that Love and Tolerance was mandated, reverse-psychology, to promote hate and intolerance.

I'm not sure NT are as empathetic or open-minded to the opposite type, or even how that could ever be proven in a scientific way. Acceptance takes a very long time (drip-dripping) into peoples general collective conscious. In no way am I saying everyone is like this, but its a lot to do with the messaging that is out there. This (big messaging) doesn't go nearly far enough to bridging how people perceive each other. Perhaps because the media has been so all or nothing for so long, this will reveal huge gaps and inequalities in understanding. 

I'm definitely no shy about telling people what I think. I'm just saying that in reality the workplace is so off centre. My awareness of this was before a diagnosis.

NT types have a social advantage, that the work place is build around social interactions.  This means in some cases they don't even have to do their job well. People promote more people like them, sad fact of life.

There are so many frictions for ND people just going for a walk, although I am old/wise enough to know that there are people who are utterly self-centred and don;t share my values for treating others with respect. I often defend people when its not always my place to - this stems from my deep seated sense of injustice.  I'm kind of Christian in my values, but no way do I believe in a god, just treating people like they are people. 

which area