You’re On Drugs

Tags

anxiety, Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, Cheech and Chong, D.A.M.P., drug use, films, labels, mental health, stereotypes

Scene from Up In Smoke

Recently, I read an account where the author witnessed a man walking down the street, seemingly on drugs. When I challenged the author as to whether or not it was clear that the man was on drugs and not just mentally ill, the response was that the man was heading straight for the building where addicts are given free methadone. Okay, in this case, the man was more than likely on drugs.

While I freely admit that I was wrong in the above setting, this doesn’t effect my frustration at an accusation that is hurled with great speed at people who suffer from metal illnesses. That they must ‘obviously’ be on drugs. I know this to be true because I often had this accusation thrown at me, though it didn’t help that back in the intolerant times of 80s Regan America, I committed such fashion crimes like having long hair and wearing Native American moccasin boots. So in the eyes of most people, that, with my supposedly weird behaviour, I must have been on drugs.

I loved these boots and wore them most of the time

Nowadays, the “that person must be on drugs” label is used to describe anyone who appears to be acting out of the normal. Conditions such as Asperger’s Syndrome, Autism, DAMP and other metal health related ones simply don’t enter into it. The conclusion is that person is simply on drugs and it is used as an excuse to ward off any arguments to the contrary.

Let me tell you people that all of the above conditions are real! Many people have them and it has been estimated that one quarter of the population have some sort of mental illness and many of them aren’t on drugs, at least illegal ones anyway. The ones they are on are prescribed by their doctor to try to counteract said illness or at least lessen the symptoms. So next time you are in a public place and see someone who is acting in a non-normal way, give that person the benefit of the doubt. Sure, they may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol but there is more of a chance that they are suffering from a mental illness. Show them some compassion and be less quicker to judge.

Shameless link to He Was Weird alert. Mark was aged ten to thirteen in the story and going from my own experiences, I wasn’t considered to be on drugs then, just weird. Therefore, the issue doesn’t feature in it. However, this doesn’t excuse those who tormented him or me on account of said weirdness.

To buy He Was Weird, go to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1531213271&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Why Do I Feel Like An A***ole?

Tags

American football, anxiety, Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, D.A.M.P., friendship, mental health, Self Esteem, stereotypes, victimization

The reason I ask this question is based on an event from the past week. What happened was that one of my American Football officiating colleagues phoned me up and asked if we could swap games. Normally, I would have genuinely done so until he told me where his game was at. This made me hesitate because going to the new venue would have added about 60 miles round trip to my journey. Furthermore, I officiated a game there a few years earlier and it was the journey from hell. Therefore, I told him I would think about it.

Well, I did think about it and though he tried to give me alternatives that would make swapping seem attractive, I declined to swap and cited other reasons. Most important, I would have been given up the opportunity to officiate two games to travel further to do one. Because of work, I only get to officiate games every three to four weeks so for me, the more games I can get, the better. Second, the second game of the double header starts at the same time as the single game, so I would have been home later. Neither I or my wife want me being out too late, although the flip side is now I have to leave an hour and a half earlier but that’s not so bad. In the end, my colleague seemed to accept my reasons and was quite gracious about it.

In spite of all of the above, part of me feels like I am being a complete asshole towards this other guy. These thoughts arise from my past, when I did say no, there was someone out there to make me out to be the bad guy because I did. Furthermore, some of these were the same people who used to manipulate me because I was easy to do so. They didn’t get their way this time, so they made it all my fault, like I was being unreasonable. The problem was that with my Asperger’s and DAMP, I believed they were right and I was being some unreasonable asshole, when in reality, I wasn’t.

This feeling has plagued me throughout my life and is born of the belief that I am always wrong and combined with self doubt, for most of my life, I have thought that whatever I do, whichever decision I make, it’s going  to be wrong! If I stand up for myself and say no, in spite of having good reasons for doing so, I am wrong and if I give in and say yes, then I allow myself to be taken advantage of. The result has been not good for my mental well being and led for my feelings of self victimization for many years.

