AS and the British sense of humour

[Canopus]

I was discussing cultural issues with someone who said that one of the most defining cultural features of a 'true Brit' is the British sense of humour. The same person then went on about how foreigners who have embraced the British sense of humour tend to be more assimilated into British society than foreigners who do not embrace the British sense of humour. He then mentioned that a small fraction of native British people fail to possess the British sense of humour and they often end up becoming marginalised as social inadequates or perceived as miserable individuals.

 

Do most British people with AS possess the British sense of humour?

[Tally]

I don't think a type of sense of humour is something that can be "embraced" or deliberately adopted by someone. You can't make yourself find something funny.

[Mumble]

Do most British people with AS possess the British sense of humour?

I think you would first have to set up a definition of the 'British sense of humour' and this would also have to be relevant to the current time.

 

A basic definition would be a sense of humour based on intelligent thought/language rather than say slapstick (there are also other types of humour, so this is very general). That doesn't mean that a British sense of humour precludes slapstick etc.

 

I personally prefer humour/jokes etc that involve a bit of thought, word play, puns etc (but still like other things sometimes). However, I have been known to struggle with some jokes (or to come up with word play/puns that are just too stretched for others to follow so I'm the only one laughing ) because they involve language not being taken literally or understanding two meanings of the same language, something which can be a struggle for some people with AS. I think one of the ways I can overcome this is that I tell/enjoy a number of jokes not in the moment but through non-instant messages (email, forums etc) so have time to process them. Additionally, my mind works through associative thinking (both very useful and very annoying as it is automatic) which seems to trigger puns and so associated jokes/humour.

 

I've never understood what 'dry' humour is supposed to be which I think is also related to a supposed British sense of humour, so if someone can explain that, I'd be grateful...

 

My mum, who I am convinced would if she could be dx'ed, have a dx of autism, does not get any jokes or humour at all. She finds humour in others' misfortune (but don't you dare laugh at something she does, even if you point out why it is funny and you're laughing at an action not at her... ), but even something as simple as a Christmas cracker joke she cannot explain why they are supposed to be funny (admittedly, many are not that funny or we've heard them before, but she actually can't see/comprehend the language use/misuse that might lead to someone else finding it funny). I find it astonishing and I don't know what it says about where I get my language-based enjoyment of humour from.

[baddad]

I don't think there's any such thing as a 'British' sense of humour. Different things make different people laugh, and one man's meat is another man's poison. I, for example, find I'm left cold by people like Dara O-###### Breen, Jimmy Carr, Phil Jupitus, Lee Evans etc, all of whom are 'British' comics, but find others absolutely hilarious. By the same token I think some American/Canadian/Aussie comics are really funny while others are absolute rubbish. What's 'British' humour - Carry On Matron and St Trinians or Stephen Fry, Peter Cook and Will Self? What's American hunour - Friends and I love Lucy or Woody Alan and Rich Hall?

For end of pier think Vaudeville. For Shelley think Frasier. For Till Death us Do Part think Archie Bunker and for Benny Hill think Rowan & Martin. For Bernard Manning think 'Dice man'. For last of the summer wine think Golden Girls etc etc etc.

 

 

L&P

 

BD

[Tally]

Well, apparently dry humour is:

Often referred to as deadpan humor, dry humor is a comedy technique that is characterized by a calm and straightforward delivery by the performer. This is in contrast to such comedy art forms as slapstick or sketch comedy, which often relies upon broad gestures, exaggerated facial expressions, or an emphasized tone or tenor in order to heighten the comic appeal of the joke or remark. Often, dry humor is associated with what some people refer to as highbrow comedy, as the style requires a degree of restraint in order to be effective. However, good dry humor usually employs words that are easily accessible to persons of just about educational level and often makes use of everyday terms as part of the content.

 

So I suppose Jack Dee might be a good example.

[chris54]

Of course a lot would depend on you first language, If its not English then the joke could get lost in translation.

 

What is it they say about the British and American, separated by a common language.

 

My mum never gets jokes, Me I see the humor in every thing, My dad always made up little joke about everyday things, turning things about to make them funny.

