Using Autism as in insult and a trending new stupid thing ?

[GoofKing]

Dunno if this topic had already been discussed and I'll be more than glad to have this locked and pointed to the existing one, but I came across some comments on Youtube where Autism and Asperger's were used as an insult in flame replies.

Has anyone else came across something like this yet and find that it's insulting as f*** because the 'R' word is apparently getting old and replaced by another medical term for a condition ?

It's bad enough that people had made a medical term for people with learning disabilities and mental delay into a nasty slur, just because they are deluded supremacist little pricks a****** s*** f****s, but are now looking to other conditions as insults

Is this going to become a new trend to use terms from the DSM as insults ? What's next, "Don't be so schizo (apologies to those who hate the incomplete use of 'Schizophrenia' and the abuse of it)" ? Is having any mental conditions going to cause people lose respect for them now ?

I know their already using Down Syndrome as a insult and slur by little f****** s*** and I couldn't believe my favorite comedy group TFS (Team Four Star) had used it as well in one of their videos.

I was already told more than once to "get over people using the R word" because this is apparently the internet, but why can't people be mature if you could be anything on the internet ? Oh that's right because of the internet's anonymous nature .. Silly me ...

Are we going to have more generations of intolerance where everybody isn't happy unless they conform to one mindset ? We already have at least fifty years or more worth of generations using the 'R' word as a slur, let's be even more intolerant of people who think differently and struggle with everyday things that everyone else take for granted :|

 

[Ereth]

It's certainly stupid, but I assure you it's nothing new. People with disabilities have been ostracized forever.

Are we going to have more generations of intolerance where everybody isn't happy unless they conform to one mindset ? We already have at least fifty years or more worth of generations using the 'R' word as a slur:|

I have no way of confirming this at present---we'll have to look into the etymology of the word---but I don't think this usage is quite that old. Respect and tolerance for people with disabilities is a relatively new concept, but calling something "retarded" is pretty new, if I'm not mistaken. (I'm not talking about examples like "The growth of the tumor was retarded by chemotherapy.")

 

[GoofKing]

I though that they used the 'R' word as slur way back in the late 70's and 80's :/

 

[Ereth]

I said it was "pretty new." If it does go back to the seventies, then that counts as such to me.

 

[Ste11aeres]

What I've been coming across a lot on the Internet is people who are annoyed at mention of ASD because they are irritated by the fact that (according to them) it's "cool" to be ASD. Cool? Even if that were the case, what would be wrong with that. Cool? Really? Try having it, and see just how cool people think you are. (that last sentence not addressed to members of AC).

 

[Ereth]

What I've been coming across a lot on the Internet is people who are annoyed at mention of ASD because they are irritated by the fact that (according to them) it's "cool" to be ASD.

Well, this is the first I've heard of it. Time to put on my leather jacket and my shades and find myself a motorcycle, I guess . . .

 

[Ste11aeres]

Well, this is the first I've heard of it. Time to put on my leather jacket and my shades and find myself a motorcycle, I guess . . .

There are a few members here who do just that, though I don't think they connect it with ASD.

 

[GoofKing]

Why would having Autism be a cool trend in the first place ? It's a double edged sword to me with both it's good and bad things, but people are turning this into a trend ?

Could this lead to more children being diagnosed with Autism because it's a new trend and because it's edgy ?

This reminds me of people I've came across who would fight you tooth and nail to claim that Einstein, Mozart or some other inspirational historical figure had Autism, without listening to reason.

There's no way of really proving this about those people, but people state it like a effing fact!

This annoys me because I'm not going to live my effing life in Einsteins shadow, I'm not wasting my time trying to as good or better than him or Mozart or anyone else whom people think had Autism and did something famous.

Doing so only leads to a lifetime of misery, but that doesn't they couldn't do something that changes the world. Ugh, more children should be taught how to handle their Autistic conditions instead of being miserable because their parents aren't happy with the children that they were blessed to have in the first place.

 

[Ereth]

Why would having Autism be a cool trend in the first place ? It's a double edged sword to me with both it's good and bad things, but people are turning this into a trend ?

They're probably thinking of ASD as only being connected with extremely gifted people.

Could this lead to more children being diagnosed with Autism because it's a new trend and because it's edgy?

No. Relax. Doctors aren't following cues given to them by miscreants on the Internet.

 

[zurb]

What I've been coming across a lot on the Internet is people who are annoyed at mention of ASD because they are irritated by the fact that (according to them) it's "cool" to be ASD. Cool? Even if that were the case, what would be wrong with that. Cool? Really? Try having it, and see just how cool people think you are. (that last sentence not addressed to members of AC).

Maybe 'cool' isn't the right word. Maybe 'trendy'? Same as celiac disease. Awareness campaigns finally catch up with doctors so it stops being misdiagnosed. Borderline cases that would have gone undetected are caught. Diagnosis starts to catchup with actual incidence. But then the awareness campaign backfires because the general public still have no idea what it's about and just think it's the latest 'trendy' thing for hypochondriacs.

