this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2026
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Autism

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[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 96 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

"So, what's wrong with me, doc?"

"Well it seems you have strong empathy and a sense of justice, which simply doesn't mesh well with the reality we have created."

"...What's the cure?"

"Money and power."

"Fuck."

[–] cecilkorik@piefed.ca 29 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I prefer the alternative medicine, anarchy.

[–] o1011o@lemmy.world 34 points 1 week ago

Yes my friend. “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” ― Albert Camus

[–] Sabata11792@ani.social 7 points 1 week ago

"Hi, I'm here to pick up my prescribed money bag."

[–] TheFogan@programming.dev 52 points 1 week ago

Honestly explains a lot of my younger self. I always prided myself as the snitch...

In school, regularly was hated because I was the one to destroy academic cheating groups.

One of my closer female friends cheated on her idiot boyfriend that I barely could stand... I ratted her out.

Later on that same idiot boyfriend was at least trying to cheat on his newer girlfriend... also ratted him out.

Later on idiot friends girlfriend was my girlfriend for 14 years... However my blind sense of justice also causes me to think that the world works when I'm not in the right position.. I wound up paying through the nose for her to visit a female friend across the country... who, didn't actually exist. Afterwards she broke up with me, and almost imidiately had a new boyfriend... coincidentally from the location she had just flown to... and they were married within a few months.

Got an awesome son out of the deal though... Honestly the part that eats at me, is just the realization that, there's almost certainly people that knew what was happening... that just, ignored it.

[–] DupaCycki@lemmy.world 38 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Ah yes. Another episode of the 'neurodivergent people are actually normal and it's neurotypical people who are weird' series.

[–] Septimaeus@infosec.pub 16 points 1 week ago

Nah. Perceived injustice can motivate a variety of feelings and behaviors. Not all of them helpful. Not all of them good (B. Pine, C. White, M. Eisenhardt, et al).

I mean, it could be argued that neurotypicals are simply the most cohesive minority. They only account for ~40% of people, because ~60% have some sort of mental disorder. The only reason neurotypicals are the default are because they’re the largest cohesive and exclusive group. If it were a Venn diagram, 60% would be a bunch of smaller (often overlapping) circles, while the remaining 40% would be off to the side in its own circle.

So if you’re going to make assumptions about someone you just met, (and we all make assumptions. That’s how socializing works), it makes sense to assume that the person is probably in the largest group that doesn’t overlap with any of the other groups. So “neurotypical” is used as the default until we know more about the person. Not because they’re the majority, but simply because the 40% group is the easiest, most straightforward, least messy assumption to make.

[–] AbsolutelyNotAVelociraptor@piefed.social 38 points 1 week ago (1 children)

There's something I'd like to point out tho: it's not a "strong sense of justice". Justice, for us autistic people is an emotion. You feel despair, you feel love, you feel joy... we also feel justice, injustice, fairness... 

Yeah, we have some unusual emotions, and justice is one of them.

[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Interesting. Is that a perspective used among psychologists?

[–] AbsolutelyNotAVelociraptor@piefed.social 13 points 1 week ago (2 children)

There is evidence of it. This page explains it somewhat well: https://www.simplypsychology.org/autism-justice-sensitivity.html although it fails to address it with an autistic perspective as it says:

As a result, any perceived injustice (even minor ones) can trigger strong emotional reactions such as anger, anxiety, or sadness.

I disagree with this, i know what's anger, what's anxiety... injustice feels different to those.

I could search later for more sources, but talking to other autistic folks, I noticed that many of us have a wide array of emotions that either work differently, or are not present in neurotypical brains. 

The most prevalent has always been justice and the reason we concur on it being an emotion is because it can manifest physical symptoms the same way as any other emotion.

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[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 32 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Psychiatrist and author William W. Dodson, MD, estimates that by age 12, children who have ADHD receive 20,000 more negative messages from parents, teachers, and other adults than their friends and siblings who do not have ADHD.

Maybe this is part of it. ASD/ADHD people being corrected so many times about doing things “wrong” that they have been “trained” to point out or note things that are incorrect. And also, maybe a reason why we get so incredibly frustrated when NT let things slide for other NT people that we feel we’d get in trouble for. We don’t fit the vibe that NT in-group runs on.

[–] bobbbu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

This blows my mind. Makes so much sense! edit: forgot to thank you for posting this :). Thanks!

[–] HasturInYellow@lemmy.world 29 points 1 week ago (2 children)

It's really interesting reading the replies. A lot seem to be talking about "justice and fairness" like it means "following all rules always" but personally, I don't give a fuck about the rules. I want you to be kind.

cocks gun with intent

I SAID BE KIND TO EACH OTHER, YOU FUCKING IDIOTS.

[–] TonyOstrich@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago

Viscerally.

