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Stallman himself said he wasn’t autistic[1], so this is really a case of his fans inventing a diagnosis to protect someone who doesn’t deserve it, smearing mill

Stallman himself said he wasn’t autistic[1], so this is really a case of his fans inventing a diagnosis to protect someone who doesn’t deserve it, smearing millions of innocent people in the process. It’s really indefensible. And one of the most frustrating things about bullshit like “RMS can’t help himself because of his autism” is that bullshit never goes away no matter how definitively it is debunked. I also never suggested that if he did have autism that somehow I would be any more sympathetic. What I am frustrated with is ignorant commenters on Hacker News deciding it’s psychologically easier for them to invent lies and insult people with autism than it is to have an honest reckoning with a hero’s ugly legacy. [1] https://www.computerworld.com/article/2551458/asperger-s-oxymoron.html https://www.computerworld.com/article/2551458/asperger-s-oxy... > "During a 2000 profile for the Toronto Star, Stallman described himself to an interviewer as 'borderline autistic,' a description that goes a long way toward explaining a lifelong tendency toward social and emotional isolation and the equally lifelong effort to overcome it," Williams wrote. > When I cited that excerpt from the book during the interview, Stallman said that assessment was "exaggerated." > "I wonder about it, but that's as far as it goes," he said. "Now, it's clear I do not have [Asperger's] -- I don't have most of the characteristics of that. For instance, one of those characteristics is having trouble with rhythm. I love the most complicated, fascinating rhythms." But Stallman did acknowledge that he has "a few of the characteristics" and that he "might have what some people call a 'shadow' version of it."

subjectsigma 6y ago
Well, that is pretty damning. If he says he's not autistic then people should stop saying he is. I don't think anyone here is trying to insult others with autism, though.
- nicklecompte 6y ago
  They might not be trying to insult people with autism but they certainly succeeded. And “it wasn’t malice, it was reckless indifference and dishonesty” isn’t a good defense.
adolph 6y ago
"For instance, one of those characteristics is having trouble with rhythm. I love the most complicated, fascinating rhythms." Somehow I can't shake the feeling that his example supporting his confident self-diagnosis paradoxically undercuts it instead.
seba_dos1 6y ago
It's worth noting that we went a long way when it comes to diagnosing autism/ASD/ADD since 2000 or even 2008 and we know that lots of neurodiversive people remained undiagnosed because of mismatching characteristics (especially among young girls). Also, Stallman suffers from hyperacusis, which is clearly described in "Free as in Freedom". Setting a diagnosis is a job for a specialist, but his acknowledgement of "a few of the characteristics" may actually be a much stronger hint than you believe (or even he does, especially if the main example he gives is the one about rhythm :P).
skissane 6y ago
> For instance, one of those characteristics is having trouble with rhythm. I love the most complicated, fascinating rhythms One can have no "trouble with rhythm" and yet meet the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for ASD; one can have immense "trouble with rhythm" and yet not meet those criteria – that's because "trouble with rhythm" is not part of the diagnostic criteria, indeed if you read the DSM-5 section on ASD it never even discusses that topic, "trouble with rhythm" simply isn't part of the DSM-5 definition of ASD. At best, it might be seen as an "associated non-diagnostic symptom", something which may occur in some people with ASD (possibly even at a higher rate than in people without ASD); but it is simply a mistake to reason "person X doesn't have symptom Y hence X cannot have ASD" when Y is not a diagnostic symptom. I don't know whether Stallman has ASD or not, but his conclusion that he doesn't seems to be based on incorrect information. Given that, I don't think we should put much weight on it.

subjectsigma 6y ago

Well, that is pretty damning. If he says he's not autistic then people should stop saying he is. I don't think anyone here is trying to insult others with autism, though.

nicklecompte 6y ago
They might not be trying to insult people with autism but they certainly succeeded. And “it wasn’t malice, it was reckless indifference and dishonesty” isn’t a good defense.

adolph 6y ago

"For instance, one of those characteristics is having trouble with rhythm. I love the most complicated, fascinating rhythms." Somehow I can't shake the feeling that his example supporting his confident self-diagnosis paradoxically undercuts it instead.

seba_dos1 6y ago

It's worth noting that we went a long way when it comes to diagnosing autism/ASD/ADD since 2000 or even 2008 and we know that lots of neurodiversive people remained undiagnosed because of mismatching characteristics (especially among young girls). Also, Stallman suffers from hyperacusis, which is clearly described in "Free as in Freedom". Setting a diagnosis is a job for a specialist, but his acknowledgement of "a few of the characteristics" may actually be a much stronger hint than you believe (or even he does, especially if the main example he gives is the one about rhythm :P).

skissane 6y ago

> For instance, one of those characteristics is having trouble with rhythm. I love the most complicated, fascinating rhythms One can have no "trouble with rhythm" and yet meet the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for ASD; one can have immense "trouble with rhythm" and yet not meet those criteria – that's because "trouble with rhythm" is not part of the diagnostic criteria, indeed if you read the DSM-5 section on ASD it never even discusses that topic, "trouble with rhythm" simply isn't part of the DSM-5 definition of ASD. At best, it might be seen as an "associated non-diagnostic symptom", something which may occur in some people with ASD (possibly even at a higher rate than in people without ASD); but it is simply a mistake to reason "person X doesn't have symptom Y hence X cannot have ASD" when Y is not a diagnostic symptom. I don't know whether Stallman has ASD or not, but his conclusion that he doesn't seems to be based on incorrect information. Given that, I don't think we should put much weight on it.