NOT GOOD, Connecticut shooter was diagnosed with Aspergers..

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Well, this makes the rest of us look nice, doesn't it?

First twenty kids have to die, now they're tagging the shooter with Asperger's. What next? The sun goes out for three days?

Wow. I'm sorry to hear that.

On the other hand, I have always said that my daughter makes a very good ambassador for autism. Yes, she has her quirks and issues, but I think most people find her delightful and I'd like to think their attitudes about autism are changed because they know her. Perhaps the same is true for you, too.

Point made-- and also the point that a lot of other demographics stand to be tarred and feathered by reactionaries because of this.

My heart absolutely breaks for those parents. My God. The one place you really expect your babies to be safe-- though I have to admit it never occurs to me to expect my kids to be safe at school; I send them off every day with a prayer that they'll make it home OK and I broke open the box of homeschooling books the second I heard about this one and this time I do not mean to be dissuaded.

And it's true. They'll never have answers. Their babies are gone and they'll never have answers.

It's got to be a bad night to be the parent of any child. A doubly bad night to be the parent of a spectrum child. My kids are 11, 5, 3, and 6 months and I already know I can forget about sleeping for a while.

I swear we have to be living in the end times. HAVE to be.

Suppose I should cancel the self-pity and fear and pour that energy into praying for 26 families tonight.

Don't be. Neurotypical people commit horrible crimes; so do autistic people, though by some accounts autistics commit fewer crimes. Just because we're disabled doesn't make us morally any different from NTs. If our autism affects anything, it's probably just because some crimes are social activities.

We're autistic, but we're human, primarily, and that means we're capable of both great good and true evil. And occasionally, an autistic person chooses evil. They choose it not because they're autistic, but because they are human, and that kind of potential to do really horrible things is to be found within all humans, just like the potential for good.

What we want to give people isn't the idea that we're wonderful little angels, but that we're simply humans who can go one way or the other, as we decide, just as they are. We want them to know that we are individuals, fellow humans. We want them to have a realistic picture of us.

Last edited by Callista on 15 Dec 2012, 12:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

In this together please be aware that your comments regarding the common stereotype of people who are paranoid and delusional being more likely to commit homicide are Unfounded and hippocritcal . I am sure the population of people suffering with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders are thrilled that you have tried to turn the tables on them in the same manner in which you are insulted by the mass media and social hysteria that may ensue from using steriotypes.

That is correct. People with schizophrenia are no more violent than the general population. Once you control for the increased drug use and homelessness among those with mental illnesses, they're not even any more likely to commit crimes.

The disability rights movement in general is fighting this sort of thing. But what we're facing now, with this idea that autistics go on shooting sprees, is pretty much the exact same thing that people with schizophrenia and other disorders involving psychosis have been having to deal with for a long time.

Unfortunately reminds me of the time that Wrong Planet member went on a shooting rampage.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HqSW_ReoUw[/youtube]

As I say in the interview above "Asperger's DOES NOT cause violence." It's tragic when the media tries to turn a tragedy like this into infotainment and even worse when it unnecessarily hurts people with asperger's just to create some sensationalism.

Here's another one:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HShl-7Pu3b4[/youtube]

Agreed. In no real way will things get bad[worse] for aspies, the authorities will be accused of unfair discrimination

What may occur is some reactionaries make comments on blogs and some idiot people on TV may diss aspies, or those others with development disorders

Has anything been said about his other disorders? Once they mention those, we need to make sure to chime in on those other disorders when we here someone is bad mouthing Asperger's Syndrome.

If anyone hears anything about those other disorders they need to post them so we can steer people away from blaming it all on his Aspergers.

Okay, I just have to say this. I have Asperger's and I too, have been pushed to the point where I wanted to kill. I did. I actually have wondered if some of the other mass shootings that have occurred have been perpetrated by fellow aspies. I know that we are not evil, I know that we do have empathy, but this is what would happen to me: I would get so picked on, so badly that I would just stew and stew and the pain, the isolation, the feelings of injustice would get so bad that sometimes the only way I could imagine I could deal with it was to hurt someone so badly that there could be no doubt to anyone that this person had hurt me. Think about how obsessive we get with our interests. Now imagine being that obsessive about getting revenge, even if it is directed in the wrong direction. It is not the right way to deal with it, I know that now, but it took me many years to realize that I could express myself much more gently. Buddhism helped. A lot. But nevertheless, I, for one, am not too surprised that he may be an Aspie. What I think it means is that people with Aspergers, especially when they are bullied, really need someone to let them vent, or else it reaches a point where it just drives you insane. Unfortunately, most of you are right, the mainstream will not take this the right way, they will probably vilify Aspies in general, and that will only make the problem worse. I know that even now, when I am mad at someone, I always envision lashing out and getting revenge in ways that far exceed the situation at hand, and I bet there are a lot of you out there who think the same way.

God Alex, you've got brass balls. I really, really, really wish I was as brave as you.

If wishes were fishes, we'd all cast nets. As Momma used to say.

How'd you get that brave?? Maybe I can follow suit.

Maybe....
It may be advantageous to have everyone talking ASD's
things may get better
especially for aspies bullied in schools and at home....
spree shootings may actually reduce
kids dont get shot up
if aspies and bullied others suffer NT's less

Last edited by Surfman on 15 Dec 2012, 12:38 am, edited 2 times in total.

People try to explain violence like this and try to make sense of it but here's the thing: it doesn't make sense. There is no answer to the question of "why"

Look at how many people get bullied and don't go do something like this ( 100% aside from statistical anomalies like this incident)

Damn it, why does every shooter have to have it?

Reread what I wrote. I made no claim that people who are delusional or paranoid are violent. I merely stated that we have no idea whether or not this kid knew what he was doing nor that he knew right from wrong. We don't know what his mental state was.

For the record, I have spent many years working with people with mental illness. I am well aware that people who are delusional and paranoid are not all violent. However, I also happen to be aware that someone who is nonviolent by nature can become so given the right delusions and sufficient paranoia. That doesn't make them evil or bad. I personally don't even think it makes them responsible.

It is safe to say people with Aspergers have more to fear from NT's than NTs have to fear from people with Aspergers.

I have never randomly hit someone for being NT, but I have been hit by a large number of NT's for being weird.