Well, kinda a combination of all of it, but when people are being greedy, selfish, ass holes instead of kind and fair and just trying to make the world or community a better place for everyone in it rather than just themselves or those they know there is an unyielding rage that begins to stir wants to MAKE them be fair and kind.

[–] socsa@piefed.social 7 points 1 week ago

I am definitely not a rule follower by default in the sense that I identify that many rules are just a framework for compelling obedience and preserving power hierarchies. But then shit like speeding and running red lights or driving recklessly makes me furious, because these rules are not tools for subjugation or oppression in any way, they are protocols for safe coexistence which sometimes create extremely fucking minor inconveniences.

I honestly believe people who drive aggressively are just impotently asserting agency in a world they feel beat down by, because they have literally nothing going on. It's one of the most pathetic behaviors commonly present in the modern world.

[–] Strider@lemmy.world 23 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yep. Rules are rules. Rules are important for social living together.

BMW drivers not signaling should get their car taken away.

[–] Dicska@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago (4 children)

~~BMW~~ drivers not signaling should get their car taken away.

[–] Kichae@lemmy.ca 12 points 1 week ago

BMW drivers ~~not signaling~~ should get their car taken away.

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[–] Donjuanme@lemmy.world 23 points 1 week ago (4 children)

I'm autistic because I want people to follow the written rules of society?

Don't fucking run red lights and do stop for pedestrians is pretty much all I ask, but that's too much in the small city I live in for at least a few people every day.

[–] HumanOnEarth@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Unironocally yes.

The point is the average person doesn't give a shit. That's the baseline. It's why without enforcement, no one follows rules detrimental to themselves. It's why going 50 in a 50 is considered ridiculous.

The fact that it even pisses you off enough to write that out is evidence enough lol. Maybe. Not the one thing by itself....

Source: Late diagnosed adhd, probably autistic, said the same kind of things as you before I realized I'm just.... not typical

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

The point is the average person doesn’t give a shit.

Average people give an average shit. They tend to see what comes close to goring their own ox and ignore what's out of view.

It’s why going 50 in a 50 is considered ridiculous.

When you're on an empty road, it feels ridiculous to go 50 in a 50 because nobody is in your way.

When it's bumper to bumper traffic, it feels ridiculous to go 50 in a 50 because you'd immediately collide with the car in front of you.

When everyone else is going 50, it feels sensible to keep up with the herd, even when a sign indicates a different speed is more appropriate.

Ignoring the circumstances in favor of the written rule isn't virtuous on its face. Sometimes the rules are wrong and you need to use your own judgement. Sometimes the rules are there for reasons that go deeper than their most literal interpretation.

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[–] ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 21 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yes.

But it's often exploited. All those far-right/kiwifarms autists think the same when they're doing their evil deeds. They believe communism is the greatest danger to civilization, and worth sacrificing our freedom to fight it. That being said, the left is also not immune from it, see all the section 230 propaganda, etc.

Mandatory reminder that being autistic is enterely compatible with being an evil asshole. They are not mutually exclusive.

[–] AllHailTheSheep@sh.itjust.works 21 points 1 week ago (1 children)

my mother once told me my since of justice was my biggest flaw. 15 years later and I get what she meant but what a thing to tell a 10 year old lol

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 17 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Probably better to describe it as "fairness". Maybe even "stubbornness" The problem with justice/fairness is that it is ultimately subjective. And a 10-year-old's view of fairness is often divorced from principles of personal safety or propriety.

You'll see this problem with adult libertarians all the time. Everything from seat belts to sales taxes to dress codes intrude on their sense of fairness, largely because they've ingested enormous volumes of propaganda. The real joke of it is when the term "social justice" impugnes your sense of personal justice. Same with the social conservatives who get up in arms over "illegal" immigration and desegregation, environmental regulations and speed limits, prohibitions on state sanctioned religious education, and age limits on who you can marry.

A sense of justice is a very plastic (especially at a young age) and perspective oriented. Wars have been fought and rivers of blood spilled over a population's conviction of their own righteousness.

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[–] Duke_Nukem_1990@feddit.org 19 points 1 week ago (2 children)

100%. Injustice causes me physical pain, especially if the injustice is then justified based on irrational arguments or I can tell that the argument is made in bad faith. Anti-Veganism would be an example that has caused me issues before.

[–] king_comrade@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago (3 children)

For me it's cops, I get a damn near aneurysm every time I hear 'they're not all like that'. Have we learnt nothing?!?

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So what you're saying is..my user name is snitching on myself?

