Oh my goodness. I see it so clearly now. Having only learned of my autism last year, it is essays like this that are helping me put much into perspective.
You have a couple of awesome phrases that just blew me away:
"the fabricated nostalgia of Boomer prosperity"
- we (WASPs) did have prosperity - compared to our depression era parents, and Oregon Trail emigrant great-grandparents. But, as you've written, this is what drives the MAGA cult. Sadly, across town, a whole community of red-lined, POC were rioting and begging to be heard.
"one of our strongest desires post-diagnosis/identification is to stop masking and discover who we really are beneath all the layers of learned behaviour."
- This whole paragraph packs a punch and says much. John Mellencamp once sang, "I know there's a balance cuz I see it when I swing past." (Between a Laugh and a Tear, 1984). This has been me over the past year. Am I revealing too much? and I too anxious? Am I really a leader, teacher, change agent - or was that just a part of my mask.
I'm pretty sure unmasking is more exhausting than masking - because much of the masking was automatic, and I had my scripts. And If all else fails, I'll just resort to narcissistic jabber (aka, baffle em with bullshit).
Once again - thanks for a great essay. I suppose next you're going to tell me that Risky Business is about neurodivergence? Or Dances with Wolves?
Oh my goodness. I see it so clearly now. Having only learned of my autism last year, it is essays like this that are helping me put much into perspective.
You have a couple of awesome phrases that just blew me away:
"the fabricated nostalgia of Boomer prosperity"
- we (WASPs) did have prosperity - compared to our depression era parents, and Oregon Trail emigrant great-grandparents. But, as you've written, this is what drives the MAGA cult. Sadly, across town, a whole community of red-lined, POC were rioting and begging to be heard.
"one of our strongest desires post-diagnosis/identification is to stop masking and discover who we really are beneath all the layers of learned behaviour."
- This whole paragraph packs a punch and says much. John Mellencamp once sang, "I know there's a balance cuz I see it when I swing past." (Between a Laugh and a Tear, 1984). This has been me over the past year. Am I revealing too much? and I too anxious? Am I really a leader, teacher, change agent - or was that just a part of my mask.
I'm pretty sure unmasking is more exhausting than masking - because much of the masking was automatic, and I had my scripts. And If all else fails, I'll just resort to narcissistic jabber (aka, baffle em with bullshit).
Once again - thanks for a great essay. I suppose next you're going to tell me that Risky Business is about neurodivergence? Or Dances with Wolves?
Excellent. Thank you.
I'm going to have to read this a few times to absorb it all thoroughly, Thank you for this!
Absolutely love this!
This is so great and I'm pretty sure you'd like my own work lol.