[bid]

I was discussing cultural issues with someone who said that one of the most defining cultural features of a 'true Brit' is the British sense of humour. The same person then went on about how foreigners who have embraced the British sense of humour tend to be more assimilated into British society than foreigners who do not embrace the British sense of humour. He then mentioned that a small fraction of native British people fail to possess the British sense of humour and they often end up becoming marginalised as social inadequates or perceived as miserable individuals.

 

Do most British people with AS possess the British sense of humour?

 

To be completely honest, I think this kind of view is out-dated and unhelpful.

 

We are all just people, a diverse and interesting bunch who need to concentrate more on what unites us (our common humanity) and to worry less about artificial categories that divide us!

 

Bid

 

[MelowMeldrew]

I don't think there's any such thing as a 'British' sense of humour. Different things make different people laugh, and one man's meat is another man's poison. I, for example, find I'm left cold by people like Dara O-###### Breen, Jimmy Carr, Phil Jupitus, Lee Evans etc, all of whom are 'British' comics, but find others absolutely hilarious. By the same token I think some American/Canadian/Aussie comics are really funny while others are absolute rubbish. What's 'British' humour - Carry On Matron and St Trinians or Stephen Fry, Peter Cook and Will Self? What's American hunour - Friends and I love Lucy or Woody Alan and Rich Hall?

For end of pier think Vaudeville. For Shelley think Frasier. For Till Death us Do Part think Archie Bunker and for Benny Hill think Rowan & Martin. For Bernard Manning think 'Dice man'. For last of the summer wine think Golden Girls etc etc etc.

 

 

L&P

 

BD

 

Au contraire ! there is definitely a particular sense of humour that is entirely British. Basically it is rooted in Irony and reducing all 'cultures' to zero ! There is no 'standing on ceremony' in that we may not appear to respect other people too, despite many attempts to make humour politically correct they have mostly failed, and that forces 'modern comics' to go with the personal 'attack' in people's failings, I don't like that aspect. But British have always had a healthy disregard for sacred cows, it would be a sad day if that changed. I don't find American sit-coms remotely humourous because the laughs are forced and pre-determined. Carry ON films were one type of Brit humour we could say bum and it can get a laugh then, say bum now they will line you up with the thought police in schools or something. I would present the Royales a typical Brit humour, very cutting very very accurate, but mostly very funny. I would argue against anyone that tries to 'multiculturalise' British humour, probably by taking the pee out of them, as British do It is still a very British idiosyncrasy,they will laugh for ages at someone breaking wind. I would also strongly disagree with your comparisons regarding Brit-American humour, the Americans do not understand the irony and directness in British jokes, till death do us part, Alf garnet he perfectly addressed racial and other bigoted views by espousing all that contributed to it. IT was banned in America ! As a footnote, autistics have issues with Humour, because many take things literally, but then, that IS the issue. I Often think visitors to our shores are always upset at some aspects of British humour because they simply do not understand it. The Brits will reduce EVERYONE to their nakedness and go from there.. Long may this continue. Brits go to the core straight away there is a directness other countries can't go with!

 

Am I british ? I can reccomend the bit on Metrosexuals....

Edited November 16, 2009 by MelowMeldrew

[baddad]

Blimey! No stereotypes there then! The Royals typical of British humour? Cutting, accurate and very funny? Well I never laughed or found it typical, so I guess I must either be autistic or Johnny Foreigner? It was very well observed, though, for certain sectors of our culture, but then so is something like Curb your enthusiasm...

The thing is, while not being exclusive to the British it is true that much of the TV programming in the seventies/eighties (and many comedians) perpetuated a style of British comedy that has now been recognised - quite rightly - as being offensive on the grounds of racism, sexism and just about every other 'ism' you can think of. The minorities being abused by this kind of humour were largely denied any opportunity of response, and if they did respond were written off - often quite aggressively - as being humourless or 'unable to take a joke'. Going back to quote the original post, those who 'embraced' this kind of humour were more 'assimilated' within British culture - i.e. the waiter in an Indian restaurant who would smile politely when being harangued by a gang of ignorant, drunken louts or the afro-carribean in the pub nicknamed 'chalky' (snigger snigger).

