5-4-12 Unheard of TV reference

[Captain LeBubbles]

Seems like everyone he meets is fairly friendly and unhostile to him. I can sympathize with issues, but man, there is a line, you know? He's starting to come off as rather unpleasant.

[Aaron]

Yeah, he's gotta get out of his headspace, and forget about how people might have treated him before. So many people come to college expecting the same hostility they got in high school, and it just ain't like that.

[Artemisia]

wow, and I thought I was bad with how I react to men trying to talk to me.

[Valerie]

I understand his issue, though. He's got some pretty obvious self-esteem issues, so he's under the impression that no one can be genuinely nice to him, and especially not attractive women.

[NobodySpecial]

First off: T. is going to burn through all his U's at this rate.

Second: Yeah. This is how it goes when you shut down. Trust nothing, no one is safe, nothing is what it seems.

The worst part is it never ever really goes away.

[Dezziemonster]

I'm under the impression he's a product of his former pre-college environment. I have a friend whose outer shell is about as hard at the earth's mantle, and it took a long time to dig to the center where she would let her guard down because she was absolutely tortured in high school. After so many years of being tormented, whether or not you're willing to accept things can change when you graduate, it's hard to let someone in depending on the degree of bullying and ridicule you've faced in the past. I'm hoping this poor fellow can melt the iceberg he's hiding beneath and open up at least a little to people.

[brasca]

Now that takes me back. The only difference is I had that Terminator POV where it identifies who you're talking to and their threat level. This syndrome is similar to DBZ Scouter-vision.

[Alice Macher]

Yeah, Ronnie's coming across as somewhat more sympathetic to me in this strip, because we're seeing his thoughts, not just his speech. Specifically, we're seeing that he's uncertain as to whether people are greeting him nicely or meanly. As opposed to Wednesday's strip, where he came across more as assuming that people are definitely always mean to him.

Poor guy. Also, good on Jade for going after him to try and spare his feelings. I really like her.

[Zanosuke Kurosaki]

Wow. Now that is a serious barrier he's got up. Even worse - it's obvious he doesn't hear, or exactly *care* about what's really being said to him. Oh, Ronnie... =\

Also, I think the girls in 3-5 might be more forum members. T?

[Doc Harleen]

Based on this strip, I wonder about the possibility of Ronnie having Asperger's. I'm not making any assumptions; I just wonder because of his difficulty with reading/relating to people. Anyway, this strip is really interesting.

[Captain LeBubbles]

I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt last page- he could have just been having a bad day. And I can understand the sort of.. I guess tensing for the blow? that he seems to do. But expressions say just as much as words, and all of the people he's spoken to have had genuine expressions. There was no malice, no double-faced scheming, just genuine being casually friendly.

I think it says more about him that he doesn't even bother registering what they say. It's not 'other people's opinions don't matter to me', it's blatant disregard for anyone else. Which is, unfortunately, exactly the sort of attitude that years of constant abuse, harassment, and aggression can instill in someone.

[brasca]

Based on this strip, I wonder about the possibility of Ronnie having Asperger's. I'm not making any assumptions; I just wonder because of his difficulty with reading/relating to people. Anyway, this strip is really interesting.

I thought the thing with Asperger's was you do things without regard for what other people think. Ronnie seems to be overly sensitive.

[Bardlp]

He's... undiagnosed autism spectrum? The lack of understanding of intent/emotional weight, as well as the odd shorthanding of everything, comes off that way.

If he is, I'd still avoid him for being a jerk but I'd get it a little more and give him a little more room once he starts working to stop being a jerk.

Edit: Re Brasca: Well, people on the spectrum can do things without regard to others' feelings, but the important part is that those things are done because feelings are not understood, sometimes even one's own. It's sort of a "everybody is bad at mindreading, but people on the autism spectrum are worse than average" thing.

[Artemisia]

Valerie would know a lot better. I think there's something in there about inapproreate emotional responses to others.

[Doc Harleen]

Based on this strip, I wonder about the possibility of Ronnie having Asperger's. I'm not making any assumptions; I just wonder because of his difficulty with reading/relating to people. Anyway, this strip is really interesting.

I thought the thing with Asperger's was you do things without regard for what other people think. Ronnie seems to be overly sensitive.

I'm pretty sure there are different degrees of Asperger's. A friend of mine with it can be very considerate to other people, and rather naturally. But it does commonly involve problems with social interaction, and not always reacting appropriately.