Aspies For Freedom

I think the way this aspie have been raised should be demonized.

I's starting to think the trial is insane......they're trying to say it was premeditated and they're making up evidence.....sheez.

I wonder if people realise that the number of NT murderers is WAY WAY WAY more than AS murderers. I mean think of all the gang shootings and robberies and drunk driving. 99% of those people are NT (well not autistic to say the least). I mean just cause one aspie is a murder doesnt mean were all monsters, people certainly dont think of NT's this way. Stupid retards, they can just shoot their faces off.

What if the defense wins the case based on AS? I've read about a few other trial cases where the defendant was aquitted of murder because of AS.

Ever watch the show "Cops" or it's many clones? Black people are regularly shown as violent criminals tarring all black people with the same brush. This is done to all minorities, aspies included.

I guess it's the modern equivalent of Gladiatorial Arenas, the Romans kept the masses happy by bringing in the "uncouth barbarians" of other nations, and defeating them in the arena so the "civilised majority" could feel superior

Whereas these days they have the "uncouth minorities" put up for public spectacle and shown as monsters, so again, the "civilised majority" can feel superior.

Black people have actually come a long way since the days of lynchings and open racism against them.  Now the discrimination they face is more subtle but it's still there such as in the case of shows like "Cops". If the NAACP complains about something you know they'll be heard. As a newly discoverd minority we have yet to gain a similar measure of political power. We may be too small in number to ever get the same kind of power making us easy targets for discrimination of this sort.

I am glad to see many people not taking the side of the defence with the little amount of information we have about this case. The worst possible thing we can do is to symphathise with a murderer simply because they're "one of us". AS is slowly becoming more and more represented as something that makes people mindlessly violent.

I will get beaten up for this but..
Sometimes I think it is inevitable that any neurological or mental condition that has anything at all to do with behavior will be given a mention in murder cases, anything that can give a slightest hint into the psyche of the person. I don't think it neccessarily suggests at all that the condition is responsible for violent behaviour. You really have to stop assuming that everyone makes Aspies look bad or that any NT who reads the papers would immediately link Asperger's to violence. I have seen much much more sensationalistic reports.
I think it's more likely they would link Asperger's to a troubled and isolated youth. These are little bits of information that they piece together to form a sort of picture. OCD, dyslexia, NVLD, ADD do not cause violence but if someone murdered someone and the newspaper report casually mentioned that the guy had OCD, dyslexia etc, I would not think they were trying to link dyslexia with violence or murderous thoughts.

I notice we either weave between the extreme of
1) he is one of us, it's not his fault, he must have been bullied to the extent that he killed (I would not assume this unless there is some evidence to suggest so, even though it is true being bullied is an almost universal AS experience)
2) How dare you mention that he is one of us! Rubbish! A person with AS would never do that! Please do not associate him with our community!

You missed number 3:

He's one of us, and like all humans, people like us sometimes do horrendous things. He done a horrendous thing. Punish him for it, but don't punish others.

Thats a good one to remember.

Quote from article

"His lawyer, Jonathan Shapiro of Boston, has said Odgren had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism, and also with hyperactivity disorder and had been taking several medications. Odgren had no criminal record and had never acted violently before, Shapiro said."

Another success story thanks to the American pharmaceutical industry and the profession of psychiatry! I'd say it's time to review the kid's meds.

It would have been nice if some autistic rights group had sent out a press release explaining their position on the use of AS/autism as a legal defence in violent crime cases back when Craig Nicholls used AS as a defence in Australia. Of course, the media might have ignored such a thing.

I think the suspect obviously had problems, but he is legally responsible. My kids share a school with autistic special needs kids, and it's sad to see that these kids often go AWOL or act in anti-social ways. I don't know if they need more discipline (and higher expectations) or less demands made on them, or a completely different environment, but I do know that schools often don't properly monitor or control these kids, and it's the school's responsibility.

Thank you for your defence Max the Bear. Just calm down though or Dogbrain will probably call you out on it, I can see what this thread is fast evolving into!

Btw just to clarify since there seems to be some misunderstanding, my responses are in reference to the MEDIA coverage, i.e. the brief mention that he has Asperger's, rather than what the defence and prosecution will make of it.

Dogbrain, I have been following the thread quite closely, sir. That's what I got out of it between the lines. If you don't, feel free to disagree. Politely.


Why do I always keep coming back to AFF even though I always return to find it splattered with personal bitchy, obnoxious and look-im-cleverer-than-you comments? There is so much room for objective, intelligent discussion. WP is just as bad, really.

P.S: Everyone wants to talk about stereotyping of Aspies but frankly sometimes we are our own worst enemies. You think we'd rise above the NTs since so many of us have experienced exclusion, put downs enough in our own lives but so many people in the Aspie community keep seeming to carry it over into their online lives. Out of all the neurodiversity online communities I've been to-- ADD, dyslexia, AS, etc, I'm sorry to say this but Aspie forums seem to consistently have the worst inflammatory flame wars. Other communities have very heated arguments, as any meeting of intelligent, idiosyncratic minds will, but they rarely if ever degenerate into the kind of obnoxious superiority I see so often on Aspie forums.

Dogbrain - I have received numerous complaints about your insults/name-calling. If it continues then you will be banned.