#blogblogging

[whetstonefires]

One thing I really like about how we use the affordances of tumblr is how reblogging yourself is used to break textposts up. It's not just a novel form of punctuation, it's effectively borrowing a structural trick from comics.

[amyture]

I need to find more transfem & trans woman metal music artists or I will soon die of consumption… please drop all suggestions in the replies if you have any !

[rooksandravens]

I'm not very fond of instagram, but I wish tumblr had a system where others wouldn't be allowed to follow you until you approve them. My criteria for my followers is that they have to be people. The bar is so low, but I am constantly disappointed.

I've had maybe 2 or 3 real people follow me in the past month, but I've blocked 30 bots since January 1st. We aren't even halfway through the month. It is honestly exhausting to consider that tumblr might be like this indefinitely.

[diabolicalbehavioraltherapy]

i havent been doing too hot recently but im still oddly okay and feeling like i can make it

[whetstonefires]

these posts made a lot of sense when i thought they were one post

[whetstonefires]

When someone gives you advice and you take it seriously and it turns out they were wrong, you're gonna tend to feel kind of betrayed.

That's natural, and it's fine to feel that way, but if you asked them for guidance and they did their level best to help you, then no betrayal really took place. They failed to live up to your expectations of them, at worst.

However. If a person has insisted you take their opinions very seriously on the basis of their Personal Expertise and/or Brilliance and/or Superior Understanding Compared To You, if they pushed you to rely on their judgment over their own because of their superior correctness, and then they were significantly wrong on that topic. Then yeah, that's a little bit of a betrayal.

They initiated a social contract predicated on their pledge to be right about this stuff and your agreement to defer to them on the basis of that rightness, and then they defaulted.

That's why despite how opinionated I am, I cannot imagine wanting to be That Person in like a fandom context who's like. Seen as an authority on a subject, like people are supposed to listen to me because I know what I'm talking about, instead of because the specific arguments I'm advancing are sound. As gratifying as that kind of respect is on the face of it.

Because as soon as you step into that role and start deliberately acting as an authority over others you are taking on a moral obligation to not be a dumbass, and that sounds like the worst thing you could possibly do to your hobby.

[amyture]

why does it feel bold to say my autism is a disability… if you don’t want to acknowledge that’s what it is, whats the point of even appropriating the “label” except trying to fit in?

I understand the rejection of calling oneself “disabled”, you don’t have to define yourself by what you can’t do! but acknowledging the areas in which you currently face difficulty is the only way to improve it, the alternative is a molding bandaid of denial.

it feels unfair that so many “high functioning” people treat neurology and behaviour like it’s a sports team. anyone who behaves in ways that are strange, and mind you that oddity is in the eye of the beholder, is just a “loser” to ridicule or ignore, be reduced to their diagnostic “team”… unless, they can be fetishized as an underdog.

the prime benefit of psychology is NOT in enforcing a social class system. It can be a matter of noting what you learn about your personal behaviours, to figure out what else you can do in order to improve your quality of life.

Autistic people are often infantilized- treated as jokes at best! good for you if you are comfortable with being a jester, but I really don’t like how it’s the default to be at extremes, either “I’m just a silly widdle guy” or “autism is a demon that took my family from me”...

back to the meme-ification of “audhd”… I’m not mad at people for coping through humour, I just want to also be taken seriously in equal measure.

I’m not mad at people for trying to fit in or explain themselves… but make sure you are aware of all the ways you ARE fitting in and functioning. you may be the quirky friend, but you still have the drive and desire to make friends, which is a strength not everybody can maintain. those who cannot hold that weight aren’t disposable or less than you. we cannot end discrimination by pretending people who are disabled further than you just don’t exist or aren’t significant.

it’s frustratingly hypocritical that half the lvl1 people posting unrelated things in the autism tags and communities are like “I’m a queer chaos gremlin #nogenderonlyrage” yet they still cling so tight to psychiatric labels. because being #insane is just a fun quirk /s… they say they support you until you genuinely live a disabled life. if we’re impacted in ways other than liking kids shows and stimming in the acceptable ways, then we’re either treated like garbage or flat out ignored!

I feel like we shouldn’t be placing so much weight on psychiatric identity, anyways, not just autistic people but people in general. in a lot of ways, it’s helpful to learn other words (not just clinical labels) to describe ourselves and our experiences. yeah the dsm categories exist for a reason but have you actually read up on the history of what they were? do you really want to be restricted by labels that function to extend carceral and colonialist powers?

and I’m tired of seeing autism be commonly understood as “awkward teenager” (all teenagers are awkward it’s just that some are less self aware about it) or “person who enjoys their hobbies passionately”… no discussion of what the diagnosis even means to us or how it impacts our lives, no sharing of resources that can help us, just… memes and stuff about a random persons favourite show… I get that tumblr isn’t super serious, but no matter where I see it, it’s frustrating how people appropriate the diagnostic name then go on to judge people for behaviours other than stimming and having a favourite show…

like for real I’ve noticed a problem on tumblr where kids will just refer to their interests as “autism” and I think they’re trying to communicate their fixation on it, but, that seems to be the extent of their interaction with the concept of the disability. I DONT KNOW THESE PEOPLE and they’re mostly kids, so I won’t judge them, but i will say I’m frustrated with how rare it is to actually talk about dealing with the non-cutesy parts of autism, even in spaces that are specifically designated for talking about it.

it’s sadly ironic to feel left out by how it’s being discussed because it’s the main reason I’ve always been left out, but we can’t even be included in discussions about THAT?

no matter what TikTok says about cringe culture, autism acceptance isnt broadly happening in a way that includes me and people like me, or those who would need even more help.

so many people have started thinking they’re “accepting” when in reality they just think it’s cool when people have hobbies and interests.

[amyture]