Miscellaneous > The Sallyport

Jews, Autism, and Perception.

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Thorsteinn:
Here's a thought: There are 5.3 million Jews in the US (1-57), and 3.5 million people with Autism Spectrum Disorders in the US (1-88). If a Jew was systemically denied his rights under the law by government and employers, if he also found strong Antisemitism & true misunderstanding where ever he went to the point that it lost him his job, education, love, and home prospects to the point it ruined his life, there would be a public uproar, even from the Christians. He would have the support of so very many

Yet those like me, who have an ASD, face this discrimination every day of our lives from everyone including our friends and family. We can't wear an Autistic Kippah, nor a Aspergian Mogen David to identify ourselves to the public (we are even encouraged to hide our differences). We are told by many, even our family, that it is unfair for others to have to adapt to our needs, that it is not right to expect others to try and understand what we are. That we ask too much. We lose our homes, our loves, our education, our jobs. Our lives ARE ruined. But still we are told we ask too much.

But here's what they miss: Being a Jew is a choice. Having an ASD is not.

-Sean K.
Jewish Athiest with Asperger's Syndrome.

SirNathanQ:
Ivan, I feel for you. My little brother has autism. Though I have found that people in my community love him to death, and gladly accomidate him. Maybe it's a rural small town thing.

Aren't autistics covered under the ADA? If someone is discriminating against you, it deserves any and all legal repercussions.

Thorsteinn:
Yes we are covered and we have rights in schools, jobs, etc but I've found these rights trampled more often than enforced. Thus the metaphor.

Folks with ASD's are 7 times more likely than neurotypicals to suffer discrimination, abuse, and be victims of crime. We fundamentally see the world different... and are blind to it as well. There is a reason why I'm blind to what my dysfunctional ex's do to me.

On the flip side a quote from a friend that came about while discussing relationships & Aspie's:


--- Quote from: Rafael Pozos ---First off, don't get needy. That's the fastest way to drive a potential intimate partner off. Secondly, even the neurotypicals don't always see those stumbling blocks quite as easily as you might think. Best advice I can give is trust your gut. It may not be perfect but nobody's is. A shrink I met in passing at a social event once told me when I related my problems seeing the stumbling blocks and feeling like "Aspie's always wrong" this: " Actually, Aspie's usually right." As aspies, we have a unique point of view and way of seeing things in ways nobody else can. Therefore what I try to do, and am by no means perfect at it, is to use that point of view to my advantage. Am I the best at empathy? oh hell no. Doesn't mean I don't give a damn. Just means I can't easily express it if at all. Especially under stress. At any rate, stepping off my soapbox before you hit me in the head with that Dane Ax of yours.
--- End quote ---

Ian:
I follow what you're trying to say, but the comparison is not valid.  You could substitute any group in for the Jewish community in this case and try to create a metaphor, but you're comparing apples to oranges, not apples to apples.  I also believe that belonging to a religious group does not have as great of a social effect as some autism spectrums can present in the workplace or any other social environment.  Discrimination is wrong in any form, but it has nothing to do with fairness compared to how a religious group is treated.

Thorsteinn:
After almost 5800 years Judaism has achieved a cultural impact that is both large & subtle. In many ways I have more in common with Israelis than with Americans even though I'm culturally a Russian Reform Jew & not a Semitic Conservative Jew.

If you were raised to be a Christian then the cultural impact of that Christianity is not very apparent, but if you were raised a Jew it is everywhere & in everything in this country (being an Atheist its even more apparent).

The reason I picked Judaism is simple: I was raised a Jew in very redneck Nevada. I have experienced discrimination and bigotry as a Jew and as an Aspie. I have gotten fairly effective help countering the antisemitism but not the for the Anti-Autism. Also both groups are small, both are "the other" in America, and both give the individual a very different take on life.

I wasn't comparing effective levels of discrimination but in fact comparing two small, but approximately equal in size, disaffected groups and how one, the one of choice & visibility, is receiving effective help in countering their discrimination while the other isn't.

Fun fact: In 1900 there were 56 million Jews worldwide with a planetary population of 1.7 billion. Now there are 15 million  Jews and a world population of 7 billion. When I was diagnosed 10 years ago there were 1-in-250 for Aspie's a with a world pop of 6 billion. Now it's 1-in-90 with only 1 billion more folks around.  See, perception of effect may not be effect. Most people think there are more Jews and less Autistic's/Aspie's than there are.

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