Autism linked to Extremism?

Mrs_Drgree · 2021-09-04T12:49:52+00:00

Removed for off topic

BandaNaVizier · 2021-09-04T06:53:25+00:00

Since when did Autism become an umbrella term for mental health? Yes there are probably a lot of autistic men who are extremist but Extremism correlates well with mental illness not Autism.

0seagirl · 2021-09-04T08:04:29+00:00

I'm seeing a lot of this in the media recently.

I remembered this article - Staggeringly high’ number of autistic people on UK Prevent scheme.

I think there's a lot of truth to it, personally. I was reading a post about Autistic women the other day and this stood out:

"Extreme social naivity, and therefore may be at greater risk of being recruited into a cult or extreme group OR supporting or engaging in extremism. Some individuals can be “manipulated” into supporting/engaging in extremism."

I'm autistic myself, (though not joined any cults yet, lol), and I think the commonality of autistic people feeling excluded and alienated from the rest of the world goes a lot of the way in helping kindle extremist beliefs. Autistic people want to belong, but often find themselves met with rejection.

EstablishmentKooky50 · 2021-09-04T10:55:59+00:00

There was a survey done by incel.co

https://www.adl.org/blog/online-poll-results-provide-new-insights-into-incel-community

Nearly 40% of their users claimed to be on the spectrum.

I don't think it means that autism "causes" extremism. It's just that they are more vulnerable to extremist ideologies.

Unique-Highway-2845 · 2021-09-04T10:15:40+00:00

The last thing we need is a witch hunt against people with autism

XtoDoubt · 2021-09-04T12:25:21+00:00

Stop pathologizing those who disagree with you.

Mimoxs · 2021-09-04T07:43:18+00:00

Autistic people, far more so the men, tend to be antisocial shut ins and consequently, they fall into extremist ideologies easily bc they are constantly on their computer/phone as their only source of interaction with others and consume a lot of reading material of ideologies, far more than the average person would waste time on.

Combine this with the fact that they do not get much social interaction and thus do not really have a good gauge/idea of the "real world", and they are far more likely to believe that what they read online is how the world really is.

LeaveThisPlanet · 2021-09-04T06:32:20+00:00

I thought this was common knowledge? Obviously there's a correlation.

rustjelqing2 · 2021-09-04T09:47:42+00:00

Would make sense. Some of these men seem pretty upset with some obsessive idea that they are going to have to wife up some woman who has been on the so-called cock carousel and that maybe even afterwards that regular sex with their wife, if it occurs at all, is going to involve being exposed to other men's fluids through her cheating.

Seems weird to think all that and not just opt out of the wife part. Instead the autist-like man probably just has a bullet list of things he must do that just can't be changed. That combined with the possibility of the freak occurence sketched out formerly probably causes some sort of short-circuit that causes explosive violence.

Sir_Myco_Caine · 2021-09-04T06:43:54+00:00

I don't really have the symptoms of being autistic. I do think I have some level of anti-social personality disorder, though. So much of it just fits.

poppy_blu · 2021-09-04T10:52:42+00:00

Is there a link? Probably. But it’s not the only link.

Fundamentally, bias, tribalism and b/w thinking are actually how we evolved as a species to navigate an environment full of threats. It’s easy to default to that under duress or prolonged stress because its programmed into our brain. And believe me the industries who want to control our thoughts to control our actions — politics, advertising, media, etc — know exactly how to use that fact for their own gain. This is why so much of the information they package and serve up to us is done so in a way that keeps us on edge and aims to scare and/or overwhelm us so our brains default to the shortcuts were hardwired to make.

Do I think autism is overrepresented here? Yes. But the vast majority of men here do not have an autism diagnosis. Most are just some combination of not very smart, toxic jerks or people looking to unload their misery on others, and I hate seeing shitty behavior being blamed on autism because we don’t really understand it.

Now that said I do think it’s important to understand if/how autism might be a potential risk factor for being lured into extremist and anti social behavior.l

Luna320 · 2021-09-04T06:37:22+00:00

Wouldn’t say it’s just being on the autism spectrum. I’d say there’s a link to mental health.

Black and white thinking is a common symptom in many mental health struggles. Including depression

One common symptom of Autism is known as a special interest I believe? I’m sure that’s a factor but just like many other disorders and such, there are symptoms that make them more likely to fall in to extremes.

I’d be interested in seeing a more updated study, there has been advancements in the field since 2014

M_LaSalle · 2021-09-04T09:08:21+00:00

I've also noticed in the news that a lot of people convicted of terror offences and mass shootings are on the autism spectrum.

Most real world terrorism happens outside the reach of the American legal and mental health systems. People 'convicted of terrorism' were someplace that Western mental health quacks could pretend to study them. But most terrorism happens in the Middle East or Africa. And while the terrorists might have some issues, autism isn't likely to be one of them.

Is there a link between autistic traits and falling down the rabbit hole of extremist ideologies?

That might depend in part of the definition you are using of "extremist". Standard issue Western lefties tend to think that anyone who disagrees with them is some combination of extremist or mentally ill, but that tells us more about Lefty than people who disagree with him.

Barneysparky · 2021-09-04T11:47:52+00:00

Autistic individuals often have severe black and white thinking, however so do many other mental illnesses.

What is true is pill guys resoundingly think in black/white, deeming themselves logical?

Anantha1996 · 2021-09-04T07:13:05+00:00

https://www.wibc.com/blogs/mock-n-rob/pew-study-white-liberals-disproportionately-suffer-from-mental-illness/

The same seems to apply to feminism and liberal/intersectional ideologies in general.

ToughAnswers · 2021-09-04T07:03:28+00:00

Autism is maleness taken to its furthest extent

BPD is femaleness taken to its furthest extent

NockerJoe · 2021-09-04T06:50:26+00:00

I think autism makes you more likley to fall down the rabbit hole but modern culture is a winner take all game. Only a small portion of people will get what pop culture assures young people is common and all evidence points to the divide getting more common year over year.

Which I think is the actual real issue. You can't tell a lot of these extremists they're unfounded when studies are showing they have a point, let alone a point moderates are playing dumb on and refusing to address.

I think throwing people into the extremist pit is more convenient than exploring why extreme ideologies have gotten so outlandishly popular in the past however many years. Theres this unspoken assumption that the people falling into extremism would have been normal and happy if they didn't, rather than attempting to understand why normal life clearly hasn't been wkrking to them to such a degree they turn to extremism.

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Title	Autism linked to Extremism?
Author	DiamondLilyD
Upvotes	5
Comments	47
Date	September 4, 2021 6:21 AM UTC (4 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/PurplePillDebate
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/PurplePillDebate/comments/phm9sf/autism_linked_to_extremism/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/PurplePillDebate/autism-linked-to-extremism.1066961 https://theredarchive.com/post/1066961

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