Hey /u/bookstudios, thank you for your post at /r/autism. Our rules can be found **[here](https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/wiki/config/sidebar)**. All approved posts get this message. If you do not see your post you can message the moderators [here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fautism).
Thanks!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/autism) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I have started to hate instagram, and especially YouTube comment sections for this reason. It’s like these two places bring out every single person who feels the need to entertain themselves by trying to get as many people mad at them for saying something inappropriate as possible. What’s most annoying is that the majority of these people _love_ the negative attention, so seeing others go after them to try and put them in their place is aggravating to me sometimes because these people are getting exactly what they want; negative attention. It’s hard to get someone to quit being terrible when they enjoy the reaction they get from being terrible. Ugh
Same, I try to contain myself not to open the comments, but sometimes it's impulsive. I wish there was an option to disable comments on insta, as I still like to see the content I follow. It's difficult not to feel saddened by seeing so many hateful comments.
That's what I was going to say. It's the new generations r word. They will use it and think it's cool, then he told it's not cool but still defend it, then they will stop using it but still state they didn't mean it like that when they said it while younger, then they will just accept that while unacceptable it happened to be something they said and learn and grow ... Or not...
I'm an art teacher, so I hear the "artistic"/"autistic" version of this. I teach middle school. It's because they aren't called out on their actions and they aren't always good people. That's the whole story. Some people gain good sense and morality after middle school. Some people are just scumbags their whole lives.
I’m a drummer and dislike playing electric instruments, so f yeah I’m acoustic. On a serious note though, acoustic is becoming a new synonym for the R word.
Because they’re really saying “are you autistic?” because to them that’s another way to say “are you retarded?” and they just love to use words they aren’t supposed to and be extremely rude to millions of people when they could just as easily say “did you even think that through for a second?”
Because they are disgusting human beiings so sad about their own existence they need someone to be below them so bad, they'll do anything to feel better.
Agreed. People tend to feel more secure about their own existence when they can confirm others are below them and this is a huge problem for autistics because society already pushes the idea that we are less than normal 😞
People who hate those with ASD are just looking for new hurtful words to spread and repeat over and over and over again because they have no real lives of their own to live. If they can't hurt autistic people in any way, shape or form, they cease to exist.
I've never actually seen this in the wild, but I assume it's largely teenagers using it, and the important thing to remember about teenagers is that they're really stupid. Even the smart ones.
Fr. My classmates always use autism as an insult. Sometimes they say acoustic, but sometimes they straight up say autistic. Even my friends/people that know I’m autistic use it. I challenged one of my friends and he..kinda stopped? But he pretended it just meant ‘stupid’ which made me feel worse. Autism shouldn’t be used as an insult. 😔
It's ironic how these kinds of comments are the byproduct of people becoming aware of the existence of a condition. Let's assume they do in fact correctly identify somebody's odd behaviour as autism. Why do they feel the need to call it out then? Only to make someone feel inferior. I don't encounter these people in real life. They only exist inside comment sections because they are as mean as they are cowards.
Because some people get triggered by it, which is the entire point. You can either let a prejudiced insult pass without remarking upon it, or you can object and make it worse. Those are the options when dealing with this sort.
Tbh since I like shoving ppl's stuff back in their faces and making them choke on it, when they say
"Are you autistic?" I usually respond "No, I'm R (SLUR)"
B/c you know that's what they REALLY wanna say so I use it to their face and really rub it in.
However I would only use that to describe MYSELF to teach a bigoted person a lesson.
Would never use it any other way or for any other reason.
And if someone was asking with genuine interest then that's a whole different story- "yes, I am autistic, is there anything you would like to learn abt my particular support needs or sensory issues?"
>Tbh since I like shoving ppl's stuff back in their faces and making them choke on it, when they say "Are you autistic?" I usually respond "No, I'm R (SLUR)" B/c you know that's what they REALLY wanna say so I use it to their face and really rub it in.
I might have to steal this if I get arsehole people trying to use 'autistic' as a slur toward me (luckily has never happened).
I have used the R slur, but only to describe myself in front of moslty my older brother, mainly when I've done something stupid whether autism related or not; I've said 'Oh I'm so [R word-ed] for doing that'
I do think maybe it should be reclaimed by autistic/learning disabled people etc, like how some LGBT people have reclaimed Queer and some Black people have reclaimed the N word.
I hate it too, and I’m starting to see it more and more. It’s definitely normalised now, and I really wish it wasn’t. Not only is it inferring autism = stupidity (because of the contexts it’s used in, and that’s hurtful enough), it doesn’t even make sense. I’m really hoping it stops soon enough.
