The Latest Craze · Oct 10, 03:00 PM

On October 6, The Simon — an online “forum for sophisticated political and media commentary,” whose editors suggest that their content is free of “glibness and cute sarcasm” — published an article by Juliet Eastland, Grand Old Problem: Biology, Boorishness and Bush. The article bears the provocative subtitle,

Does Bush have Asperger Syndrome? Has his substance abuse returned?

Eastland begins her article with a laudable expression of concern about linguistic atrocities committed by well-known Republicans, and notes that,

in the past few months, the party seems to have been swept by a particularly virulent outbreak of foot-in-mouth disease… recent remarks have been so inappropriate, so offensive, so oblivious of audience, that they transcend callousness.

She then, regrettably, wades into the same murky waters most recently churned by the more vicious Mikita Brottman, demonstrating that foot-in-mouth disease can be contagious:

Bush in particular has always found effective communication challenging. Is it possible that his difficulty has neurobiological roots? Asperger Syndrome, for example, could explain some of his interpersonal deficits. Individuals afflicted with AS possess normal intelligence but have “marked deficiencies in social skills�? according to Online Asperger Syndrome Information & Support. AS sufferers “may be preoccupied with a particular subject of interest�? [four letters: I-R-A-Q] and may “perceive the world very differently�? than you and I [“Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job�?]. While language development “seems, on the surface, normal, individuals with AS often have deficits in pragmatics and prosody�? (oh, lord, don’t get me started) and can be “extremely literal and have difficulty using language in a social context.�? Experts at Worcester Polytechnic Institute note, “adults with Asperger’s have trouble with empathy and modulation of social interaction.�?

To her credit, Eastland moves on quickly to a more historically documentable realm of Presidential pathology — that is, substance abuse. She acknowledges the possibility that she might be mistaken in her diagnoses, and closes with the sound-bite-worthy suggestion that Mr. Bush’s deepest affliction is an “affliction of the soul.”

Here’s what I wrote to the editors in reply:

Juliet Eastland’s article, Grand Old Problem: Biology, Boorishness and Bush can hardly be categorized as “sophisticated political commentary” lacking in “glibness and cute sarcasm.” In fact, the article indicates that its author has joined the ever-growing ranks of intellectual fashion victims who, upon reading one or two newspaper articles about Asperger Syndrome, feel moved to offer an AS diagnosis to anyone they despise. W’s life story provides enough evidence of verifiable pathology to give any amateur psychoanalyst plenty of material for thoughtful consideration; Ms. Eastland need venture no further than the subject of addiction to gain insight into his attitudes and policies. At least she acknowledges the possibility that her “medical suppositions may be inaccurate.” Indeed they are, and they also display an insensitivity to the challenges faced by those citizens who really do qualify for an AS diagnosis, who have a hard enough time of it without having to endure the incessant use of their disability label as a political insult. It’s a cheap shot, it’s been done before, and it’s too bad that Ms. Eastland had to do it again.
See my articles, Autism as Metaphor and Insult and Autopsy of a Violent Diagnosis for more discussion of this unfortunate trend.

Comments


  1. This reminds me on Norm Ledgin, author of “Diagnosing Jefferson” and “Asperger’s and Self-Esteem: Insight and Hope through Famous Role Models”. He is not a professional, but father of an AS sun, and writes with a positive notion of Asperger. He argues that Thomas Jefferson was quite what today might be labeld autistic. — Tunnelblick    Oct 11, 05:52 AM    #

  2. She admits she might be wrong diagnosis wise, but she’s going to do it anyway – how did our Anne put it -Where’s the love?

    We seem to be going through an epidemic of facile thinking.

    Since the Chronicle hasn’t issued a retraction or an apology, I’ve written a small piece for the next sceptic’s circle starring Brottman as one of the termites in the academy walls. — Alyric    Oct 11, 07:41 PM    #

  3. Just read “Letters to Simonâ€? and there you are – the headlines and there are two other pieces as well. Chronicle, take note! — Alyric    Oct 11, 07:48 PM    #

  4. Is this not exactly upside down and backwards? I thought Al Gore was the the guy with the Aspie traits; awkward in public social situations, seemed insincere when being honest, took advice from people on how to behave in public that made him look even worse, came across better in writing than in speech, etc. etc.

    Whereas, W. was reputedly the maximally sociable drunken fighter-pilot party guy.

    Disclosure: I voted for W. twice, as the lesser evil. Had to really grit my teeth to do it the second time, though — Justthisguy    Oct 13, 12:15 AM    #

  5. K.S. – Thank you for the letters to the editors that you write so eloquently to explain, educate and defend. “Intellectual fashion victims� ... ain’t that the truth! Did you see that you were quoted in this article today ::
    http://www.wweek.com/story.php?story=6822 — hollywoodjaded    Oct 13, 12:28 AM    #

  6. Thanks for visiting, y’all.

    Tunnelblick, I’m looking forward to reading Ledgin’s book someday. In my eyes, the difference between Ledgin and the author of the article in The Simon is that Ledgin has a good deal of knowledge about autism, and appears to have thoughtfully considered Jefferson’s personal characteristics before coming to his conclusions, whereas Eastland admittedly has only a superficial acquaintance with autism and AS, yet went ahead and offered a diagnosis-as-put-down.

    Al, I just read your great blog post about the Brottman article; thanks for the mention. I’m hoping to see some responses in the next edition of the Chronicle. I know they received many. I got a kick out of seeing The Simon’s front page and the two great letters they published in addition to mine.

    Justthisguy, I think I remember hearing somebody somewhere speculate about Gore and AS; I’ll have to dig around for that one.

    And hollywoodjaded, thanks so much. That phrase crept into my brain as I was watching TV one evening, then it disappeared for a while, and reappeared at just the right moment. Yes, I did see the Willamette Week article. For the most part, I thought it was very well done; I’ve been considering writing a new blog entry about it soon. — Kathleen Seidel    Oct 13, 06:26 PM    #

  7. Well said. Very well said.

    It seems that there are those who like to use an diagnosis as a tool to denigrate someone, while not realizing that it denigrates those afflicted with that diagnosis.

    I see this continually in the media’s use of Attention Deficit Disorder, and the medications used to treat it. It has been a sore spot for me for years. — TheProbe    Oct 13, 07:44 PM    #

  8. Funny you should mention that, TheProbe. When I searched The Simon site for the term “disabilities,� I came upon an article, Phil Jackson Returns to the Lakers: Smart Move or Terrible Idea? that included this cute little passage:

    “All those reasons for rehiring Jackson are just gravy when you consider one, undisputed fact: Phil Jackson has nine rings. Let me state it again, Phil Jackson has nine rings. One more time for those with learning disabilities: PHIL JACKSON HAS NINE RINGS!�

    It takes a little more work than that to really be clever. Maybe I’m humor impaired, but that bugs me almost as much as it bugs me whenever Jon Stewart uses the word “retardâ€? as an insult on his show. — Kathleen Seidel    Oct 15, 06:07 PM    #

  9. I no longer watch “The Daily Show” for precisely that reason. — hollywoodjaded    Oct 17, 01:25 PM    #

  10. I paid a visit to The Simon this afternoon to see whether they’d published any more responses to Grand Old Problem: Biology, Boorishness & Bush in addition to the three letters published on October 10. I found one more letter, and the following apology from Juliet Eastland published in their October 18 edition:
    I would like to apologize to anyone I have offended. I had no idea that there was an “ever-growing� cadre of people offering an Asperger’s diagnosis, or even that the disorder was that well known. My experience with the disorder stems from my friend who was just diagnosed with AS, and from a friend who works with kids with AS. The possibility of Bush suffering from AS suggested itself to me after talking with these friends. I in no way intended to demean or insult people with the diagnosis, nor did I—as Allen points out—include the fact that people with AS have, unlike Bush, extraordinary strengths.

    Thanks to Juliet Eastland for this pleasant surprise. As they say, “you learn something new every day.�

    It’s too bad Mikita Brottman lacks the courage and humility to make a similar apology; no doubt the steaming pile of righteously outraged emails looms much larger in her inbox than in Ms. Eastland’s. — Kathleen Seidel    Nov 6, 06:42 PM    #

  11. I just stumbled upon this page about the clown journalist who wondered if President Bush is an aspie, and read it with wry amusement. I myself am either a mild Aspie or a bordering-on-Aspie neurotypical (I rate a 36 on Baron-Cohen’s AQ scale and have been aware of “mind-blindness” all my life) — which did not stop me from becoming a senior academic in the sciences. In fact, I can think of a baker’s dozen colleagues like myself in just my immediate academic environs.

    All of them/us have two traits in common: (a) they’re hopelessly incompetent at “reading” people; (b) they’re articulate beyond what is typically seen among scientists, even if this articulateness sometimes expresses itself in idiosyncratic ways. In both respects, the diametral OPPOSITE of President Bush, in other words.

    The very idea that Dubya would be “one of us” is so laughable that it hurts. By all accounts, Bush 43’s strongest trait is his ability to empathize with people and “read” them, while it is probably safe to say he did not speak like a little professor when he was a child ;-) I emphatically do not think he is “stupid”: unlike many professional wordsmiths, I know better than to mistake articulateness (or lack thereof) for intelligence (or its opposite).

    In fact, especially in this hyper-mediatized age, I am extremely doubtful that any Aspie would be able to have a career in what the Gipper called “the world’s second oldest profession” (politics) or what I might call “acting on a different stage”.

    — Aspie or just geek    Apr 11, 09:39 AM    #

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