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Autism and EVE Online
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Aerethir El-Kharisti
#141 - 2012-04-05 15:44:54 UTC
Seriously though, I think there has been a trend to use the term Aspergers in a derogatory way as of late, not just in EVE (where I haven't encountered it yet). I think it has to do with that the definition has been broadened, and subsequently more people have been diagnosed as having Aspergers. Also, using the Internet as a social outlet has increased a lot, and I saw a lot of genuinely ****** people explaining their shenanigans with "But I have Aspergers". So, there has come a resentment and a belief that everyone claiming to have Aspergers just uses it as a cop-out or will at a point use it as a cop-out. And that now has created a backlash on all people, who happen to have Aspergers and don't feel like hiding this fact. But this is just me speculating.

With great power comes great electricity bill.
Hito-Shura
Caldari Fire Demons University
Toxic University
#142 - 2012-04-05 16:42:28 UTC
Well, I know I have Asperger's but I don't really parade it around and use it to explain my behavior. That's why I'm using an alt to do so to not only protect my real EVE identity but also to protect my corp and alliance.

Heck, it took a great deal of thinking and willpower to actually post this thread.
Elsebeth Rhiannon
Gradient
Electus Matari
#143 - 2012-04-05 16:46:44 UTC
As one friend with Asperger's once put it: "Being crazy is not an excuse for being a jerk."
Aerethir El-Kharisti
#144 - 2012-04-05 17:46:10 UTC
Hito-Shura wrote:
Well, I know I have Asperger's but I don't really parade it around and use it to explain my behavior. That's why I'm using an alt to do so to not only protect my real EVE identity but also to protect my corp and alliance.

Heck, it took a great deal of thinking and willpower to actually post this thread.


Ah, okay, I understood it as you were rather open with it. I know Aspergers, who have said they have it at the very first meeting, as so to prevent people wondering, what would be "up with this guy". My apologies.

With great power comes great electricity bill.
Elsebeth Rhiannon
Gradient
Electus Matari
#145 - 2012-04-05 17:48:08 UTC
It is, I feel, rather different to say it up front, and to ask people to let you know if your behavior offends, so you can attempt to fix it - and to only say it after they are offended, implying that they just have to take whatever it is, because you can do nothing to help it. I've seen both types. First ones are just fine, the second category... meh.
Aerethir El-Kharisti
#146 - 2012-04-05 18:23:41 UTC
Elsebeth Rhiannon wrote:
It is, I feel, rather different to say it up front, and to ask people to let you know if your behavior offends, so you can attempt to fix it - and to only say it after they are offended, implying that they just have to take whatever it is, because you can do nothing to help it. I've seen both types. First ones are just fine, the second category... meh.


Oh, I was thinking of a third type. The ones who are asses, and when probed, it is found they do not even have a diagnosis and they have never been around the doctor's office. They end up creating huge threadageddons, insulting everyone in the proces, and when people have had it, they say "But I have Aspergers.... i think". They ruin it immensely for people with actual Aspergers.

Based on what I have experienced with people who actually have Aspergers, I feel that sometimes they really honestly cannot do anything about them coming off as insulting. It is really not their intentions. They would go "Yes, those lightblue spandex hotpants makes you look heavier than you are, and you would look slutty in them, you may try these dark jeans, they make you look skinnier and more classy." Most people get immensely offended by this sort of honesty.

And they would do it again and again. And there is nothing they can do to help this, and they might not be able to fix it. I appreciate this type of conversation, because it gives a candid look at how we neurotypals function, and how dysfunctional we sometimes are. And so, if I want to appear skinny, I just put on the jeans as advised :)

Really, I do not mind, whether people choose to be upfront about it, or explain later.

There is a difference between bringing in Aspergers as an honest explanation and using it as a cop-out.
And I believe the latter has caused the less than mature types to use the word in a derogatory form, just like they have flung around the words gay and ********. Next month the fashion changes, and they use another word.

With great power comes great electricity bill.
Endear
And Beyond ...
#147 - 2012-04-05 18:40:39 UTC  |  Edited by: Endear
People are ignorant towards things they do not understand or have personal experience with. Like making fun of someone for the colour of their skin or their sexuality making fun of someone with Asperger's is essentially a proof of ones own insecurities. Some people feel the need to do so in order to feel better about themselves.

It can be hurtful, yes, but I can almost guarantee that if you sat down with that same person 'making fun' of you and asked him some serious questions about Asperger's he would sound so ignorant you would wonder why you cared what this person thought in the first place. Big smile



Aerethir El-Kharisti wrote:
Elsebeth Rhiannon wrote:
It is, I feel, rather different to say it up front, and to ask people to let you know if your behavior offends, so you can attempt to fix it - and to only say it after they are offended, implying that they just have to take whatever it is, because you can do nothing to help it. I've seen both types. First ones are just fine, the second category... meh.


