I’m sorry this woman’s brother was murdered but what the fuck. Who thought creating an AI video of a dead guy to be played in court was a good idea??

I’m autistic for reference. It’s a thing for people to “become more autistic” after their diagnosis. There are a bunch of different reasons for this but I think a lot of it is feeling like you don’t have to mask anymore, which is great, but there’s a period of not really knowing who you are or how you want to present yourself anymore. Most of us eventually find a balance between our true selves and our masked selves. Autistic or not there are things we all need to do to be a part of a functioning society and we can’t just do, act, or say whatever we want.

I don’t know how you should handle your friend but they’re obviously going through some sort of identity crisis. You said yourself you think the diagnosis is accurate so it’s not like they’re making things up. I’m sure they’ll figure things it out in time. You’re allowed to have your own needs and boundaries though so do what you need to do while they figure it out. Maybe just make sure they understand you’re not abandoning them.

Belive it or not, crossing the border for a better life is different than selling drugs or prostitution.

The autistic growth experience isn’t pleasant. We’ve all experienced feeling weird, alone, and cut off from whatever it is that makes other people social. We’ve known rejection our entire lives. We’ve hated ourselves for being different, others for not accepting, cried from loneliness, fallen into pits of depression sometimes lasting days, sometimes years. It’s unfair that we have to put so much more energy into learning stuff that seems to come naturally to everyone else while battling crippling anxiety, depression, and other emotional handicaps but I fully believe it’s possible.

In my experience the people who have the ability to step away from everything when they need to are the ones that end up being able to handle it the best. Autistic burnout is real and it will stunt any kind of growth. The only way to prevent it is by listening to your body when it says you need a break. Sleep if you need to sleep. Self isolate if you need the space. When you feel better get out there and work on expanding your comfort zone again. We all have goals. You want to expand your friend group. I’d like to spend more time out of the house. Putting ourselves out there requires a lot of energy but it’s worth it.

On a side note I know not everyone has the ability or space to step away and recharge and that’s heartbreaking to me because I truly believe that’s the big difference between a functioning and non functioning nerodivergent.

I belive Canada just made it super easy for anyone who has a Canadian ancestor to get citizenship, even multiple generations ago. Might check your family tree.

Don’t lose hope. Chipotle has reported a decrease in traffic multiple times over the last year or so. Right now their stock is sitting at half of what it was in 2024. Antidotally, I hear a lot more criticism than support in my circles and I have no plans to ever eat there again.

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I was young and dumb and had just finished gaslighting myself into thinking that I was being dramatic. It never crossed my mind.

I get your point but this lady isn’t a random influencer. She has been diligently spreading awareness on a lot of fucked up things in the US for several years now and has a decent following. She’s doing what she can.

I was young and had just moved to a decent sized midwest city by myself. I didn’t know anyone so spent a lot of my time exploring by myself. There was a large park in a quiet area of town where it wasn’t unusual to be the only person around. I was sitting at the end of a very large rose garden when I noticed a tall skinny guy in a dirty wife beater and jeans standing on the outside of the garden with his dog. Something big like a Rottweiler or pitbull I don’t remember exactly. I just remember being super freaked out because he was just standing there looking directly at me.

I got up and started walking back to my car but he started walking parallel to me matching my pace. When I walked faster he did too. I got my phone and keys out and just kept walking as confidently as I could. I was parked a couple minutes away and over time his pace did slow slightly as mine got faster but I knew he was still behind me. I had a habit of unlocking my car several times with the keyfob because the car beep was satisfying. After I did so the white cargo type van parked next to me unlocked and beeped the exact same amount of times mine did.

At this point I as terrified. I backed out and raced out of the park without even looking behind me. I needed to pick up something from one of the neighborhood Walmarts on the way home so I stopped there and headed inside to calm down. The sun was still out and I’m a guy. I was young, short and slender but I still felt like that somehow protected me. I convinced myself I was being crazy and that guy just happened to be leaving the park when I did. I left the store and started walking to my car when I saw him. The white van was parked directly next to my car and he stood there at the back watching me. No dog this time. All I remember thinking is I had to get into my car because it was the only place I had any leverage. I slow motion got in, backed out, and headed back into a neighborhood where I knew I could zig zag my way around different blocks to try to lose him. I spent 10 minutes looking over my shoulder making random turns before I headed back to my apartment.

Never saw him again and to this day I still feel like I’m in a bit of denial about the whole thing. There were plenty of other cars in the parking lot. It was early evening. If he was trying to kidnap me it was a stupid place to do so. Perhaps he saw how scared I was at the park and just wanted to mess with me. Whatever the case I’ve never been so scared for my own life.

I seem to chronically date in the former category.

I always assumed the answer was as soon as you moved there? Just moved to New York? You’re a New Yorker now. Just moved to Texas? You’re a Texan now.

I’m a preachers kid. By 25 I was a full atheist. A decade later I still am. I will have nothing to do with religious people. I’ve learned those people can’t be saved.

Jesus Christ! AOC mentioned millennials are becoming a dominant part of the voter base in this one comment! Even though this is true, she’s an idiot for bringing it up! The million and one times she’s chastised billionaires mean nothing now!

Right because everyone only works out of enjoyment.

Very well said. I’d love to know what actions non Americans have taken other than pound out quickly written accusations on their keyboards. Could even argue some of them have a greater potential influence than some of us do.

And now you know the rest of the story.

Yeah came here to say this. No one in my circles talks about the death of our troops it’s a tragedy. Just another statistic we throw around when talking about how incompetent our government is.

I’m also someone who can’t float so swimming is exhausting for me. If I ever have to swim to save my life I’m pretty confident I would die. I stay away from water.

Someone holding off a hord of children determined to violate all sense of privacy. You must have had a wonderful school restroom experience. Some of us are scarred for life.