Bollocks // So here's my extended post

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thenoblerab:

goldenheartedrose:

thenoblerab:

goldenheartedrose:

street-howitzer:

goldenheartedrose:

Or maybe part one of an extended post about how I feel about how allistics and autistics are held to different standards, using BBC’s Sherlock as a conduit to explain this.

I’ve actually been contemplating this for a few days, ever since I saw a reblog on my dash about how someone thought that the Sherlock/John relationship was an emotionally abusive one. I don’t really want to dig up that link, because it isn’t so much about that conversation as it is about what that particular conversation sparked in my head.

Then there was this gem on my dash today (and I mean this with zero sarcasm; this was honestly one of the best things I’ve read in a long time about the subject). So this again got me thinking about the standards that autistic people are held to vs. the standards that allistic people are held to.

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Bless this post.

*curtsy* I have more to add, but not tonight.

And reblogging this again for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet.

I pretty much agree with this and would like to offer a separate perspective. The original Sherlock Holmes was addicted to cocaine, and as a former cokehead…I can see a lot of the mechanics behind Sherlock’s moments. I know a lot of people are doing cartwheels at the idea of him being an Aspie…but the “emotional abuse” just reads as withdrawals most of the time. Sherlock knows precisely what he’s doing, he’s not blissfully unaware of social cues. He grew up with Mycroft…I’m sure he got a crash course. Abuse is the improper usage or treatment for a bad purpose, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. There’s a difference between that and just being a prick with a brilliant mind and some powder.

That’s an excellent point as well. I am not so hung up on the idea that zomg! Sherlock must be an Aspie. I’m not saying he isn’t; I think he is, but I don’t think that is where I was necessarily going with this post. I’m basically saying, look, here’s someone who behaves in a neurodivergent way and who the fandom has criticized much harsher for doing certain things that they ever criticize any of the other characters. I have not seen John or Mycroft or Irene get half as much flack for the way they treat Sherlock as I’ve seen Sherlock get flack for how he treats them, specifically John.

This is complicated in my head, and I might not be expressing this as well as I want to at 11:45pm.

I think I understand what you’re saying. My mind is a bit fragged from work and meds regiment slip up. It has the makings of an essay about how neurodivergent behaviour is viewed. I think narcotic use can have someone filed in that category because it gets similar flack. Someone knocks something over, it may have been an accident but if they test positive for a drug, they’re either a lunatic who needs hordes and hordes of helping hands or absolute scum…regardless of circumstances :).

^^ Yes, especially the bolded.

I have a number of medical issues that have a lot to do with my ability to function on a day to day basis. The most prominent ones are autism and hypothyroidism, which affect my energy level more than the other issues. So I’m often seen as someone who is to be pitied and criticized, and I’m often called lazy (not by those closest to me, the ones that matter, thank goodness), especially on the bad days. I have good days where I can keep my house nice and tidy and there are no issues, and then I have days where I’m exhausted and overwhelmed and just can’t deal, and unless my spouse has had a short day at work, my house isn’t that tidy. An able-bodied person who has a bad day is just seen as someone who has had a bad day and didn’t feel up to cleaning. But I’m often criticized for a similar situation, oftentimes with little actual empathy and with a lot of pity and snubbing of noses.

I have a nice host of medical issues too and have dealt with the whole gambit of criticism. I don’t get it so much anymore because I conveniently forget my learned empathy and the filter between my brain and mouth when people become too obnoxious. The human population is so diluted with hypochondriacs who are in reality too lazy to contribute and blame minor things that legitimate issues get brushed away and lumped in. I actually consider it a form of ableism for a perfectly “capable” person to piss and moan about their inability to do anything and to expect everyone around them to show pity and support them (but that’s a another rant.) I’ve hyper compartmentalised my mind to deal with most social situations and moods..so it’s a little easier to fly under the radar…but that doesn’t stop jackholes in the #autism tag.

POSTED 3 months ago with 44 notes