People blaming the victims when it comes to stereotypes

DonZabu

This is gonna be a tough one to explain...

Let's use this example: people like to say that for every legitimate case of Asperger's, there's about a dozen arrogant posers lying about having the diagnoses for convenience, and therefore that's why nobody takes Asperger's seriously as a condition. That doesn't sit well with me, though. The way I see it, the only people that are making it difficult to take Asperger's seriously are the people refusing to take Asperger's seriously, and given the people I've seen that fall into that category, that attitude is borne mostly of willfull ignorance from assholes who want to think of Asperger's victims this way.

This came to a head for me after I heard someone say "the Emo subculture is making it hard for anybody to get legitimate help for depression". But whose fault is that really: the emos, or the people that are that eager to jump on the emos and make that difficult-for-the-real-sufferers situation happen?

Bob

"But whose fault is that really: the emos, or the people that are that eager to jump on the emos and make that difficult-for-the-real-sufferers situation happen?"

Both, the latter for being so willfully ignorant, and the former for being so goddamn stupid and annoying.

Tnophelia

I have no idea how to go about this. On the internet, any disorders mentioned as an excuse should never be taken seriously. If you take them seriously, and think the real reason they can't control their anger online or make good threads is because of Asperger's Syndrome or being a rape victim, do not laugh, or belittle them. Ignore the fuck out of them. Ignore them so fucking hard that their genitals explode and they bleed from the eyes.

If someone is seeking help and they are using their disorder or trauma as a crutch, remind them that the crutch won't hold them up forever, do not belittle them or snipe at them for not finding a better coping method than using their disorders as a weight to drag them deeper into despair.

If somebody is talking about said disorders in the heat of anger and an attempt to belittle and "show them reality" by breaking what little help/sympathy they are garnering, tell them to shut the fuck up, and research it before trying to use a couple of negative portrayals of said disorder as a way to lead a internet-based revolution against the lesser scapegoatable users. Better yet, report them.

Bob

^Yeah, that.