If that's what's meant by 'British humour' (and I'm not suggesting that's what the OP or his friend meant, but it is what I think of when I hear the words 'British humour' in the context of cultural exclusion and 'assimilation') then I'm all for the American style of 'thought policing' that largely keeps it from our screens.

Coming back to the thing about 'Good comedy'... The thing is, whenever such comparisons are made we tend to hear the same old flagship groundbreakers mentioned in comparison to the worst of any other cultures output. If you compare something as well crafted as, say, the office (or the royals, if that's what floats your boat), to something like 'Joanie loves Chaachi' it looks pretty dire, but if you then turn that around and compare something like the Simpsons (whether you like it or not, regularly voted the best comedy programme ever made in 'British' polls) to Terry and June it's equally one-sided.

 

L&P

 

BD

 

Oh PS: on the subject of autism and humour. Autism is a communication disorder and humour does have a lot to do with the communication and exchange of 'abstract' concepts. Many, but far from all, autistics are going to find that challenging. Autistic people with good language skills may actually be extremely skilled in certain areas of humour - typically those that involve puns, wordplay, spoonerisms etc - and derive huge pleasure from 'playing' with words in the way that other autistic people might enjoy 'playing' with colours, or sounds or numbers or musical notes...

This probably does have an impact on how autiestic people are perceived in the wider community. but (IMO) to a far lesser extent than many of the other behaviours they may display to which society attaches negative value judgements. Someone not getting a joke in a pub may be marginalised if they haven't learned masking skills or other social strategies. Someone hooting and flapping or even just waving their hand repeatedly in front of their eyes because they like the way it makes the ceiling light 'jump' will almost certainly find themselves marginalised, regardless of their ability to get a joke if told one...

Edited November 16, 2009 by baddad

[justine1]

I dont really know what to say about this.Apart of me wants to say it is border line racism but I also get that there is a British humour and its part of British culture.I was brought up in SA but was exposed to British comedy from a young age,my ancestry is British and I do find I enjoy British comedy more enjoyable than american comedy.I love Faulty Towers and Black Adder(esp Rowan Atkinson) More recently Dawn French and Lenny Henry.But like I say I do think it is border line racism,firstly because some of the "traditional" British acts were incridably racist,but were not seen as such at that time.Secondly there are many black and Asian Brits that are really funny but prehaps people do not see them as British Comics cause of their race,which is completely wrong cause most of their material is based on both British history and current affairs.Another thing is of course everyone is different and I dont think British humour is what it used to be it has evolved into something else.If you talk of comedy sitcoms do you really think The Royale Family and Shameless represents all British people?It may be funny but these shows are viewed all over the world.

[Sally44]

I think it is a much more fluid thing. Based around what generation you are in. What was funny to my parents is not necessarily funny to me, and what is funny to my daughter is probably not funny to me or my parents. It is the timeframe in which we grow up and quite frankly 'what is fed to us via the media ie. TV programmes'. Some comediens already mentioned I do find very funny. I find Chris Rock funny too because he comes from a totally different direction as 'African' American, and having lived in different parts of the world you do get to see the differences in humour and the different perspectives depending on where you fit in within that society.

I do think that anyone who has problems with language or social interaction is almost going to appear as if they are a 'foreigner' in this country. By that I mean that whilst living abroad I took many jokes literally much to the amusement of others. Many sayings did not make sense to me because they could not be translated into my language. Processing problems meant that sometimes I did get jokes, but minutes after it had been said, because that is how long it took me to work it out. And the thing is this. If you are in a group of people who are being funny (you are assuming this), but you are not understanding it. What do you do. Do you try to laugh at the right time and hope you get it right? Or do you keep a straight face because they don't want to 'try' to keep up the pretence of understanding. And then what does the group think of your reaction to the jokes? Or even worse, do you totally misunderstand something and laugh at the wrong time?

