Hi again Shy

Yeah.

A lot of my close friends have said that to me over the years and I guess my main problem with them is they come with a ‘freak’ label and people with disabilities such as Asperger’s Syndrome, ADHD and OCD face more discrimination than most people are willing to admit which is evident by the increase in the bullying and suicide rates for people with disabilities over the last two decades in Australia but just like most problems it is swept under the rug and repressed. Part of the reason for this is because of the way American media and American movies and TV shows portray people with disabilities to an audience by choosing to focus on the negative images and character traits instead of focusing on the positive and successful people with disabilities therefore showing young boys and girls they can have disabilities and still grow up and have happy and successful lives just like everybody else.

These negative images encourage bullying and singling out and it is much easier for somebody with a disability to try and hide it and blend in with the so-called norms but for those that lack the skills and the knowledge required to do that it is harder and they are the victims. It wasn’t that long ago media was portraying homosexuals in a very similar light and I still recall seeing guys in my final year of high school in 2001 getting beat up for even being suspected of being homosexual and getting called fags, ******s, poofters, gaylords, homos etc and it was ‘evil’ to be a homosexual and ‘good’ to be a hetro-sexual but thanks to politically correct people we are now seeing that change and books, movies and TV shows that discriminate against homosexuals and black people are being censored while all at the same time modern books, movies and TV shows that discriminate against people with disabilities are being released and it is seen as acceptable now because we are the ‘evil’ ones and they are ‘good.’

I intend to change that here for my step daughter who is autistic and others with disabilities because they should not have to grow up in a world where it’s acceptable to discriminate against people with disabilities and suicide rates are at an all-time high. My Wife does too and she was bullied a lot when she was at school for being advanced and slightly obese (as you already know) and didn’t have many friends but then when she got older and lost weight the same people that bullied her wanted to date her and be her friend and it really annoyed her and made her have trouble trusting people especially men and even to this day Hailey still has trouble trusting people but she has some really good friends now and her friends are my friends and we all hang out together. She doesn’t have any male friends though (apart from me, her uncle and some of her Dad’s old friends) for similar reasons to you and she believes males are responsible for most of the problems in society which I don't agree with but I understand why she feels that way.

I don’t let my old friends bother me anymore Shy because they weren’t good friends to begin with or they wouldn’t have abandoned me when they found out I had disabilities and I actually feel sorry for the people they are friends with now because if they have one little fault they will probably abandon them too and it is the ones that have stayed with me that mean the most to me because I know I can count on them and they can count on me. I am sorry to hear it happened to you but don’t let it make you afraid to share your depression and anxiety with everyone. I hide the fact I have disabilities from a lot of people and none of them pick up on it but I don’t hide it from people I trust and my Wife and Sister have been the two most supportive people I have had in my life along with my best friend.

As for making more male friends, have you tried meeting more guys who are already in long term relationships or married because if they love their partners that part shouldn't be a problem.