This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.
Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.
We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:
-
Shaming.
-
Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.
-
Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.
-
Recruiting for a cause.
-
Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.
In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:
-
Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
-
Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.
-
Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.
-
Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Agreement on this. None of us in my paternal family have (so far as I know, it may be different for the current generation of children) formal diagnoses of at least Aspergers (before that was folded into the Autism Spectrum) but there are undeniable signs of something like that scattered all through, going back generations. I've done online "test yourself" quizzes and come out as "probably autistic", so while self-diagnosis is no diagnosis, I think I probably have something.
I'm nowhere near as high functioning in a FANG job because I have no maths skills. I can get by with literacy skills (and the slight obsessiveness over details that comes with the package), but I have no social skills (and hence can't 'network' my way into anything), and while support would be nice, it's way too late in the day for that to make a meaningful difference to me now (back from the age of six? oh yes, but no use crying over spilled milk). I'm not a success by any metric of any area; 'but at least you have friends, you have this, you have that' - nope, no, none of it. I liked the Covid lockdown in my country because you want me to stay indoors, don't go out, don't gather in groups, don't socialise? I do none of that already, I am not suffering the deprivations other people complain about. For once, the world was running the way I liked it (no noise! no crowds! no having to pretend to care about chit-chat and small talk! no interacting with people for more than the tasks we need to do! stay in my shell? bliss!). Which brings me on to:
Yes, we do, and that's just a fact of life. While there should be support and accommodation, autistic people also have to learn how to adapt to the wider world, as best they can. If the majority of people are right-handed, things are set up for the right-handed. If over-exposure to sunlight gives you sunburn and skin cancer, you can't demand the right to walk about naked for twelve hours a day under the desert sun. Learn to cover up and put on sunscreen.
Ironically, in view of everything, I've ended up working in a place that deals with children with additional/special needs, and that includes autism. They're pre-school aged, and part of the care is helping them pick up the skills that will help them integrate when they go on to kindergarten and primary school. It is about helping those kids feel comfortable in their skin, because they do suffer otherwise, either locked in their own isolated little world or rigidly sticking to a set routine that cannot deviate in the slightest or else the child has a full-blown meltdown. It's not about turning them neurotypical, it's about doing as much as can be done. Maybe that's not a lot, maybe they'll never be able to integrate and function, but leaving them be is the worst thing you can do and it's a disservice (as I said, I wish there had been something when I was six, maybe my life would not have been such a failure if I learned better how to pretend to be normie). And some are severely disabled, like the cases of "will literally beat his brains out against a wall so has to wear a helmet 24/7" teenager encountered in another job. It's not one-size-fits-all, Hollywood Crazy (which just means quirky) nice view of "smart, high IQ, maths nerds autistics who work the big paying jobs in software engineering that give you normies the high economic value society you enjoy".
This is the way it is. Fire burns, water is wet, society is neurotypical, and that shouldn't be changed. Accommodation and support yes, "I'm (self-diagnosed with, or even officially diagnosed with) Such-And-Such, I get to do what I like and no consequences and you have to cater to my every whim!" no.
More options
Context Copy link