Do people have unrealistic expectations of Chris? -

[Targaryen]

Not talking about people in his life, where the opposite is true... but yeah, to make one thing clear I think Chris is a jerk in ways that have nothing to do with his autism or any other mental health condition going off there. How much of that is his fault is a deeper debate about nature vs nuture than we could really go into here.

I do hear a lot about the good/productive life Chris could have had if he and his parents had done things differently.. and it's possible I'm not saying Chris shouldn't try and improve his life. But I hear all the time "well I know autistic/more severely disabled person x and they've done something with their lives" those people can't be esteemed enough in my book. But look at how life really is even in the comfort of the western world. There's PLENTY of people with non of Chris's born disadvantages who work their asses off and do everything "right" and end up with nothing, even in homelessness and poverty.

I feel like the perception that Chris ever can or could have pulled himself together and found himself gainfully employed in a place of his own just by trying are misguided. I'm not going to assume everyone who follows Chris is American but I feel like it's part of the culture there that anyone can succeed via grit and effort and that ignores the reality of life in the contemporary economy.

 

[BALLZ-BROKEN]

It's not about Chris' social standing, it's more about is ego. For example, the Sonichu comic. If Chris said "I know the artwork isn't the best, but I hope you enjoy my work" few people would have tried to troll him. However, he believes his art is professional quality, and he DESERVES an Archie or DC Comics contract, as well as video game and other franchise opportunities.

 

[DrChristianTroy]

Some people do. I mean holding a job is, more or less, a pipedream at this point. But showering, not letting your hair becomes a rat's nest, not expecting others to do everything for you, those can be achieved IMO.

 

[butt in trouble]

I think Chris has unrealistic expectations of himself.

 

[Batman VS Tony Danza]

Yes, we do. We think he can't sink any lower yet he does.

Chris's life will never be "good" as he currently defines it which is why many people hoped for rock bottom. The thought was if he finally broke then somehow he'd have to get help just to survive and one of the terms for continued support would be to basically relearn how to function socially.

It becomes more obvious this will never happen as time goes on. Not many people are willing to help Chris with his long term problems. Why would they? It's easier to set Chris up with programs that financially support him than spend years of their own time to attempt to reboot a very unpleasant 31 yeard old autistic adult.

Chris will spend the rest of his life having his tugboat supporting him and allowing him to rarely have to wander too far from his comfort zone for any long period of time. This also ensures he will never be happy because everything he wants in life is out there in the real world.

 

[Lucrid]

I think the most unrealistic expectation that some people on this forum have is that Chris will read the posts and advice on this forum and take any of it to heart. Or that he will reach out to any people on this forum for this purpose.

 

[JULAY]

Not talking about people in his life, where the opposite is true... but yeah, to make one thing clear I think Chris is a jerk in ways that have nothing to do with his autism or any other mental health condition going off there. How much of that is his fault is a deeper debate about nature vs nuture than we could really go into here.

I do hear a lot about the good/productive life Chris could have had if he and his parents had done things differently.. and it's possible I'm not saying Chris shouldn't try and improve his life. But I hear all the time "well I know autistic/more severely disabled person x and they've done something with their lives" those people can't be esteemed enough in my book. But look at how life really is even in the comfort of the western world. There's PLENTY of people with non of Chris's born disadvantages who work their asses off and do everything "right" and end up with nothing, even in homelessness and poverty.

I feel like the perception that Chris ever can or could have pulled himself together and found himself gainfully employed in a place of his own just by trying are misguided. I'm not going to assume everyone who follows Chris is American but I feel like it's part of the culture there that anyone can succeed via grit and effort and that ignores the reality of life in the contemporary economy.

Oooh, boy, you said a lot here, so point by point...

I know people with JDs and MBAs from good schools who are working shit jobs barely getting by right now. So what you say about personal effort lacking in results on occasion rings true. And what you say about those who are disabled worse than Chris and yet still working and getting some satisfaction out of life is also true. However, despite the prevalent "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality that many Americans fervently believe in, that obviously isn't always the case.

That being said, all of the people who I just mentioned have one thing in common: They TRIED. They made some effort, success or failure aside, they didn't just sit around and be a lazy fuck and not try at all. Well, strike that, I know a guy who has an MBA from an Ivy who is a lazy fuck because his parents are rich and he's never had to work for anything in his entire life, but he's the exception. Now that I think of it, he and Chris have something in common: they never actually gave any effort to bettering their employment prospects at all.

Anyway, my point is that Chris easily could do something with himself, given some good guidance from someone unwilling to let him pull his bullshit excuses out as justification for his continued lack of effort. Plus, they'd have to put up with endless amounts of stress sighs and tard rage when Chris didn't get his way. But no, Chris would rather lay around getting fatter, being a complete waste, and continue pooping himself.

 

[Metagross]

I understand that even with western comforts it's hard to even do simple things like get a job these days, but mostly my problem with him stems from is inflated ego and entitlement. He thinks he's a handsome, talented Renaissance Man who DESERVES a caring, sweet, slender, non alcoholic, smoke-free, 21-30 year old, white, boy friend free girl. His expectations are too high. I know a lot of people just want him to be less of an ego maniac.