[–] AFKBRBChocolate@lemmy.ca 17 points 1 week ago (7 children)

My adult son is clearly on the spectrum (seems to avoid getting diagnosed, though I think it would do him a lot of good). When he was very young, he would come home in tears if another kid was chewing gum in class, which was against the rules. That kind of thing is still a huge issue for him (rule breaking, not gum chewing).

i have had severe autism my entire life and i have never ever given a single fuck about the law.

that's because i learned pretty early on that the law is routinely wrong about major things, and there's not much of a point to believe in it too much. however, i do have a very strong sense of "justice" (though i don't call it that, and it's also significantly different than other people's ideas of justice) that i do live by very strictly.

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[–] itstoowet@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Probably what led me to being vegan. I can't stand the hypocrisy of some animals deserving compassion and others not. I also work for a company in sustainability/energy transition, and the amount of people who "care" about sustainability and the environment and yet still drool when they see a steak is too high.

I'm vegan, btw.

[–] forrgott@lemmy.sdf.org 17 points 1 week ago (4 children)

I'm vegan, btw.

Yes, but do you use Arch Linux?

[–] bobbbu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 week ago

This guy trying to push us into the event horizon

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[–] Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I use the word righteous. And I don't think it is that we are more righteous. I think we just have trouble getting over it. Which is a general aspect of many other things that cause issues for us.

[–] qarbone@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I'd also posit my unqualified opinion^1^ too: I think it's the idea that the rules are inconsistent. You try to follow a system that everyone says is "blind" and impartial, only to see it just got Lasik and is very, very partial to particular people. The dissonance between experiencing injustice and insistent claims that the civilized world is fair.

If all cultures codified that "money buys clemency", there'd be a lot fewer outbursts about how unfair things are.

^1^ I'm probably not autistic, just have a lot of autistic friends.

[–] doug@lemmy.today 10 points 1 week ago (7 children)

My blood pressure goes through the roof when I play Dead by Daylight and go up against a toxic killer.

Similarly, it goes through the roof when I see a Trump flag up at my neighbor’s house.

My blood pressure ain’t doin’ so well these days.

On top of that, you have any idea how hard it is to stay under the advised daily value of sodium? It’s less than a teaspoon! Tortilla? 20% of your sodium. Bagel? 20%. Any veggie patty substitute? Vegetable bouillon? Tamari or soy sauce?

Ye gods man I’m gonna burst!

…exercise I got on lock tho, so that’s nice.

…and don’t tell me to stop playing Dead by Daylight. It’s the only multiplayer game I can play where I have more than a coin toss’s chance of winning.

…though maybe I should just switch to something chill like an mmo 😔

[–] Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Gah, do I feel this. One of the reasons I really like my new neighborhood is that I never see any of those fucking flags. I see Ukraine flags, Palestine flags, rainbow flags, and signs that say "Black Lives Matter" and "Fascists not welcome." A walk around the neighborhood makes me happier now than it did when I lived in the suburbs, even though my mom worries about me being in the sCaRy CiTy.

One glance around, and I know my neighbors are all right. I'm home.

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[–] JoeBigelow@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 week ago (5 children)

The recommended levels of sodium are trash, newer evidence is showing that 2000mg is perfectly fine. More if you sweat

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[–] BoosBeau@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago

I was working at a music store (that offered lessons) behind the counter. Student came in with a check to pay for lessons, because mom couldn't remember if they paid. I checked the history and they were paid up. Boss got angry with me for not just taking the check and I got chewed out. Real easy to walk out the door after that.

That just got me diagnosed with BPD ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

We need to burn this evil system to the ground

[–] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 week ago

It's built by and for psychopaths instead.

[–] ikidd@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Now we're conflating ADHD with holiness.

OK.

[–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 1 week ago (1 children)

No, it’s a well-documented phenomenon called Justice Sensitivity. It can even be graded on a scale, like any other symptom of ADHD or autism. It is part of the diagnostic criteria.

Basically, lots of ADHD/autistic people tend to dislike rules, feeling like they’re restrictive for no reason… Unless they know why the rule exists. But if they know why it exists, they often tend to treat the rule as gospel, and get extremely angry and/or resentful when others don’t follow the rule. They’ll have a strong urge to correct perceived injustices, even if the injustice was relatively small or benign. “Life isn’t fair” is something that many people with ADHD/autism hear a lot, because it’s often the go-to response from neurotypicals whenever they start complaining about injustice. There’s a reason people with ADHD and autism disproportionately work as activists.

[–] faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 8 points 1 week ago

This can also cause a lot of friction between two autistic people, especially where one person understands the rules and the other doesn't. Then you've got one person who's furious the other isn't following the rules, and the other who is furious because they're being expected to follow rules they don't understand.

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 8 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Yeah. I got fired once from a sales job because of it. I could not make myself push shit on people that they didn't need.

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[–] Wilco@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yea ... Im gonna argue that a great deal of the population (in the US) just lacks morals.

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