So, not that I need reassurances although it is good to get them, am I being an asshole for refusing to swap games? I don’t think so. I could go as far as to say the only reason he wanted to swap was that he wanted to officiate two games himself without having to travel. However, while that might be the case, I won’t question anyone’s motives if I don’t need to. I know what it’s like to have that happen. All I’m saying is that after giving it thought, I decided not to swap games and stay on the game I was assigned to. If people think I’m being an asshole on account of that, then that’s their problem.

I can’t say if I touch on the subject in “He Was Weird” but the bullying in it was so bad, it wouldn’t have mattered. To buy the book, go to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1527526540&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

I Won’t Be Watching the Royal Wedding

Tags

Americans, Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, Great Britain, history, marriage, Politics, Royal Family, stereotypes, television, weddings

The main reason is that I’ll be at work on Saturday and Saturday is the day, Melvin (I’ll call him that), has his trip out to buy items which cater to his interests, namely models, post cards or DVDs. So, I’ll travelling to and from one of his favourite places in which to procure such items that match his interests. I shouldn’t be anywhere near a television and even if I was, I know Melvin wouldn’t want to watch it any as he would declare it boring. This too is a good thing because if he wanted to watch it, I would be forced to watch it with him and I don’t want to do that.

First of all, before I start my little rant, I would like to say I wish Harry and Megan all the happiness they deserve. It’s great when anyone finds the person they wish to hopefully spend the rest of their lives with, whether it’s a prince, a film star or even what the conservatives in the US and Britain call a ‘benefit slob.’ This doesn’t mean that I have to be glued to the television watching the ceremony and that is not an insult to the happy couple. I believe if they wanted me to watch them get married, they would have sent me an invitation.

The soldiers of King George III

My main reason for not wanting to see the big wedding is that I am not a royalist. Growing up American, I had years of how the American people rose up against oppression by a king, (I know in reality it was the British Parliament levying all those taxes on the colonies but that’s not the point here), kicked out those whom they felt were symbols of that oppression and formed an independent republic, pounded into my head in history lessons. That is why the US Constitution forbids bestowing any titles of nobility. Therefore, watching a symbol monarchy goes against what I was taught in school.

Let me kill another stereotype. Most Americans really don’t care about the Royal Family. Yes, a few upper middle class women are getting really excited about it and it’s enough to make George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock and Benjamin Franklin spin in their graves, but most of America will not be watching the wedding. Saying that, a lot of people in the native country won’t be watching it either. Anyway, most Americans, while happy for the couple, don’t really care enough to want to watch in on television.

While I won’t be watching the wedding, I won’t begrudge anyone who does. It is their choice and in Britain, I realize it’s part of history and tradition. Besides, the royal family is reported to bring far more money into the UK through tourism than what the government spends to keep them. Who am I to argue with that? Nor will I. The UK is my adopted country now and in some ways, it has treated me better than the country I was born and grew up in but that doesn’t mean I have to watch a royal wedding on that account. So again, I wish Harry and Megan to have a very happy day! I just won’t be watching it.

To buy He Was Weird go to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1526635842&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

 

 

 

 

 

Thinking About This Sends My Asperger’s Through the Roof

Tags

anxiety, Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, bullying, D.A.M.P., Dear White People, Great Britain, intolerance, Netflix, police, race relations, stereotypes, television

Ever since last week, when I posted about my reflections on the Netflix television show, “Dear White People,” my mind has been going in one thousand different directions. This is because since my time in the marines, the issue of race and everything to do with it has played havoc with my anxieties. Common sense should tell me not to think about it, let alone write any posts on the subject. However, for someone with conditions like Asperger’s Syndrome and DAMP, not thinking about it is more difficult than thinking about it.

Too many variables on the subject have been thrown into the mixture in my mind and all of them are vying for recognition when thinking about it. There’s the stereotypes, both good and bad, how it is portrayed in the media, contributions by others and finally, my own experiences with it. This is a lethal cocktail mentally and has caused a war inside my head. The only way I know how to deal with it is to write about it in the hopes that it will eventually make sense. So far it hasn’t.

