Just now a situation occurred which made me think about this thread.
I was in the backyard shortly, and since it's summer holidays the neighbours kids are playing outside. I have no clue whatever they were doing, I did however hear some kind of alarm thing going off, much like a policesiren.
That to me is an annoying sound, and thus a sensory issue. The kids in general screaming and playing is a sensory issue... spontaneous sounds on a rather constant basis, same thing. And while writing this; birds singing... it's a reason why I usually blast my music loud... all these small subtle sounds that make up "everyday life" stress me out up to sensory overload. I'm fine with my computer and ceiling fan humming in the same way all day steadily.
I don't know.. is this complaining? And if so... how is this different then someone who suffers from regular migraines pointing out he has a headache? Someone with insomnia saying he feels tired.
Here's a minor rant that stems from this situation
Granted I don't go to my neighbours house and tell them "keep your kids in, they annoy me"... and chances are that if I would call the cops over it, they'd be like "can't do anything here... this is normal"... actually I don't know if it's normal, but we've grown accustomed to the fact that, especially for aspies (and other groups that might suffer from sensory issues), that spontaneous sound of everyday life is something you just have to deal with... I don't think it's neccesarily "normal" that this is like the way it is, much like I don't think it's normal to expect everyone to live a life from sunrise to sunset instead of the other way around. But back to the sound issue... I feel that if I complain about it, it should be resolved and not be treated at "well, accept it man"... yes, I can somewhat deal with it. I close my windows and stay in for most of the day, I sleep through the day and wake up at night, just because that's the time when it's quiet enough for me to open the window (and even copcars over a mile away annoy me enough, and I even hear them through my headphones.. .yay for sensitive hearing), and as such one is forced to deal with it. Slowly it's chipping away my ability retain myself...
Guess what if I was a neighbour who was way more unstable then I am now... I'm quite sure there would've been cases of upset people who harmed neighbours kids. Yes, I'd get in trouble over it, and that's what's holding me back presumably. I don't know if "accept it" is going to cut it in the long run. "short term" obviously... long term, I don't know.
With this also comes an outlook on life. I'm sure that if I was really interested in having kids I'd be more mellow about it. But I can't deal with kids. I don't hate them enough to harm them, but to be honest it leaves me quite cold. The same goes for animals. I have no pets, and I don't understand why a barking dog should intrude my hearing and my moment of quiet. There's a reason why pets in general aren't allowed in appartment buildings for a big part. And again here... we accept it. What if there's this same unstable person who will kick down the door if the occupant is at work and actually kill that dog to shut it up. Reasonable, no... but in a way, an effective way of resolving an issue since no one will fix it either way. These things happen.
So, with this, comes the big point of "complaining"... when is something a valid complaint, and if it is a valid complaint, can it be fixed within reasonable standards? I don't think that "accepting" is a reasonable way to resolve it. If I have to accept a pet making noises, why couldn't my neighbour accept and respect the demand for peace and quiet in my own home?
Oh, and let's not forget the social aspect. If I complain, I'm the only one. Because pets are fun, and kids are accepted. Well, I call it BS, but since I'm the minority I have to deal with it. The biggest problem with "accepting" things as a minority is, that in the same case I'm probably a minority who is aware of this situation. Not wanting kids or pets on my behalf is a conscious choice, whereas some people put only that much weight in choosing if they want pets, kids or whatnot. So how am I a fair minority? Becoming a minority by simply not falling for "monkey see, monkey do"/peerpressure or whatever you want to call it (at least not in all cases... I'm not calling myself totally independant of whatever someone is doing.. I'm no hipster, lol), is hardly a fair way of becoming a minority. If you choose to be part of a group I feel it should be based on conscious choices... heck I'd be all for people taking parenthood exams, as well as pet exams to see if they are at least in theory, fit to own such things. Intrusive in what people can and can't do... yes, totally, but if not, you're being intrusive on my behalf for something I don't want to be part of.
A final thought; no I don't feel that moving is the solution. Chances are you move and you have a similar situation. Perhaps something like this should be factored in when people look for a place to live. I'm quite sure that some people might think "you're claiming things to be your rights, which they aren't". Well, what are my rights? What are my duties that come with those rights? And what are peoples duties and rights towards me? It's never my right to punch someone in the face, but at some point we're hiding behind what our rights are just because we don't want to resolve an issue.
No, I don't condone harming people or animals in any way, just to make that clear. Don't get worked up over it.
But seriously, 2 playing kids and this is the rant I have going on mentally...