"Abusing people they have power over"
isn't a behavior that's linked
in any way to being on the autism spectrum, and I've not seen any
mention that Linus self-identifies as being on the spectrum, so let's
please refrain from Diagnosing People Via The Internet :)
Oh, I wouldn't say he is; certainly what's been posted here about him tends
to suggest that he *does* know better (if anything, all those quotes make
him sound like a narcissistic SOB, which all those people treating him like
a god must not do much to discourage). But the kind of community that
mentality has created is certainly hospitable to *some* people on spectrum
(I have a high-functioning autistic teenage son who knows better most of the
time, but still tries to rationalize some of his insensitive behavior as
just playing around, or says he can't help himself) who might see an
environment where little attention is paid to hand-holding or social
niceties as one easier to navigate than the kind of supportive community
we're trying to build.
Daniel Case