wrote about Elon Musk, why self diagnosis is important, and why it's also important to recognize that people with autism have moral agency, which means they can be bad people. https://www.everythingishorrible.net/p/elon-musk-is-autistic-and-also-unrelatedly
Comments
The left has sympathy for actual victims of wrongdoing, and of circumstances, not self centered meglomaniac criminals!!
Mental illness isn't an excuse to be a dick.
human beings all have the capacity for moral choice. whether you're autistic or neurotypical doesn't change that. autism doesn't wire you for good or evil; Musk is a bad person because of his choices, not his brain wiring.
this is a case where reading the article rather than just knee jerk replying to the headline would serve you well.
I suppose they could just be unable or unwilling to think at all, but I try to give people the benefit of the doubt.
but why should I respond to you in that case?
but the solution there is to emphasize that *autism is not an excuse for bad behavior!* the solution is not to deny marginalized and stigmatized people an important tool to combat their marginalization!
Thank you, Noah.
Douchebags (with or without diagnoses or handicaps) will always find an excuse to be douchebags.
Elon's reckless and shitty behaviour just becomes very visible to anyone who has their moral compass set straight.
Musk and Trump are evil because they're evil, not because they're disabled.
finally, Musk being horrible has nothing to do with him being autistic.
it made a choice
He is evil. Those with autism are not.
An autistic person can in fact also be a narcissist; not all autistic people are morally good.
Autism does not cause people to give nazi salutes, but an autistic person can still choose to be a nazi.
Not defending autism as shield/that his self diagnosis is correct. Simply refuting the notion that autistic folk are somehow inherently good.
Definitely agree that he is evil for sure!
he's autistic and a bad person. it's vital not to see those things as being in tension.
but being autistic isn't an explanation or an excuse for murdering millions (which Musk is doing.)
But maybe that association is what should be attacked, rather than disputing whether he's on the spectrum or not
Does he demonstrate any of the qualities of an #autist? I think not.
I agree.
No way.
He's a liar.
A narcissist.
Not autistic.
people always have complex reasons for coming out as self ID. this is like saying Pete Buttigieg can't self ID as gay because he's in the public eye. it's nonsense.
Elon Musk is one of the worst human beings to ever walk the earth.
And I live in a trailer...
His financial success means nothing, considering what a miserable asshole he so obviously is...
Then Musk can argue why that doesn't mean he's a criminal.
Which he is.
His only invention is his public image, he’s an asshole. Plain and simple.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/04/rfk-kennedy-hhs-autism-diagnoses-poet/