[MelowMeldrew]

British comedy is rooted in racism, we have always adopted a disrespectful approach to johnny foreigner. Cest la vie, the most abused adage there ever was..... the perfect opt out. Humour is subjective, but the direct, acidic, ironic approach is atypically British. If we cannot attack hypocrisy direct, we will then use humour to attack it, it's just the British tend to be less than subtle in how they go about that. I don't know about American cartoon comedy, because I cannot stand American TV programs, so long since, not watched them.... they make better films, apart from those Disney things....but their TV is pretty dire, albeit we are catching up ! I think it is a form of relief really. I thought Bernard Manning was a brilliant comedian, seeing him dump Esther Rantzen on her backside metaphorically was vintage TV, the righteous RIGHTED lol...... and she is STILL a total pain. He made jokes at black people's expense, but they were there in the audience laughing with it.... and he hired black comedians in his club too.... Sorry bad dad I see quite a few around here could make the Royale's look pretty tame, do you live in Surrey lol........... a lot was very clever, poignant, and crafted humour, perhaps you need to watch them again and avoid American TV.... allthat plastic ughhh <'>

[baddad]

British comedy is rooted in racism, we have always adopted a disrespectful approach to johnny foreigner.

 

Every country has humour based on racism - that's not British humour it's universal and predominantly relates to fear of the outsider or difference or change. Perhaps, if British humour is inherently more racist, we're just a nation of cowards!

 

No, I don't live in Surrey and I'm not ignorant of the realities of council estate housing and low-achiever sensibilities, and yes the Royals do portray a very rosey view compared to the reality of sink estates full of third/fourth/fifth generation dodgers and weavers.... but you were the one saying it was true to life, not me. I just said I didn't think it particularly funny!

 

For the record, I think there is a huge amount of humour to be found in cultural differences and the complexities of a multi-racial society. I just don't think it's the kind of humour - humour largely based in mockery and hatred - tapped into by the likes of Bernard Manning, Roy 'Chubby' Brown or Jim Davidson.

 

Anyhoo. I tried in my last post to bring the topic back to humour and autism rather than humour and racism, which I hope is what this thread is meant to be about?

 

L&P

 

BD

Edited November 16, 2009 by baddad

[MelowMeldrew]

Every country has humour based on racism - that's not British humour it's universal and predominantly relates to fear of the outsider or difference or change. Perhaps, if British humour is inherently more racist, we're just a nation of cowards!

 

No, I don't live in Surrey and I'm not ignorant of the realities of council estate housing and low-achiever sensibilities, and yes the Royals do portray a very rosey view compared to the reality of sink estates full of third/fourth/fifth generation dodgers and weavers.... but you were the one saying it was true to life, not me. I just said I didn't think it particularly funny!

 

For the record, I think there is a huge amount of humour to be found in cultural differences and the complexities of a multi-racial society. I just don't think it's the kind of humour - humour largely based in mockery and hatred - tapped into by the likes of Bernard Manning, Roy 'Chubby' Brown or Jim Davidson.

 

Anyhoo. I tried in my last post to bring the topic back to humour and autism rather than humour and racism, which I hope is what this thread is meant to be about?

 

L&P

 

BD

 

No disrespect intended BD. Mongolot Brits are inherently racist I'm afraid, I cannot relate to multiculturalism myself, I think it's a myth but.... We will all laugh at jokes in 'poor' taste, it is a reflex action, so if it is funny to that person then that person will laugh. Hard to argue with a reflex. My lad with Aspegers laughs in reverse he will find great enjoyment and will laugh if he sees others upset or crying, if people laugh a lot, he gets uptight and very frightened by it, he is very direct and will tell people he doesn't like them to their face, tact is not a strong point I'm afraid, he will spit at them if they are foolish enough to get too close to him, he needs his space, demands it, do whatever so they get the message. There isn't a bad bone in is body, I doubt he understands the issues at all or wants to. I rather fear humour and acceptances just do not fit his world as it might ours. A lot of us clearly have very different ideas of what is funny... so trying to ID what makes Autistics laugh is a doozie... I often see my lad having a great laugh to himself, but he never tells me what he finds funny...

Edited November 16, 2009 by MelowMeldrew

[baddad]

No disrespect intended BD. Mongolot Brits are inherently racist I'm afraid, I cannot relate to multiculturalism myself, I think it's a myth but....

 

I have no idea what 'Mongolot' means... the only reference I could find to it doing a quick web search was a speech given by David Cameron, where it appears to be a typo or variation of 'Monoglot' - i.e. only speaking a single language. (?) If there is another meaning my search missed and that makes my response inappropriate, please accept my apologies in advance.

