Another important quote:

[xiphias]

From beccastareyes: "The autism spectrum and the jackass spectrum are disjoint."

I know some jackasses. I know some people on the autism spectrum. The overlap between the two sets is only as much as would be expected by chance. Having Asperger's, or any other autism-spectrum trait, is neither an excuse for being a jackass, nor a reason to be one. Autism doesn't make you a jackass, and my friends who are autism-spectrum aren't jackasses, nor does their autism push them toward jackassery.

If you act like a jackass and then say "it's not my fault; I have Asperger's", you're just plain wrong. Having Asperger's doesn't make you a jackass any more than being left-handed does.

Comments

[lietya.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, being a jackass does tend to correlate with seeking obnoxious excuses for one's jackassery. ;)

(Says someone who is autistic, and has thus far noted that allistic people seem far more prone to self-centeredness/lack of empathy and jackassery than my compatriots...)

[gingicat]

Preach it.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Word.