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New York, 7:35 AM
Wed Nov 25
49 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/24/09
Like whenever we see obviously young children posturing by their lonesome, when they're selling candy ("I'm not selling candy for no basketball team."), dancing and doing tricks in dirty jeans and t-shirts, or riding in a group when it's clearly school hours. We usually just roll our eyes. Perhaps we shell out a dollar, but really we don't take into consideration that it isn't safe, that they are still babies, really, and that they should be protected, and not disregarded as the "culture" of subway travel.
I know, we as adults should be asking questions of the kids, but that could be dangerous too. Perhaps ACS really needs to start working with transit, so that we stop looking at independent children as merely annoyances, entertainment, or "par for the course."
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Like someone said further downthread - it probably didn't seem so unusual to the people who were on the train for 10 minutes. And I think most people spend their time on the train reading or zoning out.
When you've got lots of people crammed in a small space, it's the only real alternative. I prefer when people ignore me on the train - it's an acknowledgment that we're involuntarily in each other's personal space and we're trying as much as possible not to intrude.
If he was sitting up napping, with headphones on, he probably looked like every other teenager on the train.
Yes, it's a very sad story and I do think the parents are having a hard time trying to figure out what to do. His mother says as much. He was diagnosed with Asperger's only a few years ago.
Were the people on the train heartless? No, probably not. Clueless? Sure.
11/24/09
No he never returned
And his fate is still unlearned,
He may ride forever
'Neath the streets of....
uh....
oh....
Fuck Boston.
11/24/09
And, he left a red bell pepper under the seat.
11/24/09
I know better than saying hello to 13 year olds I don't know in public.
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Whenever I hear about a child with Asperger's, I always hope for their parents' sake that they are of the lucky sort who "grow out of it." Not that anyone who has it ever loses it (it's far too complex and complicated an affliction to ever really shake off), but there seem to be some who are able, somehow, to learn how to adapt in some way and get on in the world, while others remain emotionally like they are at thirteen forever, sensitive and uncomfortable and completely lonely. I was about to say that I was lucky to learn how to adapt, but after reading that article I kind of want to ditch work now and spend all day on the bus by myself. Poor thoughtful kid.
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I mean, yeah, the transit cops definitely should have been on this a little earlier, but there are a lot of reasons why passengers might not have realized this was a big deal other than, "New Yorkers just don't care about each other."
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11/24/09
And yes the sensitivity necessary to make a statement like that makes me wince in identification. In a way I wish he could just be cynical and sardonic about the situation, adopt that gallows humor to survive it all, but part of me loves that there is a special breed of people who are sensitive to the peculiarites of human interaction and wants to preserve it. I hope this kid is able to find some goodness in his little world.
11/24/09
It was a long hard road, but they are doing great. They are very bright, fully mainstreamed with minimal supports now. Both are delightfully quirky and a lot of fun to be around.
I love watching the Big Bang Theory show because I see a great deal of my son in those quirky characters. I need to remind myself from time to time, that being 'average' or 'just like anyone else' are conditions that seem only to be valued in childhood. Plain vanilla people are not as valued as adults.
Sounds like you, Ampersandparde, are not a plain vanilla kind of person at all. Kudos to you.
11/24/09
How did he get food? Water?
Also, his mom must be a huge bitch if he was that afraid of coming home.
11/24/09
And he subsisted on cheap snacks that he could buy at those platform newsstands -- sadly not that different from me in my daily life.
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#submit