Read on Twitter
One of the things I struggle with on Twitter is when it’s ok to disagree. If I don’t see things the same way as someone else is it alright to say so? Can we disagree without it being seen as disagreeable, or becoming a disagreement?
#ActuallyAutistic
#AllAutistics
#autism
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#ActuallyAutistic
#AllAutistics
#autism
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I’m not talking about hateful comments, they’re never acceptable. I mean presenting an opposing opinion or pointing out a potential problem. When I do this I often agonise over how my comment has been received; even if the original post was painful for me and others to read.
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This is partly a problem of virtual communication. Not being able to judge how someone is feeling remotely. I couldn’t see the point of restricting responses to Tweets initially, but if disagreement feels uncomfortably critical we can switch off replies to protect ourselves.
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I try to avoid getting caught up in groupthink - one of the joys of being autistic is seeing things differently, and I love it when other people do the same. So please feel free to disagree with anything I say. If I ever don’t feel up to this I’ll just restrict replies.
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A trauma us autistic people sometimes experience is being ostracised for doing something ‘wrong’ but not being told why. There’s another trap where we respond to a provocation and end up getting the blame. These conscious or unconscious games can feel a lot like being bullied.
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It was interesting being an academic for a while because disagreement was not only allowed it was positively encouraged. Sometimes it went too far, but usually we had vigorous but respectful discussions. Debate helped us to hone our ideas and protected us from groupthink.
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Getting constructive criticism can trigger insecurities and trauma. But accepting we’re not always right is necessary for learning. It stops us from becoming too arrogant about our perceived expertise. It makes us question our prejudices and assumptions. To me it’s healthy.
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Low self-esteem can make autistic people frightened to be critical of anything. Women are still socialised not to be assertive for fear of being labelled ‘aggressive’. Many autistic women have a double low-self-worth whammy. This can be overcome if we learn to value ourselves.
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It also has to do with power and privilege. Layers of prejudice and discrimination can affect autistic people who are POC or BAME, LGBTQ+, sectioned under the MHA, who have a learning disability, or who are physically disabled, workless or poor. #Inequality
#Intersectionality
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#Intersectionality
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How do power games play out on Twitter? What’s abusive and what’s not? Who’s genuine and who’s fake? Is encouraging pile-ons unethical? Are we encouraging or preventing debate? Such important but difficult questions. Please feel free to disagree!
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