Chris and self confidence -

[caffeinated_pirate]

So I was reading over some of Chris and Jackie's emails when I came across this:

"... Plus having a dacade pass and not having the Class of 2000 reunion and the regrets of how I acted at the ceremony and not receiving an encouraging award for my artistic talents are other factors that weigh me down and lack self-confdence."

Is Chris' self esteem specifically low because he never got an art award? What about all of the 'thousands of fans' his Sonichu comic had? Wouldn't that make Chris feel at least a LITTLE more confident in his art skills?

Or could it be that the self confidence issue is because of how he acted at the ceremony? Could he perhaps actually feel remorseful about that and wants a reunion to happen so badly to give everyone something else to remember him by, instead of the crying fit as last they saw him?

 

[Henry Bemis]

Or could it be that the self confidence issue is because of how he acted at the ceremony? Could he perhaps actually feel remorseful about that and wants a reunion to happen so badly to give everyone something else to remember him by, instead of the crying fit as last they saw him?

Like hot, bent sex? Then yes, that's what he wants to have a reunion for.

 

[Anchuent Christory]

Chris was brought up in an environment where the smallest achievement or simple action was rewarded, and that's an awful way to prepare a normal child for the realities of the real world, let alone an autistic one.
When it comes down to it, Borb believed he was an overachieving retard, when in reality he's an under achieving high functioning autistic.

 

[caffeinated_pirate]

Chris was brought up in an environment where the smallest achievement or simple action was rewarded, and that's an awful way to prepare a normal child for the realities of the real world, let alone an autistic one.

So if the 'fans' send him an award for his art, could that help him get over the ceremony?

 

[Anchuent Christory]

Chris was brought up in an environment where the smallest achievement or simple action was rewarded, and that's an awful way to prepare a normal child for the realities of the real world, let alone an autistic one.

So if the 'fans' send him an award for his art, could that help him get over the ceremony?

Nah, I think he's hung up on that specific event in time. The rest of us view these things as a big deal at the time, but soon realise that real life is completely different.
Chris hasn't grown in the slightest, unless you count his waistline, so that stuff's still a massive deal to him. It may as well be just a few weeks later to him for all that his mind's progressed. Again, it all comes down to that thing he lacks more than anything.... perspective.

 

[Foulmouth]

^ This is very true. School seems all important when you're there but a few years later it means nothing. Chris, being chris, still obsesses over it for some demented reason.
I think he just wants to be in a room with women who were once vaguely nice to him.

 

[Henry Bemis]

When it comes down to it, Borb believed he was an overachieving exceptional individual...

But did they really? If we're to take Chris's word for it (bear with me), his initial diagnosis was a lot more hopeless, as in never being able to read or write. And even if you're sensible and reject Chris's word for it, Bob 'n' Barb still stubbornly clung to the notion that any mental abnormality was a kiss of death.

 

[BillRiley]

Chris was brought up in an environment where the smallest achievement or simple action was rewarded, and that's an awful way to prepare a normal child for the realities of the real world, let alone an autistic one.
When it comes down to it, Borb believed he was an overachieving exceptional individual, when in reality he's an under achieving high functioning autistic.

^This. Plus, people with autism are very adverse to change. I suspect a lot of his hysterics were caused by the realization that his routine was about to drastically change. The graduation ceremony provided an event upon which he could focus his frustration, which he evidently symbolized by the creation of "Count Graduon."

 

[Lefty's Revenge]

We actually believe Chris has a lack of self confidence?

 

[CatParty]

What could he possibly be confident about

 

[Tubular Monkey]

He's been wired in a very peculiar way. It's a double edged sword. While he can take the smallest and most stupid thing and be unbelievably smug and satisfied about it, he is in constant need of validation, so confidence never ever lasts.

 

[TrippinKahlua]

Nah, if Chris had any self confidence he wouldn't have allowed himself to look as birdy as he has become. Unlike me, who's put a lot into making myself appear so hot and sexy over the past 3 years.

I mean, he's still so afraid of the infinitely high boyfriend factor and his mental block makes him so shy.

 

[BillRiley]

He's been wired in a very peculiar way. It's a double edged sword. While he can take the smallest and most stupid thing and be unbelievably smug and satisfied about it, he is in constant need of validation, so confidence never ever lasts.

^This. Chris's constant need for validation, his insatiable neediness, it's beyond anything I've ever seen. It's neediness turned up to 11.

 

[Alec Benson Leary]

Is Chris' self esteem specifically low because he never got an art award?

His self esteem is low because people aren't constantly telling him how special and perfect he is. His standard for what the world owes him is ridiculously high, so he's always disappointed.

 

[Grand Number of Pounds]

And of course he thinks people are playing kick the autistic when they don't PRAISE HIS CREATIVITY and do exactly what he wants. He has a warped view of the world and a terrible sense of entitlement.

 

[butt in trouble]

Chris' low self esteem is actually more rooted in his desire to have people pity him and pay attention to him rather any actual negative feelings towards himself.

 

[Some JERK]

it's been said best in this thread by Alec and the Tube-Monkey. Chris's self-esteem doesn't come from Chris himself. He's like a locomotive engine that runs purely on asspats. Give him some asspats and he'll smugly chug along all the way to the scene of the next wreck. But if nobody's around fuelling that fire, then he just sits and mopes in the train-yard. He does not take any personal responsibility for his life, and that definitely includes accepting responsibility for his self-image. (i don't think he's capable of understanding or realizing any of that though.)

 

[Christ-Chan]

I think Chris is shy, cowardly and, at times, borderline self-loathing. I don't think he has a lot of confidence at all.

What we perceive as confidence (his ideas that he's handsome, intelligent and creative) is really the result of Chris never questioning what Barb, gal-pals and teachers told him to make him feel better. To him, it's true because they told him so - he's gullible, not confident.

Like Alec said, what really define him is a massive amount of a sense of self-worth and entitlement - he thinks he deserves a girlfriend but he is not confident in his ability to get one by traditional means, which is why he needs the women to be introduced to him or to take the initiative when they see him in the street or lurching around at Mc Donalds.
He think he's entitled to a lot of things but he's too shy and cowardly to try and reach out to actually grab them because he knows he might well fail should he try.

 

[Francine StripeCheer]

Chris was brought up in an environment where the smallest achievement or simple action was rewarded, and that's an awful way to prepare a normal child for the realities of the real world, let alone an autistic one.

And in videogames he stills gets that world, where the PSN bestows on him endless trophies for every tiny thing he does.

 

[Hornets]

Chris has always been excessively coddled by his parents. So, when introduced to the real world, he'll freak out when he gets nothing because what he has done is like 500x worse than anything anyone else could do. Especially because of his autism, he can't handle the idea of losing.