It is also probably the reason why I am so into watching “Dear White People.” Part of me hopes that it will bring me some sort of understanding. So far, I am totally enjoying the programme because it does make you think. I mean really think. However, not all of it is truly positive. Some of the misjudged racial stereotypes I’ve held in the past come to mind at times. One thing that keeps coming up, because the incident which triggers actions and reactions from blacks and whites, is the controversy surrounding a ‘Black Face’ party held by some white students at the university. This is an example of the conflict in my mind. My brain is telling me that the white students are being racist, the party is insulting to black people. However, one counter that springs to mind and in a way, I’m slightly disappointed that the programme didn’t use it themselves is: “White people didn’t complain at the movie, ‘White Chicks.'” Now I know that this statement is ludicrous but this won’t stop some white people from using it as their defence or justification.

Living in Great Britain hasn’t lessened my anxieties about race. In fact, it has put a different emphasis on it. Over the past two years, there have been scandals involving men of Pakistani origin who have been sexually abusing young white British girls. This has set off a big debate in the UK but one of the excuses churned out as to why this abuse was allowed to go on for so long was that people were afraid of being called ‘racist.’ While the shooting of black men by American police officers in the US has been news on both sides of the Atlantic, the police forces dealing with the sexual abuse in the UK have tried to justify their lack of attention and poor police work in the matter by stating that if they had gotten involved, they would have been called ‘racist.’ To me, that’s a cop out by the police but saying that, it’s not an excuse for racism against the Pakistani community in Britain. This along with other issues has poured oil on the flames caused by the war on the subject taking place in my brain.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I’m still trying to make sense of the issue of race in my own mind. Maybe I never will fully but I would like to make enough sense of it to stem the war inside my head. That could bring my anxieties down a lot. Then again, the one question that has never been answered, which goes back to the days in the service, is: “Why did the African-Americans in the service target me when there was the perfect target in their midst?” See, the blacks seemed to go after me, when I posed no threat to them but they never ever went after the redneck mountain boy who openly admitted he was in the Klu Klux Klan. I invite anyone of African descent to answer this question because when it is answered, it will smash down a major wall in my mind.

To buy He Was Weird, go to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1526417720&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

 

 

 

New TV Show Opened My Eyes

Tags

anxiety, Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, bullying, colleges, Dear White People, films, intolerance, Netflix, race relations, stereotypes, television

A few weeks ago, another blog called “TV & City” posted about a show on Netflix called “Dear White People.” After reading the post, I became rather intrigued about the programme. It is a dark comedy about a group of African-American students who attend a predominantly white Ivy League university. It started slow but by the end of the first episode, the show had gotten me seriously thinking about race issues and I had to watch the second.

What really got my attention during Episode One, Series One, was the scene near the end when the main character, Sam, brings her white boyfriend to a meeting of African- American student groups on campus. The dialogue between the boyfriend and an black male becomes heated enough to the point where the white boyfriend asks, “Are you gong to hit me now?” The black man responds, very well I might add, with, “I don’t use my fists. In fact, I should hit you for asking if me if I’m going to hit you.”

This definitely awoke something inside me. From my experiences in the service and for the first few years after leaving, I believed the stereotype that young black men would rather use their fists as opposed to their words. The weird thing was, I thought that I was one of the few white people who actually thought this, boy was I stupid!

True, there are black men out there who resort to using fists before words. Then again, there are white men who do to. The redneck mountain boy, whom I mentioned in an ancient post was always threatening to kick people’s asses and throughout the 32 years I’ve lived in the UK, I have seen some British men who are like it too. However, most people and that includes African-Americans, would rather settle differences by using their words instead of their fists. Just like I protest when people outside America stereotype all Americans, I know it’s wrong to stereotype others and I should not let a couple of experiences lead me to believe the stereotype that all black men would rather use their fists to settle a situation.

