I'm actually starting to see what you are getting at though. If Lili had listed more entertainers, artists and other people who've accomlished things besides becoming a famous genius, I would have less problems with it.
Well thats the thing about it, if you don't accomplish something amazing, you rarely end up in the history books. There are probably plenty of third rate aspies, but you don't see anyone writing books about them. I agree that there is a line that should not be crossed between Aspergian Pride and Aspergian Bigotry, but that line is difficult to define, and right now I feel Pride has more place than humility. A common comparison is drawn between the different movements of Martin Luther King and Malcom X. Yes X crossed the line in most peoples definition, but it was a time when it was more important to achieve goals then to show humility. The difference is that the white list is an attempt to reinforce an immoral establishment, while the black and aspie list is an attempt to tear down that same immoral establishment.
I'm glad that we could reach an understanding :smile:
I have always been proud that Stonewall Jackson and Lovecraft were probably aspies--also Perceval, from the Grail stories, and Cato the Younger.
Prince John, George V's youngest son, kept away as "feeble-minded," not only acted like a person who could have had some sort of autistic spectrum disorder, but he was also epileptic.
Women and people who aren't white: Emily Dickinson, possibly Emily Bronte, possibly Hildegard of Bingen. Thelonius Monk. Li Guang (Chinese general from the Han dynasty).
I think Himmler may have been an aspie as well. Also Kevin Strom, founder of the American white-supremnacist group National Vanguard, a splinter group of the National Alliance. He is described as eccentric (he only eats one food at a time and fills his house with stacks of hoarded paper), an overcontrolling husband, and intelligent, especially with computers and electronics--and one of his children was autistic. (So much for making us look good :/--also, so much for "racial purity;" modern neo-Nazis despise autism)
None of these are official, but if anyone wants, I could follow up with supporting details about these people. (The Kevin Strom information is from a Southern Poverty Law article on him titled "The Wannabe.")
[quote]
I'm one of the many aspies who have a degree and have no hope of having anything resembling a career, despite years of giving the career caper my best efforts. Whenever I get a job in some government department or company my health starts to fail due to the inescapable stress of having to interact with people for hours in a day, and usually I end up being excluded or bullied by work colleagues or supervisors. I hate having to pretend being a neurotypical in job interviews, having to perform body language that I feel is ridiculous, trying to hide the fact that I'm not "outgoing" or "extroverted". And if you met me in the street I doubt that you'd think I was autistic at all, I regard myself as close to neurotypical. This is reality.
I agree with your point(s). I was basically posting an example, but it is highly oversimplified.
Both my husband and I are currently self-employed. My husband has more Aspie traits than I do, but neither of us are probably officially Aspies; we just had enough genes to create an Aspie child. Still, we both ended up wanting to do things our own way after years of paying our dues in the employment world.
Even for me working for others was a rough road. I got very good at it, but I would sometimes refer to it as learning to act a part. When I started mentoring younger associates, I spent a lot of time teaching them how to play the game. I'm not sure anyone feels some of the roles you are required to play in the business world are "real."
But, neither my husband nor I could have the businesses we run now if we had NOT spent those years working for others. We built the contacts we currently feed off, and we learned the technical skills schools just can't teach you.
In the end, it takes a huge combination of things to have a successful work life.
If my child comes up with a marketable invention without ever having to work in a larger company, I can help him take it further. I do know about starting a business and making it successful. But, I would prefer he learn at the hands of others first ... sigh, this is part of the wide world of "we'll have to see when we get there."
I work a few days a week with a business that hired a young man who I am sure is Aspie. He was actually an extremely talented employee. The problem was, he didn't like the job. The owner of the business was really sad to see the young man leave; and the young man has no idea what he'll do next. I know he'll never interview well, but he'll always get one hell of a sterling reference from his former employer. If he ever figures out what he wants to do.
OK, enough rambling without solving anything ... just, yes, I see the issues. But sometimes you have to choose a road regardless of the fact that all of them look bumpy.
Oooo, when I was young, I (almost) believed I was the Princess in said story. I say almost, because I knew I wasn't, but that she was a fictional character that was like me. I even put things under my mattress to test if I was that sensitive. Of course, if I put stuff under my mattress, I knew it was there, so I couldn't really test it. But, I fully agree that it seems to be about autistic sensitivities.
Did anyone see the Hallmark version of "Hans Christian Anderson"? Sure it was a semi-fictional biography, but the actor playing Anderson was SO portraying an Aspie character. 
So whenever there's a black history page, it's in good taste, but whenever there's a white history page, it's automatically considered to be supremacist?
Sorry but you can't have it both ways. Either both sites are supremacist, or neither site is supremacist.
Yup. In my opinion, if you're going to go around making lists, why not include everyone on the same page?
I hadn't seen the entire list so I didn't know about Andy Kaufman being there. Bruce Chatwin was another one that I had thought of that I now found in your list. What about Richard Brautigan 1935-1984? Or Peter Sellers?
To me the interesting thing about Peter Sellers was that he was never completely comfortable out of character. (There's that famous story about his interview with Michael Parkinson and how he would only agree to be interviewed if he could come in the persona of a German soldier...)
I have to say, having seen those lists I find it nothing short of Assinine that Jesus Christ is thought by some(morons) to have had Asperger Syndrome! Now anyone who's famous and has a reputation for being eccentric is a potential candidate for having asperger syndrome...Sigh Ive even heard that claims of Dubya being autistic!
The person who claimed that Jesus had it certainly damages the credibility of aspies to recognize their own.
Curious... Who's to know, I suppose?
Seriously, though.
Already mentioned this once or twice (ages ago) but I heard somewhere about some theory that the Pharaoh Akhenaten may have been autistic.
An actual clinician (Michael Fitzgerald) did an official posthumous diagnosing of W.B. Yeats. The reasons (according to Clinician Fitzgerald) was that Yeats apparently lacked common sense, had problems with empathy (think Maude Gonne) and lacked a clear personality. Oh, and he had motor clumsiness.
I don't know if I agree with Fitzgerald about an AS diagnosis for Yeats. It all depends on how we DEFINE AS. However, Yeats, to some extent seemed to have at least very mild social impairments. Then again, those social impairments don't neccesarily have to be autism spectrum related.
I did my undergrad in Canada, and I have very vivid memories of watching the (American) academy awards with my Canadian friends. Every minute, I'd hear someone in the room say "She's Canadian!" and "Hey, did you know he's Canadian??".
Just had to get that out there.
I did my undergrad in Canada, and I have very vivid memories of watching the (American) academy awards with my Canadian friends. Every minute, I'd hear someone in the room say "She's Canadian!" and "Hey, did you know he's Canadian??".
Just had to get that out there.
Funny. Of course I suppose with Canadians you wouldn't be able to "tell" as much as with other places, particularly with such similar accents.
Jeeez, You're spot on, Simen. My first post and I come across as transparently shallow and boastful. Why am I such a prick?
I don't think you are, really - it was just an 'ooops! 
' moment! (I have my share of those! 
)
I think a lot (if not most) people have fantasies about achieving greatness in some way or other; most of us never get nearly as close as you did! That must be extremely frustrating! 
Anyway, welcome to AFF!