Autism is not an excuse for wrongdoing
⚠️ Content warning ⚠️ : rape, nazism, billionaire misdeeds.
Elon Musk officially came out as Autistic. Also, he is a terrible person, to the extent that people can be categorized as good or bad. Here is a list of some of his wrongdoings in no particular order: He wants to cure autism. He grew up in apartheid South Africa and his father owned an emerald mine. He runs Telsa, which has terrible working conditions in its factories. He wants to send people to Mars as indentured servants and is launching so many satellites into space that it could disrupt NASA’s ability to detect incoming asteroids. He routinely manipulates the cryptocurrency market, which is destroying the environment with the amount of energy it requires.
As the Autistic community braces for all the insensitive and bigoted news coverage that will undoubtedly result from Musk’s coming out as Autistic, we also need to reckon with the fact that some autistic people do bad things. Contrary to some statements Musk made, Autistic people are human, and all types of people do bad things. Autism should not be used as an explanation or an excuse for wrongdoing.
Autism is frequently used as a defense in court, which makes headlines when these cases have to do with rape and nazism because these are particularly heinous crimes. It is true that being autistic can increase risk factors for crime, such as poverty, unemployment, and social isolation. I actually agree with the argument many lawyers make in defense of their Autistic clients: it is harder for Autistic people to understand societal norms and this can lead to a failure to understand why certain crimes are wrong. The fact that something is harder to understand does not mean it is impossible to understand.
Society has failed these Autistic people, but society fails allistic people too. Nothing about being Autistic caused the crime and nothing about being Autistic excuses the crime. I would never suggest that a lawyer avoid doing something that is in their client’s best interest, but the argument that Autistic people are not responsible for our actions hurts the Autistic community. Autism does not inherently predispose a person to do bad things, and therefore it should not excuse unacceptable behavior.
TL;DR Autism should not be used as an explanation or an excuse for wrongdoing. Autism may put people in situations that make it more likely for them to do bad things, but nothing about being Autistic causes unethical behavior.
