“You’re not being bullied, it’s the way your brain perceives it. Not everyone is bullying you.” That’s what my family used to say to me all the time whenever I told them I was being bullied. And it was true that they bullied me. The teachers yelled at me and found every possible way to punish me, the kids called me names, avoided me, and called me a disgusting creep, spread rumors about me, and very few students liked me.
I’d say, though not everyone bullied me, a great deal of them did and it wasn’t just how my brain perceived it. That’s bullying to anyone, autistic or not.
This smacks of the same nonsense as when they used to tell us “You’re just being too sensitive”. It’s bullshit. You have a healthy understanding of right and wrong and they are responsible for their actions and how those actions make you feel.
Spreading rumors, calling people names etc isn’t just rude, it is bullying especially if they encourage others to bully you as well.
Yep.
It really becomes important not to value the opinions of others when you are different and outcast. Selectively, if you can manage that, but universally if you can’t.
It helps that these folks operate on a lower standard of behaviour in how they treat others. It helps to understand they do these things to push down their own insecurities and to feed their ego. You can decide not to value the opinions of those who aren’t worthy of judging you and you shouldn’t try to appease them or put your energy into trying to control how they behave.
Put energy into learning how to properly not care.