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Random Thoughts...or...What's on Your Mind?

How did we arrive in 2026 and some (very well known) people are still demonstrating a huge amount of ignorance towards people with disabilities, in this case Tourettes.

The reaction to this week's Baftas and John Davidson, whos story the film I Swear is based on, has been quite shocking in some quarters.
Have you seen the shite that Gina Yashere is posting. She wants him "put outside" like a child having a tantrum, and thinks that he chose the moment deliberately to use the word.

What makes it more the more pathetic is that Yashere is British, and close in age to me. So like me, would have grown up and seen John D in documentaries and other programmes, as well as a couple of othe high profile Tourettes sufferers.

It's opened my eyes to the fact that actually I think she is a nasty, ignorant and crass bully with a massive dose of hypocrisy, and I question whether I still want to watch Starfleet Academy if she is in it.
 
OK. So I have to admit, I was blissfully unaware of this entire incident until this thread, and have had to take a very quick dive into the background of what is being discussed here.

First of all, this:

If they're gonna let that guy attend any more award shows he should be muzzled.

It is not appropriate to suggest that someone be physically muzzled because they have a disability.

Now, at the risk of exposing my own ignorance: I don't actually really know that much about Tourette's. I have been in discussion with other staff members, and based on that, my understanding is that sufferers of Tourette's do not have any specific control over their specific tics, whether verbal, or movement-related, etc. (My apologies if I am using inappropriate wording here; no offence is intended.) So then this person at the BAFTA awards (who I haven't heard of before today, TBH) had no actual control over the word he shouted.

But of course, most of what is fuelling the outrage over the incident is the particular word used. If it had been just a dropped f-bomb or something, it wouldn't have probably generated this much reaction. When I read about this incident tonight, I admit I had a visceral negative reaction to the specific word being used, so I can't even imagine what the British Black community is feeling right now.

So all this to say: emotions and tempers are going to be running high on both sides of this incident. If you wish to continue discussing this, you are of course free to, with a couple caveats to keep in mind:

1. I hope it goes without saying, but neither racist nor ableist comments are going to be tolerated.

2. This is not TNZ, so you are not allowed to go after each other. Keep it to the topic at hand, and avoid making personal comments about other members.

So as is usual for Misc, you are free to discuss what you'd like, but please keep it civil.
 
But of course, most of what is fuelling the outrage over the incident is the particular word used. If it had been just a dropped f-bomb or something, it wouldn't have probably generated this much reaction. When I read about this incident tonight, I admit I had a visceral negative reaction to the specific word being used, so I can't even imagine what the British Black community is feeling right now.
The problem is that the way the condition works, the sufferer will literally say the worst possible thing that could be said at any time. It is borderline subconscious..... no that isn't true. It's not even that. In John's case he told the Queen to F off when he was getting his MBE from her; claimed to be a paedophile when visiting a school, and other sufferers will shout things like "it's a bomb" when traversing airports.

It's difficult to explain it - but it's like trying not to cough on a crowded, quiet bus during the pandemic. Or not to sneeze. And again and again there is a consistent pattern of the language coming out being far derived from anything the speaker would use. It just needs to be a word they've heard before and know. Not one they will use in their daily lives. There are black Tourette's sufferers who do it too.

It's a debilitating condition that in the extreme cases (coprolalia form) causes disruption to every single aspect of life - and places the suffer at risk of assault. In John's case he attempted suicide at least once becuase of it.

One thing this has shown up is the more informed attitude to Tourettes in the UK. It's clear that this condition is very well known and understood - we have John to thank for that, and also a contestant on th UK version of Big Brother. I think it also helps that in the 80s 90s and 2000s, we had few network TV channels and they were national. So we, growing up, all saw these documentaries or programmes and we also learned. Something as crass as the South Park episode where Cartmann pretends to have Tourettes, would not have been produced in the UK. You do have some high profile sufferers in the US - like the wonderful Willow who posts on Facebook. There is also another poster who I have seen but now can't find, who frequently uses the N word as a result of her Tourettes. She is African American.

The problem that is happening here is that outrage is eclipsing simple evidence and the science of this condition. The whole reason John was at the awards was because a film about his life had won a BAFTA. His condition is a severe, debilitating disability yet he is being accused of somehow faking that he can't control it. Gina Yshere wants him "put outside like a child having a tantrum at school".

It's also pertinent to remind everyone that the film Sinners is so peppered with the used of the same word, that a white actor simply refused to progress his audition because he didn't feel able to justify its use or speak it. It's an interesting twist.

Ultimately a man who has had a shitty life because of a disability is being bullied and villified by millionaire actors who (I'm looking at you Gina Yashere) haven't even taken the time to research and learn. Quite what this nasty woman is doing in Star Trek, I don't know, and it's certainly making me question whether I want to continue to watch her in Academy.
 
Have you seen the shite that Gina Yashere is posting. She wants him "put outside" like a child having a tantrum, and thinks that he chose the moment deliberately to use the word.

What makes it more the more pathetic is that Yashere is British, and close in age to me. So like me, would have grown up and seen John D in documentaries and other programmes, as well as a couple of othe high profile Tourettes sufferers.

It's opened my eyes to the fact that actually I think she is a nasty, ignorant and crass bully with a massive dose of hypocrisy, and I question whether I still want to watch Starfleet Academy if she is in it.
I hadn't seen it but its appalling.

She says im not going there discussing his condition but then several times suggests it was intentional.

Suggesting he should have been removed is appalling.

I just don't get it, he shouldn't F the queen when getting his MBE, she understood, didn't take offence.
 
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