Brutally Honest Aspie: What I Have Been Doing And Dealing With The Haters And My Future

By Nathan Young on May 17, 2023

In this post I wanted to talk about some big things that have happened with me in the past few months. I have a lot of critics out there, and a lot of people who do not like me. I always say this to people, there are three reasons why the majority of people do not like me. One, is my disability. Two, is my weight. And three, is my political viewpoints.

For the few caring people out there, who actually likes what I do. They have told me, the majority of people sees me as vulnerable, and they take advantage of me because of that. And they are right, I am public with my disability, which is autism spectrum disorder. And for most people out there, they see me as a weak person, and they bullied me because of this.

What I do online with Geek Alabama, and my social media work, and my photography / videography work. This is my creative achievements. Autistic people are known to be very creative people, and I show off my creativity with photos, videos, writing, drawings, podcasts, and social media. I am very creative, and this makes the majority of people not happy with me. It seems like many people out there hate creative people, and I wonder why?

So, what has been going on with me? For starters, I got to appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. That was a fun thing to do, and I loved seeing myself on TV again.

During the last Christmas season, I took numerous photos, I recorded lots of video, and even did a Christmas themed countdown podcast that was popular. One of my favorite seasons of the year is Christmas, and I really show off my creativity during the Christmas season.

Here in East Alabama, we had a massive train wreck occur. And I went out to take photos and video of the wreck. My photos and video got featured on media all around the world. While other media outlets here in East Alabama barely covered it. I often tell people, that what I do on Geek Alabama, and on social media, often beats out all the local media outlets here in East Alabama, and I don’t get paid for it!

Also, I got to speak at a great event in Birmingham called WordCamp Birmingham. I had a packed room listening to my speech, and I gave one great speech about growing your online website. Too bad I barely heard from anyone since that event. As you can see, I do a lot of great work, and I do this work while on Social Security disability. Yeah that’s right, because no one wants to hire me full-time.

The local media here in East Alabama do not like me, and I accept that as a major badge of honor. And for the few media outlets here in East Alabama who have contacted me, most wanted me to do something for no pay, or for so little pay its not worth it. For example, driving nearly 80 miles round trip one night to help cover a high school football game, for only $35. That does not fully cover the gas for the vehicle or eating out for dinner, it’s not worth it.

It’s like having a big metal award around your neck celebrating this fact. I write up numerous articles, I take a lot of pictures, I do videos about events and news, I record podcasts such as this one that you’re listening to right now. And overall, I am a very talented media person who has autism.

And this scares a lot of people, and I don’t get it. There are a lot of people out there who are afraid of people with autism or other disabilities. Why is that? The unemployment rate for people with autism is almost at 80%. The majority of people with autism and other disabilities do not have a job. I am lucky to have a small part-time job on the side, but many people who have autism and other disabilities don’t. People with autism like myself have to work twice as hard for half the result.

I spend weekends looking for other employment opportunities, and then I apply, and never hear back from other people again. Again, I am very public when my disability online. All my social media platforms tell you that I am autistic. And I’m never going to take that off. Being autistic is my identity, it’s the reason why I’m very creative, it’s the reason why I am a deep and creative thinker.

I’ve had to block many people on social media and online. I’ve had to buy a camera that is right now inside my living room overlooking the room, just in case someone breaks in and harms me. Yeah I have had one or two people threaten to visit my house online. I have had numerous people bully me and threaten to harm me, because of my disability, my weight, or my political viewpoints.

All these threats do not stop me from what I do best. But, I cannot continue to do my creative work, and also not earn any income from it either. While also watching my back to make sure nobody will harm me.

I currently live in a house, that is over 100 years old, that has structural issues including termite damage, where someone says they we’re surprised the house has not been condemned yet by the city. I have a very old car that could go out any day now. I am needing dental work that I cannot afford right now, and my doctor has said they can’t do much with me because I am on Medicare.

I have had so many people either ignore me, bully me, threaten me, or take advantage of me. So I am wondering what might happen next? And I know what might have to happen here, it’s becoming more likely that I will have to move somewhere else from where I live at now, and that might include being homeless and living on the streets for a while. Its the last resort to be homeless and live on the streets. I guess the only good thing is since it’s summer, I won’t freeze to death outside.

I see what is happening in red state America, where Republicans and conservatives are becoming increasingly hostile to anyone with a disability. Just like how they are attacking LGBTQ people right now, they are going to go after disabled people next. I am not going to stay around here and find out when red states pass laws to criminalize people with disabilities, because that is coming.

I find conservatives, and the majority of them, are afraid of disabled people, are scared of disabled people, hate disabled people, and wish disabled people were all locked away in mental health facilities. Trust me, I have been inside a mental health facility, and I know of other people with disabilities who have met the same fate, and it’s nothing you want to experience. Being electrically shocked to correct a behavior, or being locked away in a padded quiet room is not acceptable.

So, I am looking at blue state. States like Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Colorado, and certain other blue states. Because I pay attention to see what is happening with state legislatures all around the country, and in blue states, they are passing some incredibly smart laws right now. And I won’t have to worry about my future living with an disability in a blue state.

It sucks to say this, because over the years, I have seen the attitudes from many people either in person or online. And the majority of people who are conservatives or call themselves Christians, have this hateful attitude toward disabled people. Just like recently when I criticized a local so-called Christian disability organization for inviting Tucker Carlson to speak at their event, I got a lot of hate from a lot of people. I get a lot of social media messages and emails from people on a daily basis, and all I can pretty much do is laugh and shake my head at the bad comments.

So, this is likely where it’s heading, I can’t stay on disability forever, and since so many people in the area where I live at don’t like me, I am considering a move. I can’t keep having some people keep saying to me that they are hoping something will come up, I can’t keep hoping forever, something has got to happen. And I also can’t continue to live a life of loneliness. I have no close friends where I live at now. And being lonely can kill someone.

I just want people to start respecting and honoring anyone with an disability, who is also different. It’s not that hard.