Offensive or flattering?

Post Reply New Topic

Other: hilarious.

Anyone care to hazard a guess as to why autism seems to be such a magnet for crackpot theories?

So if I officially get diagnosed with autism................

Are they trying to say I'm fat?

f**k them. a**holes.

So somebody in my lineage was an EXTREME chubby chaser?

f**k them. Dolphins are people t...wait.....

I don't find the concept to be flattering or offensive, it's just plain silly, an idea that comes from the minds of people with overactive imaginations. I don't really see how we can justify considering the idea that we are not fully human to be offensive given the fact that many of us don't feel human, not to mention the name of the site we're all posting on.

Posting anything that promotes hatred or harm is illegal at most and against most sites' TOS at least, so no, you're not going to see them on the net, that doesn't mean people don't think it and that doesn't even mean it's not out there even now. Just because you don't see "promotion of hatred or harm against anyone" in these specific links doesn't mean anything other than "these are only a few links out of probably hundreds of thousands on the same topic".

Furthermore, dehumanisation is something that occurs as a result of posts like these because of how people view us, it often has very little to do with any one particular topic, but you can bet that there are those out there who dehumanise us because of the theory that we're "aliens" or "the result of some experiment".

I don't find the concept to be flattering or offensive, it's just plain silly, an idea that comes from the minds of people with overactive imaginations. I don't really see how we can justify considering the idea that we are not fully human to be offensive given the fact that many of us don't feel human, not to mention the name of the site we're all posting on.

Anybody would if they are considered "different". It's normal, but others may find it offensive.

Not feeling human, and not being considered human, are two very different things entirely. How we see ourselves will not effect us as a community in overtly negative ways. However, other people not seeing us as human, will give them the excuse they need to justify hate, slander/libel, and even targeting us for harm, to themselves. Such dehumanisation is sadly, a common occurance and is why most are targeted to begin with.

So, they are saying things that promote hatred and harm and dehumanization because they aren't saying it?

I went to WalMart.com earlier to look for school supplies for my daughter. They are a front for Al Queda. Because they said nothing on the site about Al Queda.

In all seriousness, I used to be into conspiracy theories. Not the belief in them, but I enjoyed watching wacky youtube vids. There really are people that believe in them.

I initially thought this was funny, and it still is, but I definitely see the dehumanizing point.

It reminds me of how phrenology was used to legitimize racism at a certain point in time....and the beliefs of that still ripple through society today even though it's complete BS.

If people believed s**t like this and it somehow caught on, it would be certainly used as a way to dehumanize those with Autism.

Thankfully though, the s**t is too crazy to do that on a large scale.

I am familiar with occult and alien theories and I have found no grounds to believe that their purpose is to promote hatred against autistic people. Whether you agree with them or not, you are making assertions which are just as groundless as you believe the alien theories to be, and according to your logic would constitute defamation.

I find this kind of witch hunt disturbing. What is so sacrosanct about autism that it becomes forbidden to ask questions about it, however outrageous they might be? What is so sacrosanct about science that asking questions or proposing theories about autism from a non-scientific perspective causes one to be accused of fomenting hatred?

No, that's not what I'm saying.
You're not understanding what I'm actually saying here, and you've applied irrational thought to a perfectly rational (and factual) statement, making it seem like something else entirely. I ask you to re-read what I said previously:



Did I say that people promote hatred or dehumanisation because they don't state it? No, I did not.
What was actually stated? (in a nutshell) "Just because people don't state what they think, doesn't mean they don't think it, and just because you don't see it in these specific links, doesn't mean it's not out there".

Conspiracy Theory => Prejudiced Opinion => Dehumanisation => Mistreatment of subject(person)

A really good example of this exact thing that has happened fairly recently:

Adam Lanza had AS (still debatable) => Assumption that those with AS are dangerous => Dehumanisation => Kid with AS is beaten at walmart.

If you don't understand what I'm talking about at this point then there is nothing I can do about that.

<sighs heavily> Will someone actually read what I've been replying to before making baseless observations about my posts, please? Is that honestly so hard for some reason?

I am talking about conspiracy theories surrounding autism that can cause (as in possibly will) other people to dehumanise us or worse Theories brought up by the OP. I have not asserted jack s**t, I have only agreed with the effect that these types of theories can have (once again, as in possibly will) that change how people see us, as being human or not. Period. Get it?

