This is an insult to people that would have been given that label in those days. Those folks are some of the happiest, friendliest people I’ve ever met. Until a couple years ago I used to work out a city gym and interact with a group of the intellectually disabled who would come in for exercise. They told me they loved me, worked out with me, laughed with me and they were one of the best parts of gym time.
Edit: Following discussion below, I think it would be right and humanizing to add a reminder to myself and others. Although my time with that particular group was very positive, the mentally disabled are people like any of us and each will be different in terms of friendliness, happiness, and social capability.
Musk runs propaganda platforms, fights unions, visits Epstein islands, buys elections, and is THE example of the oligarchy that is in a very real way ruining the world and destroying hope. He has no right to be given a label that would historically place him in the same category as the people I knew for years.
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That’s an interesting addition and I have no reason to doubt you. It’s quite possible the people I saw regularly were there exactly because they were inclined to be friendly and happy. It probably also helps that they were closely accompanied by professionals. I can only comment on my experience with them, and what I wrote was accurate to that. I mean, one guy who was more physically able would do curls with me and call me Superman and I called him Batman. The reason I started talking to them is one really thin girl stopped while doing laps in a group and told me she loved me. I still smile thinking about those moments.
I honestly don’t know if I agree that it’s harmful to relay my couple of years interacting with the intellectually disabled as I did. It’s definitely the truth of my experience. At the same time I can completely believe it’s not the whole truth, and varies by individual. After all, I would only spend 10-30 minutes working out while they were nearby before I moved on. I’d definitely continue to insist that even the nasty folks aren’t doing anywhere near as much damage to global society as Elon Musk though.
Do you think I should change my post? And if so - how, given what I’ve written in this reply? Edit: after thinking about it, perhaps your followup will be enough to provide context?
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This was some great insight. I know some countries out there culturally the parents are “ashamed” they have disabled kids and simply the kids do not get out of the house often, but I was not aware how things can be on an institution level.
I never thought you were being inflammatory or attacking me, but thank you for an apology/clarification even if it wasn’t necessary. I thought your response provided valuable perspective, and reminded us all that people are a diverse group that defies blanket categorization. I asked for your feedback because I legitimately didn’t know how to fold that into my post, which as I said was the truth of what I experienced. I also wanted to help divorce criticism of people like Elon Musk from “accusations” of mental disability, which I don’t feel should be an accusation or “gotcha”.
After over 25 years of work of varying intensity with psychiatrists, I’m legally permanently disabled because of mental illness and I have lived on permanent disability for several years. I’m lucky in that I’m physically and mentally capable, so most people won’t even know until they are close enough to me to start learning about my lifestyle and day-to-day experience. Even so I’ve experienced a fair bit of both well-meaning and malicious misunderstanding. Those misunderstandings are of course worse and more consistent for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, and I don’t want to be part of that. That’s why I’m taking our conversation seriously.
I’m not going to delete my post because I stand beside what I said, but I did include the following edit: “Edit: Following discussion below, I think it would be right and humanizing to add a reminder to myself and others. Although my time with that particular group was positive, the mentally disabled are people like any of us and each will be different in terms of friendliness, happiness, and social capability.”
I don’t think that short addition will interrupt the flow or message of my post, and will address some of the context you’ve provided.
thank you.
Being intellectually disabled doesn’t preclude you from being an asshole, and to imply as much is kinda insulting to their humanity.
I’ve known many (and am related to one) intellectually disabled people, and while most of them were nice, I’ve met a few who were raging assholes (one of which was given an assigned seat on public transportation because he constantly bothered high school kids and the driver was sick of it). The intellectually disabled are human and aren’t necessarily good people just because of their diagnosis; they’re just people who have personality flaws just like the rest of us.
People can be nice or assholes regardless of intellect. Growing up with a disability does tend to make people more understanding and empathic of others, though.
There’s a reflexive instinct among Americans to denigrate people by attacking their intelligence while lauding them for their wealth-hording obsessions and their elitist social theories.
A lot of the uglier eugenics theories that Elon has latched onto come out of this cultural affect. Kindness and cheerfulness are luxuries you only get to express when you’ve “succeeded”. Everyone else needs to be as clever as they are cut-throat in their mission to climb over the tops of their neighbors.
Some are stunted enough to just be happy. Often times it’s the ones between 75 and 90 who are the worst. Some because they’re smart enough to know they’re not smart and it makes them angry. Some are dumb but think they aren’t.
errol musk also had a child with his own stepdaugther at 76. i don’t really want to know what he says about anything.
Well whatever it is, he’d probably prefer to just keep it in the family.
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But… He knows more about manufacturing than any man alive! /s
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I worked for that guy too!
Well, the father had his part in creating this mess we’re all now in. Now we have to watch a sad existence trying to compensate for their childhood traumas by buying governments instead of just going to therapy.
No one succeeds like an apartheid emerald mine failson.
I mean, so was I…
I wouldn’t say I grew out of it, but in comparison I like to think I grew into it
I’m guessing you had to actually grow up and care for your own needs and figure out how to navigate the real world.
This emerald-spoon fed motherfucker has never had to do a thing for himself. The most significant things he learned after preschool was likely reading and writing.
I seriously believe that wealth factors into weather or not you’re considered low or high functioning.
Take someone who is low functioning and make them stupidily rich and suddenly they’re treated like they aren’t on the spectrum at all.
Anyone who has actually listened to him speak knows he isn’t all there.
Evil Forrest Gump.
Sounds about right.
Accurate.
Dude has to cope by calling everyone else a tard when he’s an actual one.
The meaning of the word changed but they were so right.
That tracks.
Eccentric person is eccentric, they would say the same about anyone who isn’t like them anyway, textbook prejudice
In their defense, it was Elon Musk
And now he’s about to become president of the USA.
