April Fools

I'd like to write in more detail, but I'm too tired. 

Still, after some thought just now, I felt I should write something about this whole April fools thing.

I hate April fools. The only thing I ever remember doing was putting my elbow in a knit bonnet style hat and pretending my arm was broken. I didn't expect anyone to actually believe me, but I was trying to play along.

The fact is, we are told not to lie all year long, and then April 1 comes around and its suddenly okay? But only under certain circumstances: It has to be a joke and it has to make someone look like a fool for believing you.

What? Are you serious about this? Really? 

First of all, we send a bad message when we tell kids (or anyone really) that it's okay to lie. Second, its worse to lie to make someone look bad! I mean, isn't that the commandment about not bearing false witness? Even without that connection, isn't it just poor form to make someone else look like a fool? 

The sad thing is that it happened to me. I don't remember any specific examples, really, of April fools specifically. However, I do remember a time we were on a school trip and a friend of mine led me on about something, and then flipped the switch. 

Have you ever been walking without looking and ran smack into something, like a wall? That's what that feels like. It feels like someone took me for a long walk on a short pier and PUSHED me into the lake. 

It is neither funny, nor should it be encouraged.

Aspies are typically unable to understand this as being funny. We tend to take people seriously. We tend to trust people. We tend to take things as they are presented to us. We want to believe people. We want people to be as transparent as we are, we want them to be honest and up front. We don't like surprises. And we definitely don't like to have the rug pulled out from underneath us and people to laugh at us. 

I honestly can't believe anyone could enjoy that, but it appears that there are plenty of people who don't mind having tricks played on them, and you're welcome to that activity. But if you know someone with Autism, it's probably best that you don't. Actually, just knowing the person you intend to play a trick on is probably best, because when you truly know someone, then you know how to be their friend. Friends don't play tricks on their Aspie friends. Right? 

Everyone's different, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Let's try to be more about the love, and less about making fun, poking fun, tricking and pranking. All this stuff is not mature or kind in most cases. 

Thanks.
(The only fool I fell for today was Nutella. See?)