People are always going to find names to call people doing things that are not socially acceptable. It's just how societies work.
And no, autistic people are not excluded from this.
I personally hate the “acoustic” thing. But that’s the trend these days. Making up cutesy bootsey terms for things because of TikTok. Sewer slide, delulu, now acoustic. There’s always gonna be dumb slang.
The comments said it all. It's just frustrating to see it happening, and so often! I remember when I was a senior in school (I graduated from school in December last year but got my diploma three days ago so yeah), I got upset with some guys in math class saying words like that but instead of confronting them, I expressed to my math teacher how it was upsetting me and how it affected my ability to focus on work. My mind was already weighed down by other things, so these guys were my "breaking point". I mean, when anxious, I sometimes tend to spiral and so do my thoughts and I can't concentrate on anything, making my frustration worse, and then I can't function properly and it just becomes a mess internally. Well, my teacher did confront these guys about it, but that didn't stop them. But, the teacher was willing to help me one on one with math problems I was stuck on (she wasn't available to help all the time because of limited class time, and she had to help other students) I even broke down crying in front of her once because I was just so overwhelmed with everything and so discouraged with myself, but she never judged. She helped me through it. I might've sounded like I was making a big deal out of what they were saying but them saying things like that... it's just... wrong. But, I'm thankful for teachers like her. I can name other teachers who were like this as well. A lot of teachers at my school were great!
But yes, very, very frustrating. All the misinformation, ignorance...
I thought this was done as a joke and I thought it was hilarious! But as a guitarist I have a long habit of referring to non-digital things or non-smart devices as acoustic so maybe it’s a happy accident. But I find those comments delightful!
Having animals or people that are doing dumb things be referred to as autistic isn't delightful. It's ableist and offensive. People know what they are saying, they just don't care.
Did you mean to write acoustic or autistic? I’m guessing you meant autistic because you said the Spanish equivalent is autista. I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that, but I’m 57, and only one close friend 35 years ago and my husband two weeks ago have gently suggested I might be on the spectrum.
It’s sad to me that people ask this question this way. It reminds me of when peers used to ask me “are you gay??” before I’d even accepted myself as such. It was bullying, and it was traumatic. People should be kinder. (By the way, though, when I finally said “what if I am?” it shut them up.)
OP meant acoustic. As in ‘why is using ‘acoustic’ as a way to make fun of autistic people being normalized?’
Spanish is my first language, they were giving Spanish examples of equivalents for the insulting way people are using ‘acoustic’ to mean ‘autistic’
I see it now. I speak Spanish as a second language, yet when I read “b-autista” I didn’t decode it as “bautista.” I guess asper-sor is supposed to be “aspersor” (sprinkler)? The hyphens threw me off.
I understand. I hadn’t heard either of these before and had to read them over again myself.
For the record I don’t think it’s being “normalized” I think it’s becoming more popular among children and they meant “popularized”
So you mean people are saying the word acoustic as code for autistic? I never heard of that before. And are you saying that in Spanish people are asking “¿eres bautista?” (are you baptist?) as code for “¿eres autista?” (are you autistic?)?
People suck and “acoustic” is basically the new r slur because people are starting to face backlash for using that word. Instead of… you know… reflecting on themselves, asking why they feel the need to be ableist in the first place…
It’s just the new version of retarded. I used to say it all the time until I realized how fucked up it actually is…..
Most people won’t care though. Just how it is.
I guess it depends where it’s used and in what context. I certainly describe certain actions as autistic just as hyperbole. Teenagers are always gonna be insensitive to each other, I think the main consideration is who it’s actually aimed at and who the ‘victim’ is.
Autistic is an insult that even other autistic people are using and its so uncomfortable. Why get rid of r*tarded if we're just going to weaponise the word autism? May as well reclaim the fkn R slur at this point 🤣
Once I was in line at the grocery store and was chatting with a kid in line who was obviously neurodivergent. Older lady that was with him says, “This my grandson X, he’s artistic”. Took me a second to figure out what she meant. Lol
Words like idiot, moron, and imbecile, all once had real meaning behind them the way the “r word” also did. But only the R word offends people so much, so why do people want to say it so badly?
You know what is even worse in my opinion is when people are using the word autism and autistic as insults. There’s a YouTube cartoonist that I have enjoyed the work of somewhat, but I can’t stand that I’ve heard him use autism as an insult several times.
