this post was submitted on 24 Mar 2024
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Autism
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Taking each of those symptoms in isolation, how would someone know that person is autistic? Pretty sure the sentiment behind the "I would never bully someone for being autistic" statement is that if they knew the behavior is caused by a condition then they wouldn't bully that person. The difference being that it would then be assumed the behavior is due to something out of their control.
You could take the absolutist position of "don't bully anyone for any reason" but how absolute is that position? Is it not okay to call a politician an idiot or an asshole for doing something you don't like? What if they have a condition that makes them behave in a way that you call idiotic or assholeish? A child refusing to even try to eat something their parent worked so hard to make could be considered assholeish behavior, are we to assume it's because they have autism and thus never call them out on it?
Imo it doesn't matter much whether that behaviour is caused by some recognized condition or is just their personality. Someone could have texture related issues with eating certain food and not be autistic, doesn't make them an asshole for not wanting to eat it (not to mention that almost no one likes all food). In the end we're all mainly a product of our genetics and environment, and the specifics of what people should and shouldn't be considered responsible for is a whole philosophical argument in itself.
You can criticize people for their behaviour regardless, as the other commenter said there's a difference between criticism and bullying. And I don't think "I'm autistic" is any better or worse a reason than "I just don't like it" (using that loosely here, could include the whole range of extreme responses like vomiting). Because autism here in the end is just a label saying "congrats, you have a recognized reason to not like it". There's no way to know what precisely is going on in someone elses head regardless.