The stereotypes associated with people who have AS weren't nearly as detrimental as they have become in recent years. Not even a decade ago, I remember that the worst we had to deal with were outliers who believed that Autism as a whole was fabricated, and they were mocked for being the desperate, uneducated conspiracy theorists that they are. The second most difficult was the stereotype that "we are self-diagnosed," which I recall having to dispel as a teenager.



Nowadays, mocking people with autism has become more accepted, especially within the younger generation, and is likely justified by those very ideas which were once regarded as baseless conspiracies. There are even a whole new set of slurs, like "autists" and "neckbeards." Even otherwise harmless attire, like fedoras (which, might I add, are unattractive as hell), are "buzzwords" for autistic people, in the same way that "ghetto" has become a buzzword for "people of color who live in poverty." The stereotype of being self-diagnosed still persists today, and is the more popular justification for bullying and stereotyping.



The bigots haven't gone away, but their influence on younger minds, likely spread through online venues such as 4chan and Reddit, has created a more hostile environment for autistic people.



Stereotypes aren't "based on an element of truth," they're based on an element of an individual's personality or behavior, which embittered supremacists have observed and correlated as a behavior that is innate of the group that individual belongs to. When others are found to conform to that person's behavior or personality, it becomes a stereotype.



Guess that doesn't sound as good on a bumper sticker.



But now, as I observe the attitudes towards people with autism shift in the span of a few years, I recognize that stereotypes are not inherent or deserved, as we like to imagine they are when we laugh at them while they are relayed to us in a comedian's jokes or a peer's ravings. Stereotypes can be manufactured, and attitudes can be influenced. This is a trend that I have also seen in homophobia, racism, size hatred and other bigotries as well.



The internet has been an excellent tool in fostering division and normalizing hostilities toward those in our society that we deem to be "the others." The number of internet memes based on racial stereotypes is at an all-time high, and those who express extreme racist sentiment or hurl racial insults cannot be held accountable or taken to task with any real social consequence because of their anonymity. In their powerlessness, many internet users of color have come to accept this hostile environment. The word "faggot" is now a term that has been appropriated by 4chan and Reddit by straights, which members of the LGBTQ community have no choice but to either play along with, or face scorn and mockery. The same can be said about women, who face mockery for even using the internet, and female redditers are treated to subreddits about beating or raping them. Fat people are denied even the most basic credibility, and must choose their communities wisely, as they are almost never free to reveal their weight without receiving scorn.



The internet has become the tool of the supremacist's hopes and dreams, and through their anonymity, they have succeeded. There is no better way to subjugate people than to convince them that their subjugation is perfectly fine, and then threaten to ostracize them if they object.



Don't give in to it. If you belong to any of these communities, stop using the bigoted slang that they perpetuate. If you feel a meme or a macro might be bigoted in nature, or relies on bigotry to make a joke, don't post it. Call other people out for being bigots, because their selfish bigotry is ruining someone else's day, and that's not right. Don't be afraid of being called "sensitive" or "politically correct"- that's one of their methods of silencing you. They've been doing that for a long time, and the only defense they haven't been able to counter is when you ask "so what?" or "Maybe I'm not sensitive. Maybe you're an asshole." Silence is deadly in this situation, and is a huge factor of why things have gotten so bad.



Obviously these aren't orders, and you are free to do as you wish, but if you read any of what I said, and you not only recognize it but see it as a problem, be part of the solution. Social subjugation hasn't gone away, it's just moved here.



When we allow this to happen, it's a win for xenophobia and a loss for basic humanity.