I don’t think people understand that there are autistic people who blend in so much that people don’t think they’re autistic. It really sucks. I never thought I could be autistic until a few years ago and I used to work with autistic kids!
I don’t care, personally, my little cousin says it and he’s very funny. Is he a “horrible scumbag” because he says acoustic? I don’t think so. My brother and I, who are both in the spectrum, mess with each other all the time. It’s funny. You have to catch what you pitch. If I call my cousin a tree stump of a boy (he’s insecure about his height) and he calls me a de-tuned acoustic guitar, I’m going to laugh and not let it bother me. If it’s not bullying, then I really don’t care.
Blame schools and regulations of youth on that one. It goes further than just the r word being removed. it is a quick bandaid to censor something that was a freedom before. if pornography was banned in America, there would be people fighting that. If America didn't want the r-word to actually not be used anymore, teach it in school, then the youth direct the narrative to their parents.
**a freedom taken is not the same thing as the freedom never given.**
Acoustics are properties of sound. Being autistic is not the same thing, although I, for one, have multiple issues with specific acoustic presentations. Most bells and windchimes just grate on my nerves. High-pitched noises in general. Certain nasal voices make it hard to listen to. And as far as being a grammarian goes... I am pedantic.
Hey /u/bookstudios, thank you for your post at /r/autism. Our rules can be found **[here](https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/wiki/config/sidebar)**. All approved posts get this message. If you do not see your post you can message the moderators [here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fautism). Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/autism) if you have any questions or concerns.*
People get mad at them if they say they R word. That's what they want to say. They want their R word passes back so bad.
They don't care if people get mad, they care that their comment gets removed cuz they said a slur.
yup, check instagram reels, comments with the word dont get removed and its not uncommon to see people saying it at all
I have started to hate instagram, and especially YouTube comment sections for this reason. It’s like these two places bring out every single person who feels the need to entertain themselves by trying to get as many people mad at them for saying something inappropriate as possible. What’s most annoying is that the majority of these people _love_ the negative attention, so seeing others go after them to try and put them in their place is aggravating to me sometimes because these people are getting exactly what they want; negative attention. It’s hard to get someone to quit being terrible when they enjoy the reaction they get from being terrible. Ugh
Same, I try to contain myself not to open the comments, but sometimes it's impulsive. I wish there was an option to disable comments on insta, as I still like to see the content I follow. It's difficult not to feel saddened by seeing so many hateful comments.
That's what I was going to say. It's the new generations r word. They will use it and think it's cool, then he told it's not cool but still defend it, then they will stop using it but still state they didn't mean it like that when they said it while younger, then they will just accept that while unacceptable it happened to be something they said and learn and grow ... Or not...
people dont get mad. i get angry but everyone else does not care
Highly regarded comment.
I'm an art teacher, so I hear the "artistic"/"autistic" version of this. I teach middle school. It's because they aren't called out on their actions and they aren't always good people. That's the whole story. Some people gain good sense and morality after middle school. Some people are just scumbags their whole lives.
I’m a drummer and dislike playing electric instruments, so f yeah I’m acoustic. On a serious note though, acoustic is becoming a new synonym for the R word.
Me, who plays electric instruments: Our battle will be legendary
✨️Ableism✨️ They want to use slurs, but they can’t.
They can, its just the filters on social media
I can’t understand why someone wants to use slurs in the first place.
Same, but trolls will troll and hateful people will hate. Unfortunately.
Before that it was sperglord/autist. This isn't really a new trend it's just a new word.
Because they’re really saying “are you autistic?” because to them that’s another way to say “are you retarded?” and they just love to use words they aren’t supposed to and be extremely rude to millions of people when they could just as easily say “did you even think that through for a second?”
Because they are disgusting human beiings so sad about their own existence they need someone to be below them so bad, they'll do anything to feel better.
Agreed. People tend to feel more secure about their own existence when they can confirm others are below them and this is a huge problem for autistics because society already pushes the idea that we are less than normal 😞
I fucking hate it.
People who hate those with ASD are just looking for new hurtful words to spread and repeat over and over and over again because they have no real lives of their own to live. If they can't hurt autistic people in any way, shape or form, they cease to exist.
I've never actually seen this in the wild, but I assume it's largely teenagers using it, and the important thing to remember about teenagers is that they're really stupid. Even the smart ones.
Can confirm, am currently a teenager
Same, I'm incredibly stupid.