Oh, I was thinking of a third type. The ones who are asses, and when probed, it is found they do not even have a diagnosis and they have never been around the doctor's office. They end up creating huge threadageddons, insulting everyone in the proces, and when people have had it, they say "But I have Aspergers.... i think". They ruin it immensely for people with actual Aspergers.



I identified online as having Aspergers for years before I got an official diagnosis. If you read the wiki on it you will see direct mention of how people with it often self-diagnose before the doctor can even figure it out because we are such private people and do not know how to always express the right things for the doctor to make a proper diagnosis.



Asperger's falls under a wide spectrum. If you met me in real life you would not be able to tell I have Asperger's because my case is so mild. I do not have so much problems with being "too honest" like you have experience with. It becomes a pretty complex issue because the types of people who have it are so varied



I would go "I have no opinion on how those lightblue spandex hotpants make you look because I do not really think in those terms." Lol
Aerethir El-Kharisti
#148 - 2012-04-05 19:47:48 UTC  |  Edited by: Aerethir El-Kharisti
Endear wrote:
People are ignorant towards things they do not understand or have personal experience with. Like making fun of someone for the colour of their skin or their sexuality making fun of someone with Asperger's is essentially a proof of ones own insecurities. Some people feel the need to do so in order to feel better about themselves.

It can be hurtful, yes, but I can almost guarantee that if you sat down with that same person 'making fun' of you and asked him some serious questions about Asperger's he would sound so ignorant you would wonder why you cared what this person thought in the first place. Big smile


^ this.

Aerethir El-Kharisti wrote:
Elsebeth Rhiannon wrote:
It is, I feel, rather different to say it up front, and to ask people to let you know if your behavior offends, so you can attempt to fix it - and to only say it after they are offended, implying that they just have to take whatever it is, because you can do nothing to help it. I've seen both types. First ones are just fine, the second category... meh.


Oh, I was thinking of a third type. The ones who are asses, and when probed, it is found they do not even have a diagnosis and they have never been around the doctor's office. They end up creating huge threadageddons, insulting everyone in the proces, and when people have had it, they say "But I have Aspergers.... i think". They ruin it immensely for people with actual Aspergers.



Endear wrote:
I identified online as having Aspergers for years before I got an official diagnosis. If you read the wiki on it you will see direct mention of how people with it often self-diagnose before the doctor can even figure it out because we are such private people and do not know how to always express the right things for the doctor to make a proper diagnosis.



Asperger's falls under a wide spectrum. If you met me in real life you would not be able to tell I have Asperger's because my case is so mild. I do not have so much problems with being "too honest" like you have experience with. It becomes a pretty complex issue because the types of people who have it are so varied



I would go "I have no opinion on how those lightblue spandex hotpants make you look because I do not really think in those terms." Lol


I know that I have met four people in person who have Aspergers, and I only know, because they identified themselves as such. I believe I have met lots of others, of which I am not aware. But in the end of the day it does not really matter, which is why using it as derogatory term, as the OP experiences it, is meaningless IMHO.

Also I think you have found the solution to the dressing problem! Would you mind if I adopted this?

With great power comes great electricity bill.
Endear
And Beyond ...
#149 - 2012-04-05 21:10:39 UTC  |  Edited by: Endear
Ashley SchmidtVonGoldberg wrote:
Just because you are socially awkward and prefer to be alone so that you dont have to be crushed in yet another social encounter does not make you Autistic.

Most of you have no idea what its like. It does not make you a loner who plays by his own rules. It makes ******* rain man.


Could you imagine him trying to play this game


Rain man aka Kim Peek was a savant. You can't distinguish the difference because you have no idea what you are talking about.
THE L0CK
Denying You Access
#150 - 2012-04-05 21:14:06 UTC
Dustin Hoffman was Rainman, everyone knows that.

Do you smell what the Lock's cooking?
Marduk Nibiru
Chaos Delivery Systems
#151 - 2012-04-05 22:26:39 UTC
Hito-Shura wrote:
I've been playing EVE Online for almost 2 years now. I've had my hand in almost every aspect of EVE during the time I've played it. I was a highsec carebear, running Level 4 missions. I did some time in Nullsec, being part of the blob. I have been a pirate in lowsec, attacking ships ranging from Carriers to their cyno alts, both solo and in a gang. I've even lived in a wormhole for some time. I am a 26 year old male living in Cleveland, Ohio in the USA, graduated from college twice with a BS in Computer Animation and Design with a Masters in Technology, focused on Quality Assurance and Control.

