I don& #39;t usually do Threads, but here& #39;s one:

I often think about a "team building" exercise I once participated in. The group was asked to go stand on opposite sides of the room depending on whether they were a cat person or a dog person. I stood in the middle of the room...

and said I liked both equally so I couldn& #39;t in all honesty choose one side or the other. Everyone got so irritated with me. They wanted to just get on with things so I complied. But I& #39;ve often wondered why it was so important that we sort ourselves into arbitrary groups?...

I was quite content to stand by myself in the middle. I wasn& #39;t really hurting anyone by doing so if they had just accepted it. Why can& #39;t we allow people to be true to themselves if they aren& #39;t actively harming others? If you have someone in your life that you view as quirky...

or different, do you embrace that about them? Or does it make you too uncomfortable? Think about how it makes someone feel to be constantly told they don& #39;t fit in or aren& #39;t behaving correctly. And maybe give people the space and the respect they need to be themselves...

Older and wiser, nowadays, I would stand my ground and refuse to conform. It may sound silly. It was just an exercise. But these things have power. They say "we belong" and "you don& #39;t". Just something to think about. #ActuallyAutistic #BeKind