Rebelliously Autistic

[Joshua the Writer]

For me, being proud of my Autism is an act of rebellion because society told me to be ashamed of it for ten long, painful years, and I got sick of that crap. I am going to be rebelliously myself. And I am going to be a stubborn rebel. I won't let neurotypicals tell me I can't be unapologetically myself. I am going to be openly Autistic and proud of it and anybody who has a problem with it can go eat a rotten pile of cow poo for all I care.

 

[Magna]

Rock on.

 

[Skittlebisquit]

Love you today.
Everybody does too.
Keep being awesome, continually. people look up to you. Here there and everywhere.

By any means necessary.....

 

[Aspychata]

Rebel rebel
Your face is a mess

Rebel rebel
How could they know

Autistic tramp
I love you so

I changed David Bowie's words to his
famous song - Rebel Rebel

 

[Thinx]

Go for it, it's who you are. Most of us do it anyway, we just have the illusion we're masking. Are you going to be wearing a badge? Because many people don’t recognise autism however visible we may be. But it's gradually filtering through I think.

 

[Suzanne]

I tend to not be able to resist being rebellious with my husband and like to remind him that there is a lot more of his type ie neurotypicals in the world, than there are on the spectrum and since I am the only one on the spectrum amongst those we know, I believe that I am the one being misunderstood and not him!

 

[SusanLR]

It's your thing, do what you want to do...

 

[Martha Ferris]

It's your thing, do what you want to do...
View attachment 69267

When people call me a....certain dog-related name, I respond "Only to assholes."

 

[Suzette]

When people call me a....certain dog-related name, I respond "Only to assholes."

I do so like your style!

 

[ForestGumpett]

I just want ppl to stop bothering me and confusing me. When I was younger and rebellious this brought attention to me and it wasn’t always the attention I was seeking.

Now I try to stay “gray” in that nobody notices me and I blend into the crowd. This way I get left alone and am much happier.

I’m exhausted usually from a conversation just trying not get my point across, being rebellious would only make it harder for me.

@Sapphire K ; If it works for you knock yourself out and I hope it does and doesn’t backfire. Such is life, I wish you the best!

 

[Suzette]

@ForrestGumpett
When I am confused the urge to defend is as stong as the urge for sex when I was a teen. Elemental and raw. That only serves to exhaust me and does not serve me well.

 

[Nairobi]

For me, being proud of my Autism is an act of rebellion because society told me to be ashamed of it for ten long, painful years, and I got sick of that crap. I am going to be rebelliously myself. And I am going to be a stubborn rebel. I won't let neurotypicals tell me I can't be unapologetically myself. I am going to be openly Autistic and proud of it and anybody who has a problem with it can go eat a rotten pile of cow poo for all I care.

This might actually turn out to work really positively for you - it might earn you lots of respect, then they treat you better. I once spent a year in England as an exchange student. During the time I was there, there was a lot of negative reaction to Americans and American culture there - it definitely was not most people, but some people were really rude about that, even professors. So I think most of us exchange students tried to blend in as best we could. We would shoulder insults, not even ask for an apology, we would just try harder to shrink away. But there was one girl who was determined to be absolutely unapologetically American and was very open about it from the start - she was loud, she was animated, she wore the craziest bright, bold, and happy - even silly - outfits and explained to everyone by way of explanation, yes, she was American, lol! This was an era where I never ever saw a single Brit even wearing blue jeans, they were all dressed like they were either going to club or an after work cocktail hour or to a soccer match in athletic gear (yes, I know, football). And people really loved this girl, they responded very positively to her. Maybe people being able to really clearly understand and in their own minds identify you because you are being so bold about it - maybe that will help more people than it would turn off. Sometimes I think part of the problem Aspies can run into with NTs is that we are just vaguely not fitting into their expectations and they can't put their finger on it, they just don't understand us, they can't read us, it bugs them, so they end up interpreting everything negatively. Anyways, that is my optimistic idea for your approach.

As for me, I don't think I was ever trying to be rebellious, I was just always really different. Or "random" as people would call me, some with an affectionate chuckle, others with suspicion and dismissive scorn. Right now I am so tired and I don't want to explain anything to anyone or even talk about it if they don't already understand from an ASD perspective (except for my husband, as he's the best about understanding, and my pastor as he is very fair and I think there is mutual benefit in him knowing what's going on with me). I think with everyone else, I would feel much less tension if I were able to fade into a grey/neutral overlooked background. I think this community is a great place for me to let my more "random" or tangled or ASD aspects to emerge in a supportive environment. That's just my own take on things right now, not sure where it will get me.

 

[Ken]

I love your post.
About 90-95% of my life is spent in deep depression. I have always felt "defective". I never "fit in" regardless how I try.
Your post gave me strength, crushing the depression.

Your post reminds me of this song:

I am not a stranger to the dark
Hide away, they say
'Cause we don't want your broken parts
I've learned to be ashamed of all my scars
Run away, they say
No one'll love you as you are
But I won't let them break me down to dust
I know that there's a place for us
For we are glorious
When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown 'em out
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I'm meant to be, this is me
Look out 'cause here I come
And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
I'm not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh, oh
Another round of bullets hits my skin
Well, fire away 'cause today, I won't let the shame sink in
We are bursting through the barricades and
Reaching for the sun (we are warriors)
Yeah, that's what we've become (yeah, that's what we've become)
I won't let them break me down to dust
I know that there's a place for us
For we are glorious
When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown 'em out
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I'm meant to be, this is me
Look out 'cause here I come
And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
I'm not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh, oh
This is me
And I know that I deserve your love
(Oh-oh-oh-oh) There's nothing I'm not worthy of
(Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh, oh)
When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown 'em out
This is brave, this is bruised
This is who I'm meant to be, this is me
Look out 'cause here I come (look out 'cause here I come)
And I'm marching on to the beat I drum (marching on, marching, marching on)
I'm not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me
When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown 'em out
I'm gonna send a flood
Gonna drown 'em out
Oh
This is me

The song is from the movie, "Greatest Showman". Here is the video.
I love this movie (musical) because it is all about a group of outcasts coming together and creating the Greatest Show on Earth.
This is US.