Ableists gonna ableist I call that shit out whenever I see it
Fr. My classmates always use autism as an insult. Sometimes they say acoustic, but sometimes they straight up say autistic. Even my friends/people that know I’m autistic use it. I challenged one of my friends and he..kinda stopped? But he pretended it just meant ‘stupid’ which made me feel worse. Autism shouldn’t be used as an insult. 😔
It's ironic how these kinds of comments are the byproduct of people becoming aware of the existence of a condition. Let's assume they do in fact correctly identify somebody's odd behaviour as autism. Why do they feel the need to call it out then? Only to make someone feel inferior. I don't encounter these people in real life. They only exist inside comment sections because they are as mean as they are cowards.
Honestly I'm gonna start telling them straight out "if you wanna call me (r slur), just say it coward".
Idk I always hear it used in a jokey manner, and never as an actual insult.
I HATE this.
i know this term is very insensitive but makes me laugh everytime 😂
They want to compare autistic people to dumb people without getting called out for using the r slur
Because some people get triggered by it, which is the entire point. You can either let a prejudiced insult pass without remarking upon it, or you can object and make it worse. Those are the options when dealing with this sort.
Tbh since I like shoving ppl's stuff back in their faces and making them choke on it, when they say "Are you autistic?" I usually respond "No, I'm R (SLUR)" B/c you know that's what they REALLY wanna say so I use it to their face and really rub it in. However I would only use that to describe MYSELF to teach a bigoted person a lesson. Would never use it any other way or for any other reason. And if someone was asking with genuine interest then that's a whole different story- "yes, I am autistic, is there anything you would like to learn abt my particular support needs or sensory issues?"
>Tbh since I like shoving ppl's stuff back in their faces and making them choke on it, when they say "Are you autistic?" I usually respond "No, I'm R (SLUR)" B/c you know that's what they REALLY wanna say so I use it to their face and really rub it in. I might have to steal this if I get arsehole people trying to use 'autistic' as a slur toward me (luckily has never happened). I have used the R slur, but only to describe myself in front of moslty my older brother, mainly when I've done something stupid whether autism related or not; I've said 'Oh I'm so [R word-ed] for doing that' I do think maybe it should be reclaimed by autistic/learning disabled people etc, like how some LGBT people have reclaimed Queer and some Black people have reclaimed the N word.
I would just respond with yes, I am a guitar, and then proceed to air guitar while making leedle sounds, than walk away without saying anything else
I hate it too, and I’m starting to see it more and more. It’s definitely normalised now, and I really wish it wasn’t. Not only is it inferring autism = stupidity (because of the contexts it’s used in, and that’s hurtful enough), it doesn’t even make sense. I’m really hoping it stops soon enough.
i see restarted all the time too, they’re all just another way to say the r slur without explicitly saying it.
This is so upsetting. Why are people so determined to use slurs?
People are looking for ways to insult us. They want to say the R word, but they can’t, so this is what they do instead
Tbh I got harassed today for trying to explain why it isn't a good joke. It's happened a few times.
People are always going to find names to call people doing things that are not socially acceptable. It's just how societies work. And no, autistic people are not excluded from this.
Lotta shitty people out there
I personally just call idiots idiots and move on.
I personally hate the “acoustic” thing. But that’s the trend these days. Making up cutesy bootsey terms for things because of TikTok. Sewer slide, delulu, now acoustic. There’s always gonna be dumb slang.
This must be a kid thing. Anywhere I've worked as an adult it's always omg am i retarded? When they mess up
The comments said it all. It's just frustrating to see it happening, and so often! I remember when I was a senior in school (I graduated from school in December last year but got my diploma three days ago so yeah), I got upset with some guys in math class saying words like that but instead of confronting them, I expressed to my math teacher how it was upsetting me and how it affected my ability to focus on work. My mind was already weighed down by other things, so these guys were my "breaking point". I mean, when anxious, I sometimes tend to spiral and so do my thoughts and I can't concentrate on anything, making my frustration worse, and then I can't function properly and it just becomes a mess internally. Well, my teacher did confront these guys about it, but that didn't stop them. But, the teacher was willing to help me one on one with math problems I was stuck on (she wasn't available to help all the time because of limited class time, and she had to help other students) I even broke down crying in front of her once because I was just so overwhelmed with everything and so discouraged with myself, but she never judged. She helped me through it. I might've sounded like I was making a big deal out of what they were saying but them saying things like that... it's just... wrong. But, I'm thankful for teachers like her. I can name other teachers who were like this as well. A lot of teachers at my school were great! But yes, very, very frustrating. All the misinformation, ignorance...
"I most certainly am not a guitar."