 

[Targaryen]

Yes, we do. We think he can't sink any lower yet he does.

Chris's life will never be "good" as he currently defines it which is why many people hoped for rock bottom. The thought was if he finally broke then somehow he'd have to get help just to survive and one of the terms for continued support would be to basically relearn how to function socially.

It becomes more obvious this will never happen as time goes on. Not many people are willing to help Chris with his long term problems. Why would they? It's easier to set Chris up with programs that financially support him than spend years of their own time to attempt to reboot a very unpleasant 31 yeard old autistic adult.

Chris will spend the rest of his life having his tugboat supporting him and allowing him to rarely have to wander too far from his comfort zone for any long period of time. This also ensures he will never be happy because everything he wants in life is out there in the real world.

Yeah I think this is true, both for a Chris and a lot of other disabled people with a lot more admirable qualities who try a lot harder.

It's sad. A life on welfare allows a person to exist but not really live. But given the reality of the alternative, it's the preferable outcome for many. Here in the UK it us to be (reportedly) easy to get disability "benefits" as we call them here. From big economic changes in the 80s they were used by the government to massage unemployment figures. Locked a lot of disabled people in that limbo. However there's a big public backlash against welfare in general and in the last few years the government has started to lurch to the other extreme. Basically disabled people are constantly reassessed by a private company (ATOS- a French IT firm) who do everything they can to catch people out and portray them as fit for work (those with terminal cancer, soldiers with no limbs etc have been branded as such) and indeed are paid to do so. People can appeal and there's a reasonable rate of success, but the waiting list for an appeal to be heared can be so long that by the time it's successful it's time to be reassessed and branded "fit for work" again! So as someone who's always seen the US as a lot harsher on things like this- I can say Chris's life would be a lot more stressful in the UK at the moment.

It seems possible some future US administration will "reform" or cut social security in some way and that's when I'd really fear for Chris. I don't think anyone deserves to be without food and shelter and I think the jerk to action would be too late to have any success supporting himself.

Program to help the disabled into jobs exist, but I really doubt they're as successful as some make out in this forum.

Again, I don't think Chris is a good person, I think he's an asshole, but also almost completely helpless and I'll admit my main reason for following the community around him is a kind of weird Stockholm syndromey concern.. I want to see how things end up and I hope they at least don't involve rough sleeping and/or starvation.

 

[Marvin]

That being said, all of the people who I just mentioned have one thing in common: They TRIED. They made some effort, success or failure aside, they didn't just sit around and be a lazy fuck and not try at all. Well, strike that, I know a guy who has an MBA from an Ivy who is a lazy fuck because his parents are rich and he's never had to work for anything in his entire life, but he's the exception. Now that I think of it, he and Chris have something in common: they never actually gave any effort to bettering their employment prospects at all.

See, people say this a lot and I really don't agree with it 100% of the time. Barb controls Chris' life. He believes he'd be homeless if he disobeyed her. He's pretty depressed and I could imagine that doesn't help his motivation all that much. Hell, even for a normal person, going out on your own is a big thing.

I say kinda the same thing here (might want to copy and paste the text of the link because I think nullrefer kills page fragment links): http://www.cwckiforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=40769#p40769

I guess the point of what I'm saying is not all of Chris' problems are his fault. It's not like Chris could just run out and abandon Barb and pull himself up by his bootstraps and be a successful lawyer in five years. Or even if he stayed with Barb, it's not like he could go out and make friends while at a local convenience store or mcdonalds.

Anyway, my point is that Chris easily could do something with himself, given some good guidance from someone unwilling to let him pull his bullshit excuses out as justification for his continued lack of effort. Plus, they'd have to put up with endless amounts of stress sighs and tard rage when Chris didn't get his way. But no, Chris would rather lay around getting fatter, being a complete waste, and continue pooping himself.

Oh definitely. Chris is an able bodied (mostly) adult with a drivers license and a high school degree. He's pretty childish and asocial, but if someone less retarded was in Barb's shoes, they could definitely put Chris to some good use in society (and he it would drastically improve his life as well).

And... eh, I don't know about the relevance of that last part. I don't know how often it is that people want to go work for free for no reason. I mean, if I was infinitely rich, I'd have hobbies that I'd enjoy and spend my time on. I'd spend my time enjoying myself and hanging out with friends. I don't think I'm that unusual in this position.

 

[NobleGreyHorse]

I know what you're saying, but the line between "work" and "hobby" is blurred for some people. I know a guy who has realized a lifelong dream to have a pottery business with his wife. Throwing pots on the wheel (or plates, or vases, or...) is backbreaking and he does it all day, except when he's applying glaze and ornaments, making and applying handles to mugs, cleaning, wedging clay (smacking the shit out of it to remove the air bubbles), working with superheated kilns, and cleaning the shop. And selling stuff to people, including packing it for shipment. And training interns. Etc. He fucking loves his life, however, and would trade it for no other.

 

[Batman VS Tony Danza]

If Chris ever has any kind of healthy friendship with someone then I would consider that a success. In the end I don't care about his tugboat, being unemployed, or anything like that. Once he can talk to someone and actually care about what they say just because it matters to them then I'd say that's much more of an improvement than holding down a job.