Anyhoo. I only speak one language (and even that badly, some would say!) and I'm British as far as I know, but I don't feel that I am 'inherently racist', and as far as I can be I'm fairly sure that my son, who is also British, does not judge people purely on the basis of their ethnicity or skin colour either. Certainly both of us have been exposed to racist attitudes and perspectives - it would be almost impossible not to be in today's society - but I certainly don't embrace them and I've seen no evidence to suggest that my son does either. If you, MM are inherently racist, is that a part of your nature that you 'accept' or is it something you strive to overcome? As the parent of a disabled child don't you find value judgements based purely on genetic diversity totally abhorrent? I've never met your son, so couldn't possibly make a value judgement about his motivations, but certainly if he's grown up in an environment where value judgements are made about people on the basis of their skin colour etc he may well have little respect for the feelings of others for reasons that have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Aspergers. Certainly an assumption that he behaves the way he does because he has Aspergers would seem, IMO, incredibly blinkered, as the vast majority of adults with Aspergers I have met do not display such sweeping disregard for the feelings and opinions of others. Of course, when discussing Aspergers or autism the stock answer is 'every child is different' and that's true. But what is equally true, and possibly more pertinent, is that the experiences and influences the child is exposed to are also different, as are the expectations placed upon them. I do not believe any child is born inherently racist. The nature/nurture debate is certainly a big topic, but I think just about every study highlights racism as a cultural influence rather than genetic predisposition.

 

L&P

 

BD

[bid]

I would hope that anyone involved with special needs in whatever capacity would be more accepting of difference.

 

Bid

[MelowMeldrew]

I have no idea what 'Mongolot' means... the only reference I could find to it doing a quick web search was a speech given by David Cameron, where it appears to be a typo or variation of 'Monoglot' - i.e. only speaking a single language. (?) If there is another meaning my search missed and that makes my response inappropriate, please accept my apologies in advance.

Anyhoo. I only speak one language (and even that badly, some would say!) and I'm British as far as I know, but I don't feel that I am 'inherently racist', and as far as I can be I'm fairly sure that my son, who is also British, does not judge people purely on the basis of their ethnicity or skin colour either. Certainly both of us have been exposed to racist attitudes and perspectives - it would be almost impossible not to be in today's society - but I certainly don't embrace them and I've seen no evidence to suggest that my son does either. If you, MM are inherently racist, is that a part of your nature that you 'accept' or is it something you strive to overcome? As the parent of a disabled child don't you find value judgements based purely on genetic diversity totally abhorrent? I've never met your son, so couldn't possibly make a value judgement about his motivations, but certainly if he's grown up in an environment where value judgements are made about people on the basis of their skin colour etc he may well have little respect for the feelings of others for reasons that have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Aspergers. Certainly an assumption that he behaves the way he does because he has Aspergers would seem, IMO, incredibly blinkered, as the vast majority of adults with Aspergers I have met do not display such sweeping disregard for the feelings and opinions of others. Of course, when discussing Aspergers or autism the stock answer is 'every child is different' and that's true. But what is equally true, and possibly more pertinent, is that the experiences and influences the child is exposed to are also different, as are the expectations placed upon them. I do not believe any child is born inherently racist. The nature/nurture debate is certainly a big topic, but I think just about every study highlights racism as a cultural influence rather than genetic predisposition.

 

L&P

 

BD

 

My son cares not a jot what colour people are, I do find the term racism thrown about quite recklessly, people who watch too much TV I think ! I am a finalist in many ways if I don't like something I go with the feeling, so no I don't attempt to override that, I wouldn't confront, I would take the tried and well tested way of bleating cest le vie and avoid a we all do ! My son seems quite averse to 'disabled' people, ? won't mix with them, it's not my teaching I can assure you. Clearly our LA stance of putting all disabled in one place has a point, but my son hasn't seen it, and neither do I frankly. It's just not a suitable environment for him. I go on 'gut' feelings, most of us do. The human race depends on them.