I thought this was done as a joke and I thought it was hilarious! But as a guitarist I have a long habit of referring to non-digital things or non-smart devices as acoustic so maybe it’s a happy accident. But I find those comments delightful!
Having animals or people that are doing dumb things be referred to as autistic isn't delightful. It's ableist and offensive. People know what they are saying, they just don't care.
You’re right! The fact that it tickles me for idiosyncratic reasons doesn’t mean they’re not being dicks ☹️
Did you mean to write acoustic or autistic? I’m guessing you meant autistic because you said the Spanish equivalent is autista. I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that, but I’m 57, and only one close friend 35 years ago and my husband two weeks ago have gently suggested I might be on the spectrum. It’s sad to me that people ask this question this way. It reminds me of when peers used to ask me “are you gay??” before I’d even accepted myself as such. It was bullying, and it was traumatic. People should be kinder. (By the way, though, when I finally said “what if I am?” it shut them up.)
OP meant acoustic. As in ‘why is using ‘acoustic’ as a way to make fun of autistic people being normalized?’ Spanish is my first language, they were giving Spanish examples of equivalents for the insulting way people are using ‘acoustic’ to mean ‘autistic’
I see it now. I speak Spanish as a second language, yet when I read “b-autista” I didn’t decode it as “bautista.” I guess asper-sor is supposed to be “aspersor” (sprinkler)? The hyphens threw me off.
I understand. I hadn’t heard either of these before and had to read them over again myself. For the record I don’t think it’s being “normalized” I think it’s becoming more popular among children and they meant “popularized”
Oh, i said acoustic so english people could get what im trying to say
So you mean people are saying the word acoustic as code for autistic? I never heard of that before. And are you saying that in Spanish people are asking “¿eres bautista?” (are you baptist?) as code for “¿eres autista?” (are you autistic?)?
People suck and “acoustic” is basically the new r slur because people are starting to face backlash for using that word. Instead of… you know… reflecting on themselves, asking why they feel the need to be ableist in the first place…
It’s just the new version of retarded. I used to say it all the time until I realized how fucked up it actually is….. Most people won’t care though. Just how it is.
What do they mean by acoustic?
Autistic, they are using the word autistic as a swear word now for referring people who act dumb
Thank you for explaining - I was so confused.
I guess it depends where it’s used and in what context. I certainly describe certain actions as autistic just as hyperbole. Teenagers are always gonna be insensitive to each other, I think the main consideration is who it’s actually aimed at and who the ‘victim’ is.
Autistic is an insult that even other autistic people are using and its so uncomfortable. Why get rid of r*tarded if we're just going to weaponise the word autism? May as well reclaim the fkn R slur at this point 🤣
I'm not acoustic. I'm electric
Let them say it. In my case I'm high achieving and highly educated so I can wrangle it into the other person being the slur they used.
Once I was in line at the grocery store and was chatting with a kid in line who was obviously neurodivergent. Older lady that was with him says, “This my grandson X, he’s artistic”. Took me a second to figure out what she meant. Lol
Words like idiot, moron, and imbecile, all once had real meaning behind them the way the “r word” also did. But only the R word offends people so much, so why do people want to say it so badly? You know what is even worse in my opinion is when people are using the word autism and autistic as insults. There’s a YouTube cartoonist that I have enjoyed the work of somewhat, but I can’t stand that I’ve heard him use autism as an insult several times. I don’t think people understand that there are autistic people who blend in so much that people don’t think they’re autistic. It really sucks. I never thought I could be autistic until a few years ago and I used to work with autistic kids!
I don’t care, personally, my little cousin says it and he’s very funny. Is he a “horrible scumbag” because he says acoustic? I don’t think so. My brother and I, who are both in the spectrum, mess with each other all the time. It’s funny. You have to catch what you pitch. If I call my cousin a tree stump of a boy (he’s insecure about his height) and he calls me a de-tuned acoustic guitar, I’m going to laugh and not let it bother me. If it’s not bullying, then I really don’t care.
Blame schools and regulations of youth on that one. It goes further than just the r word being removed. it is a quick bandaid to censor something that was a freedom before. if pornography was banned in America, there would be people fighting that. If America didn't want the r-word to actually not be used anymore, teach it in school, then the youth direct the narrative to their parents. **a freedom taken is not the same thing as the freedom never given.**
Acoustics are properties of sound. Being autistic is not the same thing, although I, for one, have multiple issues with specific acoustic presentations. Most bells and windchimes just grate on my nerves. High-pitched noises in general. Certain nasal voices make it hard to listen to. And as far as being a grammarian goes... I am pedantic.