>
> A child with Asperger’s syndrome may notice that a woman in the line at
> the supermarket checkout is obese, and remark, in his or her usual tone of
> voice and volume, that the lady is fat and needs to go on a diet. The
> child’s opinion is that she should be grateful for the observation and
> advice; the likelihood that his or her mother will be embarrassed or the
> woman offended at such a rude comment is not part of the child’s thinking
> process. Other children would normally inhibit such a response, based on
> the understanding of the other person’s thoughts and feelings. Children
> and adults with Asperger’s syndrome appear to have a greater allegiance to
> honesty and the truth than to the thoughts and feelings of others.
> [From The complete guide to Aspergers by Tony Attwood]
>
When Samuel writes short context-less mails and someone (interestingly
Jambunathan) shows irritation, Carsten firmly and gently advocates
compassion considering his difficulties
Just putting forward the possibility that Jambunathan suffers from
Aspergers and be treated with the (some?) compassion
So when Jambunathan says:
- dont wear implementer hat, just wear user hat
- the table in footnote is not confusing
- etc etc,
he probably has no clue that he is hurting people's sentiments. And
scolding him for the same is similar to scolding a color-blind person for
breaking a traffic signal. The central feature of Aspergers is inability
to have a 'theory-of-mind' the sense that others have consciousness
analogous to ourselves. This comes across as ridiculous egoism ('being a
jerk') when in fact its a painful cerebral defect of being unable to put
oneself in another's shoes
Of course disabled persons should not be allowed to drive if it can be
dangerous to others/themselves.
Likewise what is decided about conduct/etiquette on this list and/or
contribution to org in the larger interest, is ok by me.
Just requesting some compassion in the decision-making
Jambunathan: Maybe you think that by violently wrenching yourself out of
the org community you can start again on a clean slate elsewhere? I would
bet the problems you are facing here are not the first such in your life
and if you dont learn from these they will hardly be the last. On the
other hand if you do learn maybe you will find that the org community is as
warm, friendly and vibrant as any you can get.
Finally a personal note: I often feel the way you do. Sitting before a
computer makes it worse. Sunshine makes it better. In particular
surya-namaskar is quite a magic potion.
Hope you can do a few before making a response
