Today, we discuss an article that I came across today that discusses a topic that raised alarm bells in me…apparently, according to the Independent, People who suffer from Autism are amongst those most likely to suffer from ‘Disability Hate Crime’ They suggest that people with Autism are more likely to suffer from this than many other people with a condition and I was unsure at first because why would it only be people with Autism? I read in a bit more and saw some stories of people with Autism having a ‘friend’ and ending up being threatened, bullied and robbed blind because they couldn’t see how these people really were, they just saw someone who was a mate and it became clear that it’s trusting someone and failing to see past the lies that could possibly be a cause of why this paper is suggesting this in the first place.
The story in the article suggests that some people with Autism can tend to be too gullible and trusting towards people they may consider a friend which leads to the individual being robbed blind by his so called friend. Alex, the man with Autism finds it difficult to make friends, met someone and they did things like go on holiday, hang out etc, all seems fine doesn’t it, looks like Alex has made a friend….or so he thinks because as it turned out…this man would apparently sell items to Alex at ridiculous prices and not wanting to anger his friend, Alex paid the prices….but that is only the tip of the iceberg of this abusive relationship
- Selling Alex £300 for an old stereo player (in bad shape)
- Loaned Alex £50 quid but asked for £100 in return, called it ‘mate rates’
- Would turn hot and cold in an instant with Alex, often appearing violent towards him
- Alex was admitted to hospital one day and it tuned out that he had given this man an estimated £2000 altogether and was pretty much broke (something he kept a secret from his family)
- The man was also calling in other debts and threatening Alex with violence if he didn’t pay
Now normally, a human being is able to get a hint if someone doesn’t appear genuine…if your good with people and have mingled with a mast majority, your pretty good at telling if someone is worth your time or not but alas, sometimes, a person does not have that experience with other people as they may not have any friends and the first sign of friendship can be a chance to not turn down. Yet this is how many people seek out targets…looking for the vulnerable, the ones sat alone in class or at work and ‘befriend’ them, NOW DON’T GET ME WRONG Many people are actually being genuine when they ask someone with Autism to be a friend….not everyone’s a d***
When I was younger, I was bad with this…I let people walk all over me and they mocked me for how I acted and I wasn’t able to tell this at first…it took a few more years before I was wise enough to tell that my so called ‘friends’ were mocking me and I was just the butt of their jokes…thankfully I haven’t spoken to any of them for over a decade and it’s been the best decade of my life…I’ve met real friends that like me for me but I can tell a bad egg a mile off nowadays, I’ve had experience and I know I would never fall for anything that Alex sadly did.
Signs of Autism are not always clear nor does a lot of people even know what it actually is…many people just see a human being who will do what they want and they exploit that because they want friends, they don’t want to be alone every day and many people abuse this new found trust and eventually shatter it! Have a think…how often have you read or heard a story about someone with Autism having something horrible happen to them because they trusted someone they called a ‘friend’?
Alex’s story is not the first I have heard of someone being taken advantage off though, I have heard many where someone with Autism is told they have a friend when in reality, they are being taken for a ride and secretly mocked all the way. It’s disgusting how some people can take an innocent person who just wants a friend in this life and destroy their confidence for amusement purposes only, it’s sickening how low some people can sink and they don’t care…it’s funny to them if they can get vulnerable people to do things to make them laugh, bully them, prank them etc
Perhaps people with Autism can be a bit trusting when it comes to what we are told by others…it can be difficult to decipher if someone is telling the truth or lying to you! Especially if reading facial expressions or tones is tricky for you! I implore everyone who reads this and has Autism to be careful when it comes to befriending someone…don’t always believe someone if you don’t feel sure about it…if something sounds too good to be true than chances are that it actually is! Don’t become paranoid and call everyone who approaches you a liar either but try to be sensible enough to not become a victim of these horrendous acts by cowards who in my mind already have a space in hell reserved for them and if you think that’s extreme…I don’t really care because for anyone to see someone who isn’t good at making friends and exploit that for personal gain or amusement is less than a person in my eyes…it’s wrong and just proves how vindictive and cruel many people actually are…we ourselves as a species to be kind hearted, faultless and powerful but are we really? How often do you see something positive in the news that outweighs the negative? A robbery, suicide by a human pushed too far, murder, terrorist attack, news that changes the world etc?
Not to sound negative but stuff like this makes me mad…you would think that people would try to help and include someone who isn’t always good at interacting at others, not take advantage of them!
Useful Stuff
People with Autism More Likely To Fall Victim To Disability Hate Crime
The Northern Light 