I have a friend from high school who has never dated. He once told me that he was diagnosed with Asperger's, and remembering him from school, I can believe it. He was the shy, awkward kid who kept to himself at lunch. He insists that his case is mild (if he "even has it"), that he's usually not much worse at social interaction than other people, but I personally think that he lacks the self-awareness to be an effective gauge of that. I mean, he *must*, otherwise he wouldn't be a diagnosed Aspie.

So anyways, the other day he confided in me via Facebook about a situation between himself and a close female friend of his who he likes. He told me that he's liked her for years, and that he thought she was flirting with him via texting - but as it turns out, she had a boyfriend, and didn't tell him for a year and a half. I told him that he probably misinterpreted her social cues on account of his Asperger's, and that she probably didn't say or do anything that would cause an ordinary person to believe that she was flirting with them. He then offered to show me copies of text messages between them, listed out other things that gave him the idea that she liked him, and asked me if I thought it sounded flirty. I told him that I can't say one way or the other because I don't have enough context to go by - and again, this ties into his Asperger's because most normal people are able to instinctively figure out whether something *sounds* flirty vs. actually *being* flirty. He got all defensive, asking me if this means that he shouldn't trust his own judgement (which he obviously shouldn't - it's a fact of his biology), and told me that a few other people he showed it to thought it sounded flirtatious - blah blah blah. I told him that he asked for my honest opinion, I gave it to him, and it is very entitled and disrespectful of him to argue my point when he was the one who wanted to hear it in the first place. He insisted that he wasn't trying to argue with me, but I said, "Then why is it such an issue? If you don't want people's honest opinions, don't ask for them. I'm not interested in having an argument with you over something so stupid. Let it go, please." His response was a sarcastic-sounding "Well, thanks anyway."

Asperger's means that you're​ not capable of reading other people like ordinary human beings. A woman compliments you or is extra friendly for some reason, you think she's​ attracted to you. That's what Asperger's ***is***. Does he have a right to argue with me when I took the time to answer his fucking question in the first place?

I bring this up because he told another friend about our so-called "disagreement". I know this because she shared a FB meme about mental health labels not defining people, and he was the only one who liked it. Clearly, he's only interested in getting people to tell him what he wants to hear. I really don't think I'm an asshole for not being his sycophant.