u/youngsurpriseperson

So within the past year I've begun to think I'm aplatonic. There's really a lot of factors that go into this. I have autism so it's already hard for me to communicate with others. I moved for university almost 2 years ago and haven't made a single friend, I'm just dating someone I met over Bumble.

I tried, but maybe not that hard. I tried to do things like join clubs but it didn't work out, as it felt like everyone else already knew each other, and that I wasn't even seen as an option. Nobody really taught me how to "make friends" because everyone assumes you already know. I just gave up. If I really wanted friends, wouldn't I have tried harder? Maybe I'm aplatonic to an extent. I found out I'm just sometimes happier alone because I don't have to deal with people I can't control, but sometimes I'm alone for days and it hurts sometimes. So is it possible to be aplatonic and lonely? Does anyone else feel this way?

I've noticed especially in the mid 2010s that pacifist media was becoming a thing. Steven Universe, Undertale, and Persona 5 are probably my favorite examples of this. Instead of killing their enemies, the protagonists want to coexist with them (pacifism is a choice in Undertale, but it's still a good example.) I'm just wondering what other types of media have similar themes?

This used to happen when I worked in retail. I went to Target today and I was holding a 12 pack of Strawberry Dr Pepper by its handle and because it ripped, it fell out of my hands and an employee at the register said "uh-oh!" It just feels so patronizing, infantilizing, and sometimes tone-deaf when people say this to me. I stg these people would do the same thing if they saw somebody accidentally drop their baby in their carrier.

We're always taught not to talk to strangers and how to protect ourselves as children online, but why don't we teach people how to not be predators? I understand that doing this can only go so far, but it would be good for high schoolers to learn this by being taught the consequences of accosting children for immoral purposes. They could also be shown clips from To Catch A Predator and other videos that expose online child predators.