Am I the only one that gets really bothered by those posts making fun of Thomas Jefferson that basically say stuff like "he's socially awkward and dresses funny haha what a loser" because I see those as his undiagnosed autistic traits and it feels no different from modern-day cringe culture

i have been thinking about this question for like two days and i just now got a chance to answer, sorry (im on vacation in florida, currently answering from an amusement park BWKWBWJ)

but yeah, i think you’re right. i think a lot of jefferson’s eccentrics come from undiagnosed autism. the contemporary outlook on him seems at worst curious and at best seeing it as results of his genius. however now, and i have been guilty of this myself, but people tend to mock figures such as jefferson bc they were bad people, even though they’re making fun of something that is actually undiagnosed autism.

i, as an autistic, know that there are many things that we do that are considered weird or stupid, and with some we agree. like for example, i struggle with speech, and will sometimes combine different parts of words when im talking too fast and it makes a funny new word. i don’t mind people joking about that. on the other hand, i do things like excited stimming that is just genuine expression of emotion, and it makes me feel shitty when people make fun of that.

so when it comes to historical figures, we need to be conscious that we’re not mocking them for things that modern people struggle with or have in common, and that we could be perpetuating damaging stereotypes or misconceptions about marginalized groups.

im really glad you brought this up bc i do think jefferson is a good example of this. you don’t have to mock or disrespect a bad person, but you especially shouldn’t if you are making fun of things living people might have in common with them.

there’s a lot of nuance when it comes to just talking about historical figures, but basically it comes down to: call out the terrible things they did without being terrible yourself. just don’t be a dick, and i think making fun of disabled people is a pretty dick move.

thanks a lot for this ask, it really got me thinking. love ya <33