 

[Sneaky Potato]

My partner and I on rare occasions use the term as half insult (where the insult is highlighting an error we made, not the actual autism), half joke about stereotypical thinking. But we don't use it in public, as we realize most people wont get that and some will even reinforce their tendency toward narrow thinking.

Not all insults and aggressive behavior is actually that. Some is disguised satire, sarcasm. Some is to drag ridiculous, covert opinions out in the open.

Of course some people are just dumb. But those are not worth fussing over, they are just a part of life one eventually comes to accept.

I think internet gives some probability the new generations will be a more open and tolerating people, as they are early exposed to various characters and personalities (for instance on youtube). There will be a normalization of what once used to be weird and sometimes scary.

 

[2aspirin]

All kinds of terms used to once be semi-medical and semi-colloquial, well before the DSM brought new terms for deriding people whose behavior and nervous systems do not conform:

Idiot was an official term. Imbecile was a term. Someone might be described as Mute and as a Spastic.

How about this: Idiots Act 1886 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ack.

And we use all these terms today. They seem to transition away from official use to more completely colloquial use until they are no lower viewed as slurs against very specific populations.

Various terms used to be defined as spanning IQ ranges:

Imbecile - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And of course, in even earlier days, seizures could get you labeled Possessed. And maybe burned at the stake.

I am convinced that things have improved.

(Corrected)

 

[2aspirin]

Why would having Autism be a cool trend in the first place ? It's a double edged sword to me with both it's good and bad things, but people are turning this into a trend ?

Could this lead to more children being diagnosed with Autism because it's a new trend and because it's edgy ?

This reminds me of people I've came across who would fight you tooth and nail to claim that Einstein, Mozart or some other inspirational historical figure had Autism, without listening to reason.

There's no way of really proving this about those people, but people state it like a effing fact!

This annoys me because I'm not going to live my effing life in Einsteins shadow, I'm not wasting my time trying to as good or better than him or Mozart or anyone else whom people think had Autism and did something famous.

Doing so only leads to a lifetime of misery, but that doesn't they couldn't do something that changes the world. Ugh, more children should be taught how to handle their Autistic conditions instead of being miserable because their parents aren't happy with the children that they were blessed to have in the first place.

I think that acceptance of different forms of diversity -- and the making way for this in culture is what makes certain things now seem cool. It is like increased acceptance of sexual orientation (which is also a function of the brain). It certainly makes my life easier if it is viewed as cool and people are not getting offended by my lack of knowing certain social graces for the fact of having some insight and knowledge of the difference as hardwired. The alternative is one in which we are viewed as a threat, as rejecting norms, making a value judgment on what is expected of us and as generally being defective.

 

[toothless]

retard is still being used across the internet,recently wrote a blogpost on it;
The Residential Autist: the 'r word' again
it doesnt help that americans are still calling it mental retardation even though it was changed to intelectual disability at the same time they merged the spectrum and had been in use for several years in the run up to it,its a highly stimatising,offensive,untrue [the cause isnt being mentaly slow we have a different mental capacity to the norm which impacts on our functioning and behavior]word.
the best way to compare us to non ID people is to think of us as single processor computers and everyone as computers with dual core processors or quad core,its just like our brains we can only handle information in a limited way and that impacts on how we function and our behavior.

as for autistic as a insult,cant recall ever seeing it apart from the time politicians used it on a famous mp [david blunket?] and in family guy and southpark [which am a huge fan of],have probably seen more online people diagnosing various murderers with aspergers across the internet,which is more of an insult than using the word itself as one.

its disrespectful and concience lacking to use disabilities as insults.

 

[Ericho]

Yeah, I have unfortunately heard people use it as an insult. I guess it's meant to be like "retard" unfortunately.

 

[Amelia]

Retarded means stupid apparently, but some people who have mental retardation are actually not stupid! And a lot of autistic people are super smart so those who use it as an insult are technically stupid haha!!

 

[Sheogorath]

It doesn't offend me. But then again, there isn't much that does. I think we all have to come to terms with the fact that assholes will always exist and will always cross lines to offend others. I thought that line was already crossed with some of the insults that people throw around. The fact that 'autism' became the new trend, doesn't shock me at all. I've heard people saying more despicable things.
I think it is stupid to use autism as an insult, but I also think you shouldn't waste too much energy on it. Apparently, your feelings are very unimportant to them. So why even care about what they have to say?
On the internet and in the streets you will come across people who might do things you disagree with. We have freedom of speech, and people have the right to be assholes. I am not saying they should be - nor am I saying it is a good thing. But we don't have a thought police. So now and then we will stumble upon things we find disturbing. In a free society, you have to develop a shield for that.

 

[Tyler Ford]

Yeah, I hear people in the bus say "That's retarded." I know I can't do anything about it but I wish it would stop.

 

[rollerskate]

I use the word retarded but never to describe someone with a developmental disability... kind of odd there I suppose...es, I might say something like "that trend is retarded" but I don't even get in to calling people retarded. Because in my mind, no one is retarded. No. One.

Yes, I've noted ASD has became a new trend. From what I can gather it's due the the intellectual side effects (people are equating ASD with being super smart).