Kabbaway

Kabbaway, 8 months ago

@CynAq @theautisticcoach @mazeldon @communism @actuallyautistic if anything, many of us see nuance so well it’s how we develop our special interests. When NTs say we “don’t get nuance”, it’s often just them deflecting from their own arbitrary ultimatums and unwillingness to budge on their self-imposed status quo.

Solidarity to OP and all who are affected by the recent events 💚

Kabbaway, 10 months ago

@Roundcat I do agree with what you're saying to an extent, although I've also heard from many people of colour (especially #Black) that the mass #TwitterMigration is very white dominated, because we have the privilege of running when things become dangerous or undesirable for us. #Mastodon still has a white-dominated issue, and unfortunately there have been #racism problems due to many instances not yet having gone through the growing pains of the various communities on #Twitter, or worse that some of them are actively run by bigots and/or their enablers.

For many people of colour, Twitter was NEVER really safe but it gave them a platform to widely share their existence and protest where they otherwise couldn't. They arguably have to work harder than anyone else to build their online communities and supportive networks, so I personally don't blame them for being hesitant to completely abandon it. For them, Twitter is more than a social media platform. It's a lifeline, a fundamental source of human rights information, resources and support networks. Twitter, even today, simply has an unmatched level of accessibility, popularity and influence on society. #Reddit has a similar problematic history yet is also a crucial source of information for various marginalised groups.

I personally chose to jump ship since it was getting too toxic for me as a #LGBTQIA+ and #neurodivergent person, but I also acknowledge that I had the privilege of being able to do that with only the slightest amount of inconvenience; I never particularly liked Twitter, and had other outlets available to me so it was an easy choice to make. Twitter did majorly help advertise my #YouTube content when I was first starting out in early 2018, so I can empathise with why many #leftist and #progressive content creators still use it.

It's one thing to try and rigidly comply with our principles, but reality is that we all live under a broken system, and those of us who are marginalised often have to play that system in order to survive, share our stories and resources on how to implement systemic change. If we waited for the perfect circumstances/platforms to do this (free of moral contradictions, compromises and sacrifices), our voices would just fade into obscurity. For many, abandoning ship is letting the bigots win - I wouldn't be surprised if silencing progressive and/or marginalised groups was THE reason Elon bought Twitter in the first place. Ultimately, it's a very personal choice whether someone decides to remain on Twitter or go elsewhere. On the surface the former is hypocritical, but the rhetorics used against it are full of privilege and purity politics which have their own air of hypocrisy to them.

There are no easy answers, except that we're all just trying to get by in this hostile, rigged system and turning on each other only serves to benefit and perpetuate that system.

Kabbaway, 10 months ago

@StevenSaus @actuallyautistic as others have said, autism isn't a behavioural problem and those who say otherwise don't understand that our brains are literally wired different.

For me, my autistic meltdowns usually happen in response to sensory overload eg too much noise, masking and concentrating on non-special interest tasks for too long. It gets to a point where even just one more out-of-place sound or touch makes me hyperventilate, go non-verbal, cry, sometimes even scream/wail while pacing or stimming unpredictably. Afterwards, I dissociate and lose touch with my body and mind until the stimuli settles down.

I should emphasise that autistic people rarely meltdown for "irrational" reasons - we have genuine sensitivities to more things than neurotypical people, and struggle to internally regulate our thoughts/feelings. A meltdown is usually the result of too much overwhelming stimuli, whether at once or consecutively. It's almost always a cry for help.

I guess it all depends on what your triggers are. Reflecting on why you got so upset is a vital step. If you were genuinely overwhelmed by things, it's important to acknowledge that and communicate with the relevant people so that accommodations can be discussed. The way your meltdowns manifest is important too - some behaviours are inappropriate whether you're autistic or not eg assault, coercion and threats, knowingly violating others' boundaries. Aggression and violence can be indicators of unaddressed triggers (especially in autistic people), but in that case finding more safe/constructive outlets (eg self-soothing stims and comfort items, special interests, exercise etc) is what I'd recommend. Having a meltdown itself isn't irrational - the closest it gets to that is if the behaviours are dangerous or otherwise constitute harassment, but otherwise you shouldn't be ashamed of needing to externalise your suffering 💚