I did 23andme and my ancestry composition came out 98 percent European and 2 percent dolphin!


Just to make this clear, I'm only being silly.......

Last edited by Marybird on 26 Jul 2013, 11:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

You keep talking about rational and irrational. Did you not read the OP? Some dude says we are a crossbreed between dolphins and space aliens. If anybody read that and actually considered it was true, they are irrational. If the irrational person wants to think we aren't human, then so what? He probably thinks his pet bird is communicating with Moscow too, so do we really care what he thinks of us? Rational, logical people aren't going to even consider that theory to be true. Those are the people whose opinions we are concerned about. The irrational people think all sorts of things and they are just going to keep coming up with more, so we aren't really so special that they can't think about us too.

Space aliens. Dolphins. I would say we should add unicorns, but that would just be cliché.

You're missing my point completely, and frankly your attitude towards me is rather insulting. Yes I did read the OP that's the point of my posts in the first place, thank you very much.

Whether someone is rational or not is irrelevant and ultimately immaterial to my point (if you don't know why, then I'm wasting my time even talking to you), and if you're only concerned with rational people's opinions, then why bother commenting about conspiracy theories to begin with? If you think rational people are the only kind of people that have numbers in this world then you are sorely mistaken, and frankly, dismissing what irrational people think off hand is shortsighted and dangerous. Do rational people harm other people for being different? No, but that is what happens nonetheless and all too often I might add. So go ahead and only concern yourself with rational people and their opinions, I on the other hand will look the other way and be prepared for the 95% of the world that is irrational.

'

In response to Jaden

I can relate to your points, and dehumanization on a national level has caused plenty of justification for violence ( from my own family's experience the rise of national socialism), it also seems people misread your post as a imminent threat, rather than a warning sign, that when violence occurs against people with autism, solely for the fact that they are autistic, the dehumanization of people with autism will likely have played a role in the attackers life, and it is quite possible the attackers rage was fueled by the very theories presented here or similar ones.

My first reaction was the laugh at the craziness of these theories ( specially the dolphins), and that natural response is actually more of a defense mechanism, to take away the power of these theories on a personal level, but laughing at something and deeming it ridiculous, doesn't mean that the result of such theories existing cannot still be hazardous to people with autism.

However people sometimes do not like to look at the warning signs in things, and feel like something is not worth being sad or afraid over, if the chances it would hurt them any time soon are slim, or if it is more likely someone else would be attacked who looks more autistic, and they already feel assured of their safety ( this happens subconsciously btw).

Understanding the workings of the mind, and how the mind deals with even the most trivial of theories, is an important defense mechanism, and I am in fact glad you posted the things you said, as it made me realize something I had otherwise not bothered with, and I can assure you that you are not the only one here who analyzes human behavior like that.

In response to OliveOilMom I have to say this:

In the past plenty of statements about minority groups have been intruded trough charismatic leaders, who were convinced of their theories and made them into national policy, which then became generally accepted by the population of such countries.

In fact in parts of Africa there are people who believe that eating a child who is albino, will give a person special powers.

Now for us this is not logical, because in our country and our culture at this moment eating an albino child ( or any other person mind you ) is an unacceptable thing to do, but that doesn't mean that the people in Africa who practice this behavior, and their community leaders, are not considered logical people in their own culture, in fact if you would refuse to act like this when given the chance, they may deem you a fool.

It doesn't take much for an seemingly unreal idea to become a generally accepted fact, because some charismatic person tells the masses it is true, and any scientist who proves otherwise will be deemed irrational in that culture, except among a minority of people who questions the current leader, but questioning authority is not as common as you may believe.

That doesn't mean we have to be paranoid about anything we see happening, but it is important to stay vigilant at the same time.

On the topic of dehumanization in general :

Something that cannot be explained as human or completely human, can therefore not be human, that is the reasoning behind some of these ridiculous theories.

Aliens twisting human dna using time machines creating alternate humans who are autistic ? ridiculous but not dehumanizing, as people with autism are still considered human but just a different kind of human.
Humans breeding with dolphins ? Dehumanizing as the theory is that people with autism cannot be fully human and therefore must be part animal.
Aliens adding their dna to humans? Dehumanizing as the theory is that people with autism are part alien and therefore not fully human.

Last edited by Jonov on 27 Jul 2013, 9:16 am, edited 1 time in total.