 

I might thoroughly enjoy something you may take an instant dislike, we are both watching the same thing, but something tells us if it appeals or not, are you right, or am I ? It depends on if a consensus agrees with one side or another ? What if you do not care what anyone else thinks ? Society accepts that stance, a virtue even in many quarters, so we tell Autistics they must buck that trend ? while we go with it ? I think they would see through us straight away. I cannot 'educate' you to like something you don't. It's a matter of great debate you can 'educate' acceptances, I would like to think you can, but I'm pessimistic because so far I don't see it, and these boards are full of complaints many won't accept us or our children. If something upsets him, I am not then going to keep pushing the situation where it will keep doing that. I don't do it myself. A bit OTT to then suggest we might be 'racist' or suffer some other 'ist' or 'ism'... It's fair to say I have a definite mental block to people that use those, red flag top a bull really.

[justine1]

My son cares not a jot what colour people are, I do find the term racism thrown about quite recklessly, people who watch too much TV I think ! I am a finalist in many ways if I don't like something I go with the feeling, so no I don't attempt to override that, I wouldn't confront, I would take the tried and well tested way of bleating cest le vie and avoid a we all do ! My son seems quite averse to 'disabled' people, ? won't mix with them, it's not my teaching I can assure you. Clearly our LA stance of putting all disabled in one place has a point, but my son hasn't seen it, and neither do I frankly. It's just not a suitable environment for him. I go on 'gut' feelings, most of us do. The human race depends on them.

 

I might thoroughly enjoy something you may take an instant dislike, we are both watching the same thing, but something tells us if it appeals or not, are you right, or am I ? It depends on if a consensus agrees with one side or another ? What if you do not care what anyone else thinks ? Society accepts that stance, a virtue even in many quarters, so we tell Autistics they must buck that trend ? while we go with it ? I think they would see through us straight away. I cannot 'educate' you to like something you don't. It's a matter of great debate you can 'educate' acceptances, I would like to think you can, but I'm pessimistic because so far I don't see it, and these boards are full of complaints many won't accept us or our children. If something upsets him, I am not then going to keep pushing the situation where it will keep doing that. I don't do it myself. A bit OTT to then suggest we might be 'racist' or suffer some other 'ist' or 'ism'... It's fair to say I have a definite mental block to people that use those, red flag top a bull really.

WOW MelowMeldrew I think to be honest you are very misguided to think that people who use the term racism are somehow reckless,racists are the ones who are reckless,and I do not watch to much telly,my four boys are mixed race and two of them were racially abused for four months at a previous school and in fact by others in a village with a bunch of narrow minded people who have hardly left there street not to talk of exploring the world and gaining some culture!I do understand that at times people can be over the top with political correctness,but the laws on racism and the word racism is there for a reason before all that people could cause misery and pain to others and get away with it and why should they?I notice you mention Bernard Manning in an earlier post stating that although he made jokes at black peoples expense he had black people in the audience and in his clubs,this does not excuse his poor quality and abusive jokes,british people have invaded countrys and sat with other ethnic groups drinking tea and then stabbing them in the back later on,does this mean they were not racist?Of course not.There are footballers who end up being racially abused by spainish football fans,those footballers were invited to play there does it mean that they should then just accept that abuse?

[bid]

Hi MM,

 

If we want other people to be accepting of our children/ourselves, then surely we need to extend the same courtesy to them.

 

Bid

[baddad]

A bit OTT to then suggest we might be 'racist' or suffer some other 'ist' or 'ism'... It's fair to say I have a definite mental block to people that use those, red flag top a bull really.

 

 

Hi MM - sorry if you felt I was suggesting you were racist. I wasn't. I was just trying to qualify/understand your own statement that 'All British people are inherently racist' and how you responded to that given that you are (and this is an assumption, but an 'educated guess' given the insider perspective you appear to be speaking from) a British person.

I'm certainly not trying to define humour for anyone - autistic or otherwise.

I do, though, find it disconcerting that you state:

If something upsets him, I am not then going to keep pushing the situation where it will keep doing that.

because it suggests that the impact of his being upset on other people is completely irrelevant to you. I also think it's very short-sighted not to try and help re-educate someone who is distressed by specific situations/social contact not to develop coping strategies or other mechanisms to enable them to live without that distress.