To buy He Was Weird, go to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1525802487&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

 

 

Ending School Shootings? Let’s Start With Tolerance

Tags

1970s, Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, books, bullying, fantasies, guns, He Was Weird, religion, stereotypes

From my very first post on Peaceful Rampage, I stated that whenever I heard about a school shooting, my first reaction was, “This could have been me.” The reason why it was never me was down to having no access to guns. Even if I had access, I still wouldn’t have shot up my school because back when I was going through the bullying hell, it was the early 1970s and school shootings were events which occurred in large inner city school as was very often gang related. Therefore, the thought of going into my school with a gun and shooting everyone in cold blood never entered my mind.

Thinking back, while I might not have thought about my school, I did used to fantasize that I was a junior police officer and had my own gun. In those fantasies, I would save the city from robberies and such where I would shoot the bad guys but those fantasies also included shooting some of the bullies when they were aggressive towards me because I was acting in self defense. So, that means the potential for me to carry out a school shooting was there, just thank God I had no guns.

Everyone has reasons why school shootings happen. Some of these are quite plausible while others are not. Access to guns is a definite contributor to why shootings happen. You can’t shoot anyone if you don’t have a gun. Bullying is another but that depends on the mind of the shooter and their idea of how bad the bullying was. Mental illness can definitely play a part. If a person has mental issues, then that person can be much more easily pushed over the edge and snap. These can all play a part as to why shootings occur. Another argument is religion being taken out of schools. That children today have no spiritual compass and if the ten commandments were hanging in every classroom, then children would be less likely to shoot up their school. Now, I am not knocking religion, I have my own beliefs there and many people have changed their lives and find great comfort and joy in finding God. But forcing it on people is more likely to have the opposite effect. In “He Was Weird,” Mark believes God is behind his school shooting from verses in the Bible in Deuteronomy, where God is commanding the Israelites to wipe the Canaanites off the face of the Earth. One could argue that the Bible drove him to kill. It didn’t but it did give him courage. However, I don’t think the music of Marilyn Manson drove anyone to kill.

Marilyn Manson- He didn’t inspire Mark in He Was Weird

I think the main contributor to school shootings is the setting of the school. The ones where the ‘weird’ kid is outcast, bullied and made to feel they don’t belong anywhere. Students and at times teachers treat such a person in a way they feel bad about themselves. In short, no one tolerates a ‘weirdo.’ What they fail to understand is that the kid might have mental problems. Like Mark, he might have Asperger’s Syndrome or DAMP or some other mental affliction. Bullying or mercilessly teasing that person or doing anything along those lines isn’t the way to go about it. People are different and because they don’t conform to your idea of what is “normal,” it doesn’t mean you exclude them or bully them or anything else. Because if that person has access to guns and snaps, well, we know what the end result of that is. Fortunately, I didn’t.

To buy He Was Weird, go to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1520281520&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

 

 

 

Las Vegas Shooting- Will Anything Change?

Tags

Americans, anxiety, Asperger's Syndrome, Columbine, Great Britain, guns, He Was Weird, Las Vegas, mass shootings, NRA, Sandy Hook, school shootings, Second Amendment, stereotypes

 

Photo From the Las Vegas Shooting last week

Now more than a week after the tragic shooting which happened at a music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, I feel that I can finally write about it. Originally, I wasn’t going to post about it as so many people have already put in their two penneth worth of thoughts regarding the terrible tragedy. As usual, things like this send my Asperger’s mind into hyper-drive for a number of reasons. The main one is being accused of jumping on the bandwagon along with everyone else who has an opinion on it. I’m not jumping on anything, I’m just exercising my right to share my thoughts and opinions on what happened. There’s also the opportunity to use the tragedy in shamelessly promoting my book, “He Was Weird.” Yes, it’s a great opportunity but it’s too soon to do it now. Maybe when wounds have healed, I might make comparisons to this shooting and the one in my book but not now. Again, it’s just a maybe.

