Between 2001 and 2002 British computer hacker Solo hacked into sensitive US government computers, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of damage. He was identified as Gary McKinnon and questioned by the British police. He was formally charged with cyber-crime in autumn, 2002. It looked as if he would be prosecuted in Britain until the UK Extradition Act was passed in 2003. He is currently fighting his extradition to the United States.
What makes his case particularly interesting to me is that in 2008 he was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome by none other than Simon Baron-Cohen (a cousin of Sasha, but more importantly, a highly respected expert in ASDs). Now I’m not one to let a shared attribute cloud my judgement when dealing with people, nor do I particularly care that he is, like me, British. What he did, in hacking into US federal government and military computers was undeniably wrong, regardless of the extent of the damage caused. International as well as British and American laws are clear on that matter. He should have been aware of the consequences of his actions. However, I am not debating whether or not he is innocent because: a) I don’t know enough about the case details and b) at the end of the day it’s really none of my business.
What I do want to convey though, is my belief that leniency should be granted from all sides. I do not want to see someone escape justice simply because they have Aspergers as that would inevitably give people the wrong impression about it. I hope that the US and UK governments show compassion and humanity towards Mr McKinnon. Doctors have shown that extraditing him to another country could cause him to take his life. I can fully understand this point of view, as I’m sure Aspies all around the world would. Imagine if you were dragged from your world and everything in it to be locked in an incredibly frighteningly harsh and fundamentally alien environment; away from everything and everyone that you know and love. Imagine the profound shock that you would feel, the absolute and gut-wrenching sense of change. Even NT’s would find this event highly stressful, so imagine what it would be like for an Aspie, who by his very nature finds even the slightest change in their life traumatic. If it was me, reason or not, I really believe that I would not be able to cope. I would seek any way out that I could; any way to stop from drowning in my own emotional turmoil. I doubt that many Aspies would feel very different from me. They say that Aspies lack empathy, and for the most part, the normal world and society in general does baffle us, but when it comes to change, every Aspie by definition shares and understands the pain it can cause.
I don’t agree with what McKinnon did, but I can understand why he did it. Computers and conspiracies were his SI (special interest – I really should put a glossary of terms at the top of the blog…). An Aspie’s SI dominates their world; they need to know everything about it and explore every detail. My experience is very similar to how drug users describe their addiction. There is nothing in the world that even comes close to describing my SI and the joy and elation that I feel when exploring it. It gives me a reason for my existence, gives my life meaning. Without it I am lost. It is a shield with which I can protect myself from the harshest and more frightening parts of the alien world in which I find myself. I would never knowingly break the law, but our SI’s sometimes blind us to the rest of the world (it’s like we’re wearing blinkers) and we sometimes forget about it. I don’t know all of McKinnon’s motives, but I can imagine that they were down to a sort of obliviousness. This doesn’t make what he did right, but I hope that those making the decisions are fully aware of Aspergers. I just hope that they know that by forcing his extradition, they are punishing him a thousand times more severely and cruelly than they think they are.
