Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT strips 3706-3710 (26th to 30th March 2018)
OldGoat:
--- Quote from: ckridge on 27 Mar 2018, 07:06 ---My bet is that Brun gets up so close to Clinton because the way she manages boundaries is that you are out or in. If you are out, she holds you at a distance. If you are in, she will drop her face into the crook of your neck to get your smell.
--- End quote ---
I agree. A young electronics geek friend who's long been diagnosed with Asperger's described it as being the difference between a potentiometer and an on/off toggle switch.
Is it cold in here?:
--- Quote from: awgiedawgie on 27 Mar 2018, 09:02 ---FWIW, all this discussion about whether Brun has autism, and whether it explains or excuses her social awkwardness, is extremely insensitive to those people who either are autistic themselves, or have friends who are. It's a very personal matter, and it's no one else's business. If Brun herself brings it up and says "look, this is why I act the way I do", then it's out in the open. Then, and only then, can it be discussed respectfully.
--- End quote ---
Global Moderator Comment Do we need to act, then? There's at least one moderator with ASD and we'd been taking for granted it was OK but we can always learn differently. If we allow the discussion to keep going, what are some good ways to prove our respect for autistic people and their friends?
ckridge:
--- Quote from: Milayna on 27 Mar 2018, 08:19 ---Nothing in the comic diagnoses Brun. I interpret her as autistic because I am autistic and relate to her very much, so the comments I make will be from that perspective, but I do not hold canonpower. I do not claim to be able to pronounce why she does a thing; I only say that, from the perspective that she's autistic in a similar way to myself, this is a possible explanation. There are other perspectives that have their own explanations for why she does a thing and they are not invalid.
This is generally true for any character, in fact, since they aren't people themselves, there are many potential perspectives to interpret them from.
--- End quote ---
Make sure you get Milanya's opinion. They have skin in the game.
awgiedawgie:
--- Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 27 Mar 2018, 10:31 ---
--- Quote from: awgiedawgie on 27 Mar 2018, 09:02 ---FWIW, all this discussion about whether Brun has autism, and whether it explains or excuses her social awkwardness, is extremely insensitive to those people who either are autistic themselves, or have friends who are. It's a very personal matter, and it's no one else's business. If Brun herself brings it up and says "look, this is why I act the way I do", then it's out in the open. Then, and only then, can it be discussed respectfully.
--- End quote ---
Do we need to act, then? There's at least one moderator with ASD and we'd been taking for granted it was OK but we can always learn differently. If we allow the discussion to keep going, what are some good ways to prove our respect for autistic people and their friends?
--- End quote ---
I'm not going to pretend I have the answer. I tend to be more sensitive to others' feelings than I need to be. However, it seems to me that some people are discussing the matter as if Brun is a fictional character with no feelings of her own. While that may be technically true, the people involved in and reading the discussion are real people with real feelings. A couple of the comments - while they haven't come right out and said so - have given me the impression that some people are already a little uncomfortable with the whole thing, but maybe I'm just reading them wrong. I've known people who weren't comfortable even disclosing that they had autism, let alone discussing it in public, and I've known others who were very open about the whole situation. If I were having a conversation with my friend who has an autistic daughter, I could ask her how she feels about discussing it in a public group. Unfortunately, we can't pull Brun off the page and ask her the same thing.
I don't think we need to stop discussing it altogether and forever, but people need to remember that while Brun may not be capable of being offended or hurt by what is said here, the real people here can be, and people need to think about how they would feel if the situation were reversed, and others were callously talking about their personal issues. It seems to me that we are teetering dangerously on the edge of going too far.
Zebediah:
All right, I’ll jump in. My son and I are both on the autism spectrum. We’re both at the very high-functioning end of it, but still, we’re there. And I recognize some of my own behavior in Brun.
For the record, I am not the least bit offended by Jeph’s portrayal of Brun or the discussion here about it. Frankly I think it’s a good way to educate more people about how autism really works, in much the same way that Claire’s portrayal and its discussion here educated me about trans issues. If it does start edging into offensive territory I’ll definitely speak up, but nothing so far has annoyed me except for the assertion that we all need to stop talking about it.
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