What strikes me is every time something like this happens, most of the same old tired arguments and cliches come out. It did with Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech and even Columbine. We get people saying, “We need tougher gun laws.” “We can’t let this happen again, yada yada yada.” Then we get groups like the National Rifle Association screaming blue murder how any mass shooting isn’t a reason to take away their second amendment rights, the right to bear arms. These are the main battle lines between the two camps and everything else is merely an offshoot of them. Still, I think most people get fed up with hearing the same anecdotes.

As an American living in the UK, I have a third anxiety to contend with. When a mass shooting happens in America, the British stereotype of how all Americans are a bunch of gun nuts come out. Opinions of how backward the NRA is and how every American has an Uzi under their beds manifest themselves. At every shooting, the UK media goes on and on about the American gun culture. What many people in the UK fail to realize is that there are as many, if not more Americans who want to control guns, want to ban automatic weapons and toughen up the gun laws. The problem is that they aren’t nearly as organized as the NRA nor do they have as much money. At least not enough to have politicians in their pockets. I’m an American, I have never owned a gun. I was issued an M16 when I was in the marines but when not actually using the weapon, my rifle was locked in an armoury along with all the others. I am certainly NOT a gun nut. In fact, one mistake I made (and yes I’m making reference to my book) in “He Was Weird” was when news of the shooting spread overseas, I didn’t have the British media make as much out of it as they would have in actuality. Silly me.

So, what to do now? I made a suggestion a long time ago which makes even more sense now, in light of what happened in Las Vegas. While everyone is debating whether America needs new or tougher gun laws, let’s start enforcing the gun laws already on the statutes. I repeat my question from that ancient post: What’s the point of having a law if it’s not being enforced? You might as well not have it at all. If gun laws are properly enforced, we might see less gun crime and fewer mass shootings. If stricter enforcement doesn’t bring about change, then we can talk about tightening up or enacting new gun laws. While mass shootings and gun crime will never be fully eradicated, their occurrences would be fewer and that for me is a good start.

https://peacefulrampage.wordpress.com//?s=gun+laws&search=Go

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why I Didn’t Make Mark a Goth

Tags

books, bullying, christianity, Columbine, goths, He Was Weird, intolerance, Jello Biafra, Marilyn Manson, music, school shootings, stereotypes

It was never my intention to make Mark, the main character in my book, “He Was Weird,” a goth. My main reason for this was to go against stereotypes about school shooters being goths. That they were all ‘weird’ for the way they dressed and for listening to music like Marilyn Manson. I wanted to stamp my thoughts that anyone who has been bullied or teased mercilessly like Mark was in the story, can snap. It didn’t matter how they dressed or what music they listened to.

Marilyn Manson- He didn’t inspire Mark in He Was Weird

In fact, I went in the other extreme in regards to “He Was Weird.” I made him a Born Again Christian who only wanted to please the Lord. The only music he listened to was Christian Rock. None of these fit the stereotype of what a goth is. That’s why that instead of ‘Satanic’ lyrics making Mark snap and shoot up his school, it was religion. Mark took his inspiration to carry out his shooting from the Bible itself, Deuteronomy: Chapter 20- verses 16 and 17. You see, anything can inspire a person who is beaten down and abused to get their revenge. It can be films, music, video games, books or anything other form of media that one can imagine. After all, most Western Christians believe that Muslims can commit terrorist acts by being inspired by the Koran, so why can’t someone shoot up the school be inspired by the Bible?

Jello Biafra

Jello Biafra’s speech on school shootings gave me further inspiration to make Mark a Born Again Christian instead of a goth. One commentator’s statement about Goth gangs had him practically rolling on the floor laughing. Obviously, he agrees that the goth culture wasn’t to blame for school shootings. Furthermore, he highlighted how after Columbine, the religious community in America all began pontificating how the lack of religion caused the Columbine shooting. That such a tragic thing wouldn’t have happened if the ten commandments were hung up in every school classroom. Well, Mark knew the commandments and read the Bible religiously, (pun intended) and still he went off and shot up his school.

