Piece #88 - Android or Asperger

I'll never forget Star Trek: The Next Generation when they had a new kind of character called Data. Data was an android and that created a lot of controversy among the crew because there has never been an android officer before. On the show, the crew clearly sees Data as an outcast because he is unlike any other life form they're ever had to deal with. In many cases, the crew gets in to situations where they just don't know how to handle the android. In some ways, crew members have a tendency not to even try to know or understand how Data ticks. Data so desperately tries to understand how humans work; in their emotions, rational thinking and unpredictability. We know that Data was an android, but I often wonder if he were human with autism...would there be any real difference between the two.

Of course there are other movies that feature androids, but Star Trek seems to come first to my mind because Data seemed to really strive to try to be human; almost like Pinocchio. Remember Alien? Ripley was never fond of androids for good reason, but you'll have to see the movies if you don't know why I referenced the Alien movies. The androids from Aliens never seemed to try to make that real effort to be human except for one...Winona Ryder's character. In her mind, I don't believe she even considered herself to be an android. Again, Ryder's character was shunned by her fellow crew members and seen as an outcast.

We have to remember that those of us who have Asperger's never really wanted special treatment because if we did then that would set us apart from the rest of the 'regular' people. I know there have been countless stories of people with Asperger's being teased all the time because of our condition, so trying to stand out is something we've tried to avoid. I guess for me, when I found out that I had Asperger's I was actually relieved because I finally had an answer to why I was acting the way I did. The idea of me being like an android is almost insulting. I remember the teasing as kids would mimic a robot to 'act' like me. It's a good thing the kids didn't know I was Rosie the Robot (The Jetson’s) one year for Halloween!

So...Android or Asperger? To the untrained eye it seems like it doesn't matter to the 'regular' folks, but to us it means everything. We are humans, always have, always will; and we try to live our life the best way we know how. Nobody is perfect (except Jesus) and we all make mistakes. It just disappoints me that people can't get past the disorder, if they find out. I just hope that people can get a better understanding of differences between the two.

Song of Inspiration [Check it out on iTunes or Android!]:

Song: "To Know That You’re Alive"

Artist: Kutless

Album: To Know That You’re Alive

Here's the video to the selected song:

This is Data with his 'brother' Lore.