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

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

I think that your friend's action and reaction to his own reaction demonstrates the distinction between "acting like a jackass" and "being a jackass". I think we all of us act like a jackass sometimes. However, one only IS a jackass if one refuses to recognize, apologize for, and attempt to change such actions.