Columbine Shooting- Would the ten commandments have stopped this?

Late in the story, I do offer a religious viewpoint on what might have caused Mark to shoot up his school. His pastor explained that God had plans for Mark but Satan knew this too. Therefore, to thwart God’s plan, Satan sent misery upon Mark with all the abuse and bullying. Furthermore, Satan used scripture, the verses in Deuteronomy, to confound Mark and get him to commit his atrocity. Funny thing is that none of those who have read “He Was Weird” has commented on that part. I wouldn’t mind hearing people’s thoughts on that.

The most basic reason why I didn’t make Mark a goth was that when I went through the similar hell in real life as he does in the book, goths didn’t exist. While, I set “He Was Weird” in modern times, the hell I experienced occurred in the early 1970s so I had no idea at that time what they were. Now I could have made him a goth to bring the story more into modern times, the reasons I already stated above was why I didn’t.

To buy He Was Weird, go to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1502824722&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bullied for Being Different

Tags

Americans, BBC, bullying, Columbine, goths, Great Britain, He Was Weird, homophobia, intolerance, labels, murder, school shootings, Sophie Lancaster, stereotypes, teasing

Sophie Lancaster

A few weeks ago, I happened to be flipping through the television channels when I came across and interesting programme being shown on BBC. It was called, “Bullied for Being Different,” about the murder of Sophie Lancaster in Manchester, England who was attacked and kicked to death by a group of teenage boys for dressing like a goth. The show was very well done and it provoked a lot of thoughts within my mind and I have been pondering over them for the past couple of weeks.

Back in the intolerant times of 80s Reagan America, I was often bullied for dressing different. Okay, I wasn’t subject to or threatened with any physical violence but I was teased and excluded on account of my dress sense, which didn’t conform. Eventually, I came to the UK thinking that it was going to be a utopia of tolerance. Okay, I was wrong about it being a utopia. I was in college about a month when a few individuals made some comments about my dress sense. One person made a lot of homophobic remarks because I was wearing a leather biker’s cap. At the time, that was a major homophobic British stereotype. However, that instance was the exception than the rule. For the most part, I was able to adorn my heavy metal dress sense and do so without any grief from others, unlike being in America. For the most part, Britain is still much more socially tolerant than the US.

I loved these boots and wore them most of the time

In spite of what I think, there are many Americans who think it’s the other way around. When I mentioned that I was going to England, some advised me to take out my earring and leave my boots (above photo) at home. When I told them that I had been to England three years earlier and wouldn’t need to do so, they looked at me with disbelief.

Now, I don’t know if the Sophie Lancaster killing made the news in America. If it did, it would have been used against American youths who are teased and harassed for dressing in such a way. I can hear some American man saying to a goth, “You think you have it bad here, you’re lucky you’re not in England. They’ll kill you for looking like that.” It doesn’t matter that the murder was more a one off and although some people who dress different get stick, Britain is still more tolerant of different dress senses than America. Unfortunately, we have cases of the few who are intolerant taking it to the extreme and that’s what happened in Sophie’s case.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not trying to sugar coat this horrific act which occurred in 2007 just because I think Britain is more tolerant than America. It was a despicable attack and those who carried it out didn’t get long enough sentences in my opinion. What I think the Americans would have got right in this case was that the perpetrators would have gotten longer sentences. Of course, the skeptic in me would wonder had this attack occurred in America, would it have gotten to trial and would the victims be taken seriously. After all, in the mind set of many, Sophie Lancaster and her boyfriend would have been asking for trouble on account of the way they looked. After all, in school shootings like Columbine, the goth culture gets blamed almost immediately. I’ll be writing more of that in my next post. In short, intolerance sucks and no one should be bullied or harassed for being different, anywhere.

To buy He Was Weird go to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1501440478&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

 

 

 

 

Interest or Obsessions?

