Yeah, I think empathy is something a lot of autistic people lack. It's what can make us seem cold and heartless to a lot of people. To an NT person, if you don't have empathy it's because you don't care about that person, or worse, are some kind of sociopath.

I went to a funeral last week and seeing my closest family crying and losing it over the person who died (my aunt) didn't spark any feeling in me at all. Actually, it did, I felt "WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?".

The times when I find veganism the hardest are when I'm the most overstimulated, and I'm thinking about my own problems more than anyone else's. Maybe social situations are so overstimulating we don't have the peace to be able to have empathy. Could be why internet pictures and movies are so much easier to identify with in this way because we're more peaceful at that point.

My personal reminder of this is that I'm vegan, I go to great lengths to avoid causing pain and suffering to others, but I do not feel empathy towards these animals, I just know it is the right thing to do.

The times when I find veganism the hardest are when I'm the most overstimulated, and I'm thinking about my own problems more than anyone else's. Maybe social situations are so overstimulating we don't have the peace to be able to have empathy. Could be why internet pictures and movies are so much easier to identify with in this way -because we're more peaceful at that point.

Interesting topic.