I’m not sure if is just me but it trully does seem that the prevalence of neurodiversity in places like this is way higher than in the average population.
Got sick of people saying “oh, you’re not weird!” and still having people act like I definitely was. I accepted that I am strange compared to typical people, and I explored spaces where people give less of a fuck about what I do.
I like people who can acknowledge that “yes, this is / you are a bit strange, but that’s fine. We get it. You don’t have to mask it here.”
Social norms exhaust me. I like spaces where that is not expected of me and folks can simply be like “yeah, I see you and I get it, have a nice day” instead of being seen as being socially disruptive and grilled/silently judged for it by people who don’t actually care to really understand it.
It gets tiring trying to politely explain “I look like this because I enjoy it and like expressing myself through clothes/makeup/whatever. I’m not going to a party/play/dressed up for an event/this is not a dare/I’m not a dangerous or scary person because I look different from you.”
Alt spaces are more open to that kind of thing. “Hey, love the look, man.” “Thanks.”
EDIT: specifically referring to Lemmy, since it’s more of a chore to navigate, I think only people with more dedication will thrive & stay here.
Not to mention… a lot of furries. Lots. Lotta tech folk are furries, and furry communities have a higher population of ND folks, and they have a higher population because the furry community are generally more accepting of the less typical/outcasted folks and they’re like “yeah,we get it! Come on in, fellow oddball!”
I think that’s part of it.
God, yes!
It’s also exhausting when people say one thing, you react to it, then they get all pissy because you were apparently supposed to know they meant something else that wasn’t said.
That or they get angry and tell you not to take things so literally, as if it’s your fault they said what they said.
It’s a constant minefield full of their emotions that is somehow your responsibility to navigate without stepping on a mine. Bonus: They placed the mines there.