Tags

academic achievement, American football, Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, BBC, books, bullying, He Was Weird, ice hockey, Interests, intolerance, music, obsessions, schools, solar system, stereotypes, World War II

What is normally found with people who have Asperger’s Syndrome is that many are really focused on their personal interests, sometimes to the point where it looks like an obsession. From my experiences, many of the people I work with have their own interests and can become very obsessive over them. Take the two service users I work with most of the time. One likes to read the Teletext pages on his TV to keep abreast of world news and he has a ritual in town where he counts cars. The objective of this is only clear in his mind. The other gentleman has different interests and can border on obsession. He is interested in wars, especially both world ones, naturally disasters and attacks on humans by large predators. I’m talking sharks and crocodiles mainly. He helps to satisfy these interests by purchasing DVDs, post cards and models and if we didn’t keep it in check, would spend all his money on it.

I realized many years ago that my interests have sometimes bordered on obsession, especially when I was a lot younger. Like my client, I too liked war. In fourth grade it was the Native American wars with the US Cavalry and one George Armstrong Custer became a hero of mine. The war interest re-established itself inside my mind in my last three years of high school but this time it was World War II. I began collecting the Time-Life books on it, which I still have.

General George A Custer

However, my interests came and went, sometimes with the school year. In fifth grade, war changed to sports and that changed within itself when I hit sixth grade. My fifth grade interest in American Football gave way to ice hockey. While I still loved those sports in seventh grade, they took a back seat to an interest in the solar system after learning about it in school. I especially have a fondness for the planet Uranus, don’t ask where that came from. Thanks to the film in 1975, my freshman year in high school was spent in what some called obsession of Rollerball. And for those who read my 80smetalman blog, I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I had an ongoing love for music, at least hard rock and heavy metal anyway.

My favourite planet other than our own, Uranus

While these interests came and went, they never left my mind totally. My fourth grade interest in General Custer laid dormant in my mind enough for me to write my junior year history essay on the Battle of Little Big Horn. He also propped up when I watched a documentary on the Civil War and was quite pleased that he played a role in the Union victory at Gettysburg, even if it was done by a series of reckless charges. World War 2 interest has always remained with me although like most of America in the 1980s, I too was fascinated with the Vietnam films. I still enjoy watching “Rollerball” and love American football and ice hockey. However, my interest in the planets in our solar system is the most recent one to return.

Of course I can say that my interest in it never left. It made a strong comeback in 1999 when the BBC aired and eight part series called “The Planets.” I really enjoyed that series despite being a little disappointed that NASA found my favourite planet boring when Voyager II flew past. But as it’s the rule with the BBC, if I really like something they show, they never show it again. Recently, I finally purchased the series on DVD and am watching it again. It might be out of date by now, for instance, the planned Cassini mission to Saturn has happened in 2003, but that hasn’t stopped my enjoyment of it. Plus, whenever I get the chance when supply teaching, I will teach a lesson about the solar system.

The problem with having strong interests is how the ‘rest of the world’ perceives it. In school, I was often ridiculed and even bullied for having these strong interests. “Is that all you think about?” was a standard question asked of me a lot during this time. People’s justification for their intolerance and bullying was that my constant talk about my interests annoyed them. However, what I should have said to them back then was their slight ‘annoyance’ was no excuse for violence or threats of it. In many cases, these so called annoyed people simply let it annoy them as an excuse to bully. A simple, “I’m not into that” would have stopped me from talking about it.

I wonder how many people with Asperger’s Syndrome were bullying victims because of people’s ‘annoyance’ with their interest or obsessions. I know Mark was in “He Was Weird” and like when I went through at the time, the adults blamed him for going on too much about his interests. That’s a big trait of someone with ASD. They are interested in it so much, they want to talk about it. Those in the ‘normal’ world need to understand that and while they have every right to not be interested in the interests of another, bullying, intimidation and violence is not the way to get them to stop.

To buy He Was Weird, go to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1500801442&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird