Shapeshifting and autism

I have been working in the field of autism for many years. A young man I look after has difficulties with buttons. He doesn’t like buttons. He doesn’t like men with long hair or fat people. He is also afraid of rain pants. You might think he’s intolerant, but it makes sense for me to take his sensitivities into consideration, because if I didn’t take his sensitivities into consideration, everyday life with him would be much more conflictual. It therefore makes sense in certain circumstances to practise tolerance in the face of intolerance. This also applies to climate deniers, racists and neoliberals, even if we in the spectrum of severely and multiply neurotypical people have socially agreed that we have little tolerance for transgressions of our conventions due to intolerance.

Ultimately, it is not a question of whether we can or will solve the crises we are facing according to conventional standards. What matters is that we change, that we continue to develop in the crisis on different levels. That we practice tolerance, that we listen to each other and treat each other with respect. The crisis will teach us to share and do without unnecessary things. It is one thing to critically question our own wealth and consumption habits. But it is another thing to change the habits we have grown fond of together. And that’s what it’s all about. That is the challenge and the experiment in shape-shifting that lies ahead of us.