A personality type / Culture appropriation and systemic oppression
In the previous post I referred to personality traits that are considered "autistic", but other neurotypes can have, and so they're not what differentiates and makes Autistic people be Autistic. There are deeper differences in the way we communicate and process information, and in various other areas. In fact often these so-called "Autistic traits", when found in NTs (or other allistic people), are praised and considered very positive, but are not acknowledged in Autistic people themselves, and even considered negative then. As if Autistic people cannot do Autism right 😆 or NTs have the correct way to do Autism 😆 (irony). It's something similar with "culture appropriation", that's what best describes what I have often experienced. Before knowing I'm Autistic, I would just not understand why certain people were so praised about things that I felt as if I owned (and in a much deeper, true, authentic level -they seemed very superficial to me), but were not acknowledged or even mocked, punished in me. Now I understand that it wasn't me. I wonder if other Autistic people have a similar experience. In particular this feeling of "culture appropriation" by NTs, when they are completely disrespectful towards us, and our actual culture.
I've made the video private, though I had started to talk about traits that are considered to be "Autistic", but otherwise are often found for example in creative people who can be allistic, and praised.
And I'm thinking there is a personality type, who is neurotypical, but has a lot of these traits (who are often found in Autistic people, or considered to be Autistic traits), and these people become very successful, especially artists, scientists, or in other fields where these traits are an advantage (to them who are neurotypical). At the same time Autistic people are rejected in the same fields.
What do you think about it? Have you noticed something similar? Do you think there is a personality type that resembles Autistic people (in a superficial way) (as seen externally), but is actually allistic, even NT?
Perhaps that's the reason some people who don't seem to get Neurodivergence, think "success" is a matter of self-management, blame us for not reaching our capacity, don't understand our struggles, and how society disables us. [As if I haven't tried to become a neurotypical caricature of myself, but guess what, all the toxic positivity attitude of this world does not make you solve any real problems.] They see us as a personality type, "Autistic" for them is a personality type, because they can't see anything beyond that. They can't or they don't want to. As long as they keep their privilege (that they don't acknowledge), we'll never know. Sometimes I believe we've been trying very hard to make them "understand". It's a matter of oppression, and as any other matter of privilege and oppression it is not really a matter of "understanding". It's systemic.
I do care for my personal friends to understand me. And I believe they can. (though I believe most of them are somehow ND anyway 😄) But in order to actually change things for Autistic people, we need real systemic change.
It's important that people understand us. It's great that there is more and more education and access to information, and even more is needed. However no people were ever liberated from oppression only because the oppressors finally understood them. It's a deep systemic issue. An invisible oppression. A human rights issue.
People who see us as a "personality type" do not acknowledge this.
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