[labrador]

Security theater is one of those things everyone is familiar with. I'm talking about the more subtle rules. I'm a fan of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" because Larry David is always rebelling against these rules or making up new rules that actually make sense ("chat and cut is not allowed").

To give you an example from the show that actually happened to me, I went into the men's room. The stalls were full so I used the wheel chair stall. I didn't see anyone in a wheel chair in the building. I got yelled at by someone, a 'rules and order' person, who claimed I was never under any circumstances to use the wheel chair stall if I wasn't in a wheel chair, which is stupid. There are a lot of rules like that and neurotypical people just accept, but I can't.

[Jtsummers]

Non-wheelchair-bound, neurotypical people happily use those stalls too because it's not an actual rule (at least anywhere I've ever been). At best, if an actual wheelchair-bound person shows up in line you let them use it first because that's courteous. It's also often used by people with small kids because it affords room for them to go in there with the kids to make sure they don't make a mess or help them clean themselves (if they aren't quite potty trained yet).

Neurotypical people are as aware as anyone else that many (if not most) rules are arbitrary and not all rules make sense and that not all people insisting a rule exists are worth listening to.

[labrador]

Thanks for this. It's hard for me to distinquish between the spirit of a rule and someone telling me I'm not following the rule because I'm not following their interpretation of the rule. I know I don't think like other people so if someone tells me I'm not thinking like other people I tend to believe them. My intuition tells me I'm doing ok, but need to improve my perception of when a person is being unreasonable and let it go.