Friday, September 23, 2011

“Reality Hits You Hard.”

Here’s an inspiring story where individuals with autism find careers that are suited to their personalities.

The company “nurtures these skills while forgiving the quirks that can make adults with autism unemployable: social awkwardness, poor eye contact, being easily overwhelmed.”

“Traits that make great software testers — intense focus, comfort with repetition, memory for detail — also happen to be characteristics of autism. People with Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism, have normal to high intelligence and often are highly skilled with computers.”

Sadly, I’ve got all of the unemployable quirks while none of the useful traits.

I mean seriously, why aren’t there more jobs that compliment rather than condemn individual quirks? We’re human beings, we’re not robots, and I bet a lot more of us are awkward than are, as every single job opening demands, someone “outgoing” and “energetic”. You know, the second I see adjectives like that I write a job off, it doesn’t matter how otherwise well-suited I might be for the job or it for me. Why aren’t there jobs where one gets commended rather than criticized for being soft-spoken and reserved? They’re not like severe character flaws, and there are much much worse traits an employee could demonstrate while still fulfilling the enthusiastic criteria.

 

Chris Colfer is adorable, and his instance that he doesn’t deserve to be put on a pedestal just makes me want to put him on ALL the pedestals. On the other hand, I’m trying not to let my niggle of jealousy that he has been able to buy a house at 21 when I probably won’t be able to afford one for decades yet turn into full-blown loathing. I mean, I want a house of my own more than anything – I would give up my legs for a house though it would have to be one with a wheelchair ramp in that case.

 

And in the category of “It’s About Darn Time!” Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has been repealed. Well, I’m not a fan of any kind of military, and kind of find that my admiration for people who want to be truthful about who they are is countered by my lack of respect for their willingness to kill other people, but hey, I guess it’s a step in the right direction.

 

In a step in the wrong direction, we have the world of publishing, where controversy has arisen over authors of Young Adult books and stories being advised to edit out gay storylines because apparently they don’t sell. I’m boggled by this considering I know plenty of people who buy books based entirely on their containing a gay character, and have been known to do so myself. Because, honestly, I got sick of reading the same boy-girl story over and over. If you want to support the cause, here’s a list of books that have managed to get published intact, and I’m a little embarrassed how few I’ve read – I’ll have to work my way through it when I have some free reading time.

 

On the other hand, in news about causes that I could actually be a participant rather than just a witness of, New York Times had this interesting story: In a Married World, Singles Struggle for Attention

I’m all for challenging the assumption “that if you don’t get married there is something wrong with you.”

“These were very successful women in their careers and their lives, yet almost all of them felt bad about not being married, like they were letting someone down.”

“If a person is happy being single, then we should support that as well.”

“We do have the tendency to think that there is something special about married people, and that they are the ones who keep community and family going. I thought it was important to point out that single people keep our community going, too.”

Word.

And related to that, I was also thinking about 1 Corinthians 7 lately:

“8To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am. 9But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion…”

“17Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches…”

“29This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, 30and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, 31and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.”

Oh, Paul, you do know the quickest way to my heart is to talk about the world-as-we-know-it ending, don’t you.

“32I want you to be free from anxieties.”

That might be the nicest thing a guy’s ever said to me.

 

And now, as an anecdote antidote for today’s ranty McRanty Pants, the brilliant folks over at AutoTune the News bring you:

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I want you to be free of anxieties, I concur with St.Paul. love dad