June 18: Autistic Pride Day

@Brian-E said in #20:
> Imagine that throughout your life you have been made to feel inferior to other people, you have been ostracised for being "different", you have felt ashamed of yourself because you could not fit in, people have made fun of you, neglected you, abused you. Think what that does to someone's self-esteem, their sense of self-worth.

On the other hand, you are also in a group of people who perhaps aren't quite so concerned about such (largely conformist) matters.

@salmon_rushdie said in #1:
> Hooray! Do you know someone with autism?

Yes, many... I am trained to work with special needs kids... sweet group of people... highly Intelligent

@salmon_rushdie @Brian-E thanks for your answers. I think I got your point, will think about it.

@MrPushwood said in #21:
> On the other hand, you are also in a group of people who perhaps aren't quite so concerned about such (largely conformist) matters.

Great if that's your attitude and, crucially, that you find that group for you to be a part of. Another function of Pride for any marginalised group is to bring the isolated members of that group together.

This Pride crap is really getting on my nerves. I went into a large chain hardware store for a drill.. bloody Pride flags everywhere. I thought they’d turned into a flag shop.

I went in for a bloody drill, not to have this crap rammed down my throat. I said as much to an assistant who resignedly rolled his eyes but of course, to have raised his voice against it would have got him the sack. And that’s it right there... oppression!

This has nothing to do with disparaging those with the condition of autism. One of the people I hugely admire and respect is Guy Martin, a guy with Asperger’s which is on the autistic spectrum. An amazing bloke.

@Dukedog said in #9:
> A few people you might have heard of who have autism or are thought to be autistic: Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Charles Darwin,Emily Dickinson,Dan Aykroyd,Daryl Hannah,Bobby Fischer, Sir Henry Cavendish, Michelangelo, Sir Isaac Newton, Jerry Seinfeld, Nikola Tesla, Elon Musk, Leonardo da Vinci,van Gogh, Mozart, Edison, Ben Franklin, Henry Ford, Beethoven, Steven Spielberg, Alexander Graham Bell, Alfred Hitchcock,Bob Dylan, James Taylor,John Denver, Samuel Clemens, George Orwell, Charles Schulz, Carl Jung ,Lionel Messi.

I'm really very surprised because I've never read about autism from many of the personalities you listed!
Greta Thunberg, GM David Navara are two more current names.

@BorisOspasky said in #26:
> This Pride crap is really getting on my nerves. I went into a large chain hardware store for a drill.. bloody Pride flags everywhere. I thought they’d turned into a flag shop.
> [...]

The message the hardware store was presumably intending to convey is: "everyone is welcome here". Perhaps that ought to go without saying, but unfortunately in practice it often doesn't.

@Brian-E Ive never been in there or anywhere else for that matter, in my entire life and seen any signs saying 'gays (or anyone else) not welcome'.

Therefore, everyone is welcome and always has been. Its virtue signalling nonsense.

Wickes though have raised the bar significantly higher by stating that anyone not supporting their trans agenda is a bigot and not welcome in their shops. I presume that discrimination against people that don't believe a woman can have a dick, is perfectly OK? Because that is blatant discrimination. It appears to be acceptable discrimination though.

So I for one will not go in their shops and neither will I ever drink Bud Light.... not that I have ever drunk that crap :-)

Personally, I don't care what anyone does behind their own front door. There's just no need to push this and every other agenda down everyones throat. It just pisses people off.

@BorisOspasky said in #29:
> @Brian-E Ive never been in there or anywhere else for that matter, in my entire life and seen any signs saying 'gays (or anyone else) not welcome'.
>
> Therefore, everyone is welcome and always has been. Its virtue signalling nonsense.
>

Such signs might get businesses into legal difficulties so it's easier for them to practise their discrimination in a more subtle manner.

Not always though. I always thought California was one of the most progressive US states in the interpretation of law, but here's someone who got legally vindicated quite recently after openly refusing to cater for a same sex couple's wedding.

www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/24/bakersfield-california-bakery-same-sex-wedding-cake

> Wickes though have raised the bar significantly higher by stating that anyone not supporting their trans agenda is a bigot and not welcome in their shops. I presume that discrimination against people that don't believe a woman can have a dick, is perfectly OK? Because that is blatant discrimination. It appears to be acceptable discrimination though.

I'm so sorry. That must be awful for you, discriminated against because you think it's okay to deny one of the most marginalised groups in society their identity.

>
> So I for one will not go in their shops and neither will I ever drink Bud Light.... not that I have ever drunk that crap :-)

They'll be mortified to hear that.

>
> Personally, I don't care what anyone does behind their own front door. There's just no need to push this and every other agenda down everyones throat. It just pisses people off.

My sarcasm switched back off, that "agenda" is a counter to the otherwise all-pervasive cishet norm that is pushed down everyone's throat from young childhood onwards.

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Apologies to anyone annoyed by the slight hijacking of this thread. But I think the parallels with autism and neuro-diversity are clear.