http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=281x1000This is old, but there's recent comments from this week.
classicfilmfan (1000+ posts) Fri Aug-04-06 03:15 PM
Original message
Do any of you just not understand people?
I'm a fairly quiet person, don't speak out too often and don't really like to stir up sh*t. But for the past few years I have been having trouble with hostile people at my workplaces. These people are loud, yell at me for doing things that others do with no problems. In most cases they are much younger than me (20s, I'm in my early 40s). I feel I'm back in school with the f*cking bullies all over again!
HypnoToad (1000+ posts) Sat Aug-05-06 01:40 PM
Response to Original message
1. I have difficulties understanding people.
Body language (though improving)
I'm pretty fair with enunciation and inflection at this point\
I still take everything literally, so I often miss jokes.
I still often look at others to get a cue as to the apropos emotional response and then mimick it.
Being an Aspie does have its drawbacks.
As your situation is recent and not stemming as far back as early development, you may have some sort of depression or anxiety problem. I do not know.
I dunno. I've always been curious about something, myself.
There's copies of old medical records of mine that I have, from a cardiologist in Lincoln; I have those records because they were the subject of a lawsuit between my then-employer (a big Democrat) and an insurance company. I had nothing to do with the records or the lawsuit.
Anyway, among the notes of the physician are the words "residual autism."
I was 28 years old at the time. Now, autism of course is frequent among the deaf, but I myself had never been "diagnosed" as that. I always meant to ask the physician, just out of curiosity, if this was one of those things I just grew out of.
For whatever it's worth, I'm just trying to "relate," empathize, with the hypochondrial frog primitive above.
raccoon (1000+ posts) Mon Aug-07-06 03:00 PM
Response to Original message
2. Sounds like there's a possibility you are a target of workplace bullying. (Swedes call it workplace mobbing.) Specially since you're older than the rest of the crowd.
Document document document all this shit. And keep the documentation at your house.
Research workplace bullying on the Internet. There's a lot of info.
mainegreen (1000+ posts) Tue Aug-08-06 12:04 PM
Response to Original message
3. Usually the other way round for me.
Often I'll say something that makes perfect sense to me, and all I get is blank stares.
Your work environment sounds awful. Perhaps you have bad managers there? Can you switch jobs or to a new dept?
LWolf (1000+ posts) Sun Aug-13-06 02:12 PM
Response to Reply #3
5. I concur.
I understand other people; I don't necessarily relate, but I understand.
They don't understand me.
Nay (1000+ posts) Tue Aug-05-08 07:07 PM
Response to Reply #5
14. Same here, LWolf. I understand others only too well. It's why I'm a loner, actually. They don't understand me, that's for sure. I don't buy into much of the prevailing culture, and am still considered a FREAK for not watching every inane TV show that comes by. Yeah, I like a couple of shows (Dexter, Sopranos, X-files, Rome) but most of it is drek.
supernova (1000+ posts) Mon Aug-14-06 04:05 PM
Response to Reply #3
6. I can relate
I get a lot of blank stares and as I've grown older I've made more of an effort to explain my thinking, but it's not easy and really drains me.
As for other people, there are some social rituals I find hard, like flirting for example. I'm much more aroused by sincere discussion of the arts or politics or just metaphysical stuff.
smirkymonkey (1000+ posts) Sun Sep-24-06 08:50 PM
Response to Reply #6
8. Same here - the older I get, the less I can tolerate "small talk" and "flirting" - it always seems somehow manipulative to me. Like you aren't truly relating to each other, but engaging in some sort of "social dance" for which I have increasingly little tolerance.
I think that's my problem with most people - they don't really want to relate and most of them are perfectly happy with platitudes and shallow acquaintances (that they call "friends") - I just find that unless I am really connecting with someone, they aren't worth the effort of having to engage in discussion.
classicfilmfan (1000+ posts) Wed Aug-09-06 10:49 PM
Response to Original message
4. Update
After working a week at the new job, things are a little better. I've made friends with most of the younger people who are not bosses, and they are not cool with the guy and his bullying (to be fair, I've witnessed him doing the same thing to them since my own troubles. It ticks them off just as much). I imagine that I've also been given a reprieve since I answer the most phone calls and make this self-proclaimed two-time Bush voter look better than the others with no call center experience. I also only see him three days out of five, so as long as he mostly leaves me alone, I'm going to stay.
Skittles (1000+ posts) Sat Sep-16-06 10:51 PM
Response to Original message
7. I read people like books
grew up as a GI brat, moved constantly.....knowing people makes me want to be alone
amandae (1000+ posts) Sat Oct-07-06 03:02 PM
Response to Reply #7
10. Except for the GI brat thing, ditto.
The more I know about people, the less I want to be around them.
survivor999 (1000+ posts) Sun Nov-12-06 05:40 PM
Response to Original message
11. Yup, I know what you mean.
Luckily, many of my colleagues are introverts, nice, smart and quiet. But there are some people I interact with who are just loud idiots, as you say.
Help_I_Live_In_Idaho (248 posts) Tue May-27-08 06:58 PM
Response to Original message
12. We are evolutionary outliers perhaps? - Outliers=Outsider???
Always seems like I'm the only one (except my wife) who cares about things outside myself without a vested interest.
I read Carl Whitaker's book "Midnight Musings of a Family Therapist" and he said people have problems such as schizophrenia because there is a relationship (other than the usual genetic relationship) between this mental illness and a belief "that altruism is a valid concept." I suppose I should be schizophrenic, but so far not the case.
Perhaps we are just evolutionary outliers ????
bemildred (1000+ posts) Sun Jun-01-08 11:14 PM
Response to Original message
13. What is there to understand?
They are assholes and you look like a safe target. Like a guy that is mad at his boss so he beats up his wife.
Skittles (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-11-08 03:17 AM
Response to Original message
15. I understand them very well
that's why I don't like them