And I have autism. Asperger's Syndrome, to be exact.

Lately, though, I have noticed that there has been an increase in the use of the word autism. Its been somewhat disturbing to me that its been mostly used in a derogatory way. Anyone who is a highsec carebear n00b pubbie is autistic or heck, even when Goons were interdicting Gallente ice, I've noticed talk about 'Using Aspergers to camp the belts for miners'.

And I'm wondering why is this so? Why is being autistic bad all the sudden? Is it the new 'gay' from the 90s? Can someone explain it to me? Is it just EVE Online or is it ranging all the games on the internet?


Have you ever considered that perhaps these people going on about "aspies" and whatnot are in fact showing some signs of the disorder themselves? Isn't one of the main problems that Asperger's suffers face the inability to recognize when they're acting like assholes?

Or maybe they're just assholes. vOv
Revolution Rising
Last-Light Holdings
#152 - 2012-04-05 22:30:11 UTC
Doubt anyone means it with any more malice than they do anything else in eve online.

You see what I did there?

.
Ocih
Space Mermaids
#153 - 2012-04-05 23:31:39 UTC
Hito-Shura wrote:
I've been playing EVE Online for almost 2 years now. I've had my hand in almost every aspect of EVE during the time I've played it. I was a highsec carebear, running Level 4 missions. I did some time in Nullsec, being part of the blob. I have been a pirate in lowsec, attacking ships ranging from Carriers to their cyno alts, both solo and in a gang. I've even lived in a wormhole for some time. I am a 26 year old male living in Cleveland, Ohio in the USA, graduated from college twice with a BS in Computer Animation and Design with a Masters in Technology, focused on Quality Assurance and Control.

And I have autism. Asperger's Syndrome, to be exact.

Lately, though, I have noticed that there has been an increase in the use of the word autism. Its been somewhat disturbing to me that its been mostly used in a derogatory way. Anyone who is a highsec carebear n00b pubbie is autistic or heck, even when Goons were interdicting Gallente ice, I've noticed talk about 'Using Aspergers to camp the belts for miners'.

And I'm wondering why is this so? Why is being autistic bad all the sudden? Is it the new 'gay' from the 90s? Can someone explain it to me? Is it just EVE Online or is it ranging all the games on the internet?


It is called Mainstream Media.
Autism developed a political worth so it became a fashion illness. People reacted. It bled in to EVE and other games as they are media.

Ignore it. It's just fallout from an unrelated agenda.
Elson Tamar
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#154 - 2012-04-05 23:45:30 UTC
My real life job is teaching guys with Autism. Thats what I do its my job. In my opinion all the guys i work with are awsome guys, however two thing stick out the most from my chosen career.

There are two things that really **** me off.

One is people who seem to think Autism is in some way trendy. It isnt, the guys I work with all wouldnt change their Autism as it is part of what who they are. However they all aknowledge its bloody hard to live with day to day. (Even the one who just got a Job interview with GCHQ!)

Two people using lables as stupid arse slang terms. 'It's Gay' or 'thats autistic' are not some lable you can chuck around cause you think its ok.

Personaly Autism is a big part of my daily life, even though i am not on the Autism spectrum (We call its ASD or ASC depending on how politicly correct you are.) and see enough discrimination day to day with out it having to creep into a spaceship pew pew game.
Gorki Andropov
I Dn't Knw Wht You Wnt Bt I Cn't Gve It Anymre
#155 - 2012-04-06 12:17:58 UTC
Mike712 wrote:
[quote
I have aspergers/high functioning autistic spectrum disorder, got a diagnosis from medical professionals in my early teens




That explains a hell of a lot.
Herzog Wolfhammer
Sigma Special Tactics Group
#156 - 2012-04-10 16:10:56 UTC
Whatever happened to the good old days of being borderline?

Bring back DEEEEP Space!
Kattshiro
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#157 - 2012-04-10 16:13:36 UTC
^

That might mean you have something wrong with you... People think telling the truth about others is kinda mean or we don't like to accept it, deal with it and move on.

Everyone wants to be a victim.
Aranakas
Imperial Academy
Amarr Empire
#158 - 2012-04-10 17:32:34 UTC
Autism is just like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

A fake illness that some doctor made up for fame.

When I'm tired, I take a nap. When you're asocial, make friends. Simple as that.

Aranakas CEO of Green Anarchy Green vs Green
AureoBroker
Perkone
Caldari State
#159 - 2012-04-10 18:25:58 UTC
As someone said, "n i g g a" is a non-derogative adjective and/or pronoun.
Same thing applies. Slur goes around, no one actually means hate in it. Atleast, hardly anymore.