 

Hope that clarifies things

 

L&P

 

BD

[Sally44]

In my travels I have found that every country is racist. It is part of the human condition to want to group yourself with the majority. I have been openly discriminated against in shops, looking for apartments. Been turned down to apartments because I was 'british'. And I did find it very hard to deal with when my first job was as a 'domestic', and in the morning I was travelling on the bus into the 'burbs' with the other 'foreign workers', whilst the indigenous population headed into the city. And that is a very general picture of how every country is. I met an Albanian woman who worked as a teacher in her country, but was working as a cleaner because that was the only work she could get.

But back to humour, I think that whatever country you are born in, if you are on the spectrum you will have some language and social communication difficulties that are going to impact on your ability to understsand such things as sayings, jokes, etc. I think in many ways someone with autism is a 'foreigner' in their own country. And I think it is similar to someone is actually is a foreigner. They may both have similar difficulties with language, cultural sayings, jokes, processing language in real time, body posture and gestures (they are different in other countries).

With hindsight, looking back on when I first moved abroad, I can honestly say that alot of my 'behaviour' if observed, could have been considered 'autistic'. And that was simply down to not understanding the language or culture sufficiently. It causes all types of behaviours, such as keeping to routines, having a fear of going somewhere new, avoiding groups of people because of lack of language, not understanding and saying/doing the wrong thing at the wrong time, not understanding cultural facial expressions, gestures and body posture etc. And frequently being misunderstood by others.

[MelowMeldrew]

Hi MM,

 

If we want other people to be accepting of our children/ourselves, then surely we need to extend the same courtesy to them.

 

Bid

 

 

Being human that is an impossibility. I think only the middle ground is up for debate. There is not one individual here who is honest, who likes everything or approves of everything, we all have our lines to draw. It's human nature, that is the point I was arguing (Badly it looks like !). I'd like to teach the world to sing, but haven't the voice for it....

[justine1]

In my travels I have found that every country is racist. It is part of the human condition to want to group yourself with the majority. I have been openly discriminated against in shops, looking for apartments. Been turned down to apartments because I was 'british'. And I did find it very hard to deal with when my first job was as a 'domestic', and in the morning I was travelling on the bus into the 'burbs' with the other 'foreign workers', whilst the indigenous population headed into the city. And that is a very general picture of how every country is. I met an Albanian woman who worked as a teacher in her country, but was working as a cleaner because that was the only work she could get.

But back to humour, I think that whatever country you are born in, if you are on the spectrum you will have some language and social communication difficulties that are going to impact on your ability to understsand such things as sayings, jokes, etc. I think in many ways someone with autism is a 'foreigner' in their own country. And I think it is similar to someone is actually is a foreigner. They may both have similar difficulties with language, cultural sayings, jokes, processing language in real time, body posture and gestures (they are different in other countries).

With hindsight, looking back on when I first moved abroad, I can honestly say that alot of my 'behaviour' if observed, could have been considered 'autistic'. And that was simply down to not understanding the language or culture sufficiently. It causes all types of behaviours, such as keeping to routines, having a fear of going somewhere new, avoiding groups of people because of lack of language, not understanding and saying/doing the wrong thing at the wrong time, not understanding cultural facial expressions, gestures and body posture etc. And frequently being misunderstood by others.

Sally44,I agree that there is racism in every country in the world,but NOT every country is racist how can you see every person in a country is racist?which is effectively what you saying!As for your experience that is not racism that is zenophobia,which again happens all over the world.Racism is to do with race ie.the colour of someones skin whereas zenophobia is the dislike of foreigners.I am white but as I was raised abroad I speak with an accent,so people here think I am stupid this is zenophobia.At least you did go back to the topic at hand which is about humour and ASD,but I think that the way in which this topic was posted(canopus)is a little racist,so I wont comment on the actual topic.

[bid]

Being human that is an impossibility. I think only the middle ground is up for debate. There is not one individual here who is honest, who likes everything or approves of everything, we all have our lines to draw. It's human nature, that is the point I was arguing (Badly it looks like !). I'd like to teach the world to sing, but haven't the voice for it....

 

Well, we all have a different approach to living our life I guess, and I'm sticking with trying to be accepting of difference.

 

Bid