Thread by @MarcoParigi1

This tweet has got quite a lot of attention within the #ActuallyAustistic community, and I thus want to expand on it, tweet by tweet as it is educational for the autistic to help themselves a bit when feeling targeted. 1/

https://twitter.com/MarcoParigi1/status/1389407333931835392

One point of note is that virtually *every* peer group that can be called that has these pecking order rituals/games/measures. Not everyone ends up ever being the weakest link, but virtually every peer group will evict one at some point 2/

Can one "escape" from this game of the weakest link? Can one get a "time out" from being targeted? Not really - If you leave the peer you were probably already the weakest or nearly. If you try to take a time out, this will almost certainly make things worse - 3/

As a common example, think of a work situation where you feel targeted. You take a day off or more. What is the members in the peer going to do? Almost always they will separately pester your boss with complaints about you without you there to defend yourself! 4/

As a boss, I've seen it time and time again so as to recognise how these things happen. An employee is away, and another employee bails me up just to say how their absence is inconvenient and how they make so many more mistakes. Rinse and repeat with other co-employees 5/

The result is that with the "time out" from the targeted employee, already judged by their peers as weaker, a boss has ammunition to dismiss them (if desired), and a feel that the workplace may run smoother without them 6/

This is how "work place bullying" actually happens. It is most often under the radar, and mostly the weakest reluctantly accepts the inevitable by resigning. When conflicts result, the group dynamic can get messy indeed. People "pull rank" by virtue of the pecking order. 7/

Fighting what the "group dynamic" find inevitable by the person judged the weakest is a very traumatic thing for that person. The Alpha is most protected by rank, and is likeliest to take the actions that are most obviously bullying. 8/

Finally, the most important thing for a person feeling targeted is to understand the rules of this group dynamic. That can give an advantage because most members of the peer are acting subconsciously, and you may be able to make more effective conscious countermeasures. 9/9