^ Thank-you, I knew I'd worded something wrong.

I was born back in 1961, when being different from the herd was considered unacceptable, particularly if you were a girl.  To the extent of not inconsiderable physical, mental and emotional abuse being meted out to me for standing out as different.  

So I wasn't so much saying it was wrong for me to be different, I just wanted to know why I *was*, as I continued to pretend to be something I was not.  

I find today that things socially are better for autistics, with diagnosis, intervention, educational help, etc.  In contrast when I was growing up, I was told that if I didn't stop the meltdowns after coming home beaten black and blue and bloodied, that I'd be put into the looney bin and lobotomized.  But of course, that was then, and this is now, and times have changed for the better. To the extent that younger members of the community can snidely ask why the older members strived so hard to appear to be NT, rather than be loud and proud and out.  

Alison

You were born at the start of hippydom and second wave feminism, if anything being weird then was cooler than now!

i admire your nerve, if not your sense, for even attempting a reply to that

I stand corrected; of COURSE a small farming community in rural Australia was on the cutting edge of hippydom and second wave feminism.  I wonder why I couldn't get my head out of the flushing toilet long enough to realize that I was actually cool?
Alison

Can I laugh and hug you at the same time, Alison?

And of course, some of the changes today require being diagnosed early enough to start getting help in your school years.  I didn't know I was on the spectrum until well after graduation--I just knew I didn't fit in, but I didn't know why, nor could I understand the social dynamics around me very well.  (I mean, adults always tell you how nice and sweet you are, every children's book in existence says to 'be yourself', and yet being myself didn't even get me a card at Chritsmas from my classmates--yet somehow I still enjoy the holiday)

@Louise18-You got toooolllllld, dude. Buuuuurrrrnnnn.

Alison, brilliant.

I grew up around the same time. Thanks to my father's enthusiastic force feeding, and genetics, I was literally twice as big as a lot of kids my age growing up. And I still got bullied. It has never been cool to be different, unless "different" meant growing your hair long and smoking weed and burning your bra and listening to the beatles and whatever else all the other "different", cool people were doing.

Growing your hair long and smoking weed will always be on my "cool list".  If I ever start wearing bras...well, my wife will probably burn them for me before I get a chance.  All the cool wives are doing it.

In a debate between theory and reality, reality usually tends to win.

*Sigh* this explains why you wanted to be viewed as NT,not why you internalised those standards and apply them to yourself.

I'm not going to even try to argue with this misguided little girl.  I've seen in other posts where she continually niggles at the same old scab until it bleeds: name-calling others, telling them their opinions are wrong, etc. etc.  It's like trying to get sense out of lump of granite.

To have my comments here so wilfully misunderstood would be awe-inspiring if I wasn't already immured to it by a life-time of dealing with NTs.  

Louise18, I'll raise your *sigh* and give you a *roll eyes*.  You really need to grow up before you start slinging the mud, darl.

Alison

Alison, I think it is safe to say that most of the membership here finds your posts insightful, intelligent, and witty where appropriate.

Don't forget that some aspies can be *very* blunt and *very* inflexible in their thinking.

Okay, in the interest of furthering the insight and understanding being promoted in this thread, I'd like to point out some other labels applied to weird people:

* Schizophrenia: a convenient label for weird people who hear voices.
* Bipolar: a convenient label for weird people who have severe mood swings.
* Psychopath: a convenient label for weird people you really don't want to p*ss off.
* Man: a convenient label for weird people with penises.
* Baby: a convenient label for weird small people who cry a lot.

Thanks mate!  I don't usually let myself get upset by such trifles.  I can only guess that the constant hot, humid summer weather is getting to me.  

Plus, the whole house seems to be invaded by insects as the weather warms.  I've been busy catching or killing flies, red back spiders, the odd mouse spider, ants ... yuck!

So yeah, I've got a bit of a short fuse at the moment!

Alison