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Comment by barbacoa | Hacker News Reader

Link to interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yUMIFYBMnc

Oh my god stop that person from wobbling in their chair.

Worth mentioning that they have autism, which is why they aren't making eye contact and are rocking in their chair. Although that is probably a better reason to not be on the show at all if you are trying to present yourself as a large-scale movement to millions of viewers.

It’s a zoom call. Autistic people are capable of basic discipline. They’re clearly not medically disabled.

Look, I'm not trying to defend her. But do you think that autism goes away when it's a zoom call or something? I think that it's a perfectly fine explanation for no eye contact/rocking, as both are common symptoms of autism. Think it's a bit rash to immediately assume they are "clearly not medically disabled".

In the past people would hold themselves to a high standard and celebrate triumph over adversity.

Today people are fetishizing this “neurodivergent” psychosis and it’s downright weird. This person could absolutely sit still if they every bothered to have priorities in their life.

I refuse to respect this weird trend.

Could they have sat still? Probably. Were they self aware enough to even realise what they are doing is embarrassing? Almost certainly not.

I understand your concern. Two things to note though:

1. Who are you to immediately assume that they are lying, as if that's the best explanation? Not every single person who has autism has the ability to completely repress everything about it. To assume otherwise is nothing short of ableism - and I'm not using that word lightly. I absolutely do get the concern though - words DO need meaning.

2. You say "Today people are fetishizing this neurodivergent psychosis" as if this is a recent trend. It's not. At all. Tuberculosis was a disease that was romanticized in the early 19th century, and the obsession with thin & pale bodies in culture is theorized to have originated from this. I'm not gonna claim to be an expert to this however, so if someone reading this knows more about this subject than I do then please chime in.

The point remains, maybe as an autistic person they don't like eye contact or sitting still but that's where discipline comes into it.

I don’t think it’s okay to make a medical diagnosis about someone based on a 5 minute video.

The mod of the sub said they have autism, so that is not what the person you’re replying to did.

I've seen "no eye contact" mentioned a few times. I think this can be explained by the fact that this person either didn't realize, or wasn't told, that they need to stare directly into their webcam for a television interview.

She is aware of her issue and could have chosen to manage it. For instance if she knows she tends to have such coping behaviours she could use a fixed chair and a better camera angle. Or she could have refused the interview altogether as she clearly had no message or insight to pass there was no reason to go on air.

Failing at an action you chose to engage in and then to excuse it by supposed psychological issues is not really what any half-decent person does.

Going out on a limb: Any mildly autistic person aware of their issues takes action to avoid such painful situations. So I would also doubt there is an actual diagnosis and she is just looking for an excuse to not feel/be made responsible for the harm she caused this entire movement.

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