Tourette’s/BAFTAs offensive language

[Lochroy]

I wasn’t watching, I’ve just read the article on BBC news. I will admit I know little of Tourette’s and therefore posting to understand.

The tics agree involuntary, and often use offensive language. But what I’m struggling to get my head around is excusing use of the N word because it was caused by the disability when it was (seemingly) only directed at black people?

Also presumably it’s learned vocab so children don’t have swear words as tics? How does this develop?

In this instance, the perceived slur was not by way of someone expressing something part of their character or belief system, it was a random word generated by an uncontrollable disability. Most posters who support JD can appreciate that there was no intent to harm.

The people at whom the perceived slurs were aimed, are entitled to be hurt and offended. The caveat, is that if they are intelligent, rational and compassionate human beings who understand that the word came from a place of uncontrollable disability then that hurt and offence will be tempered by the knowledge that there was no racist intent, and will also recognise that any demand for an apology is a demand for JD to apologise for being disabled. Which is unacceptable.

JD’s disability was the single cause of the incident, nothing else. So it’s not a ‘choice’ to be hurt or offended - it’s a reasonable and expected consequence of lived experience of racism. The ‘choice’ is whether to apportion blame where none exists, which is exactly what many posters here are doing. There is no critical thinking, no reasonable adjustment for disability, just a kneejerk reaction, followed by a game of top trumps between racism and ableism.

If anyone is interested, here is John and some fellow sufferers from a documentary a few years ago.
It's just a constant stream of what you'd expect, and yes including racial and homephobic slurs. They can absolutely not help it. I hope this helps contextualise it for those questioning why he said what he said at the Baftas:

https://x.com/KevinTheRanter/status/2026217991805735006

To all the people saying those with Tourette’s can control what they say or that it comes from an unconscious place - do you think the man in this video really has sex with chickens? Afterall, he’s says “I’m a chicken fucker” - by YOUR estimation he means what he says, right?

I also find it interesting that in this video John apologises for his tic using a slur against Chinese people.

What do the blood bayers have to say about that? It seems he DOES apologise when he feels it appropriate and fitting - and speak indirectly to a person is very different from being in an audience

I think there needed to be more education before the event. Clearly whatever they were told might happen wasn't sufficient. Initially I thought that the BBC shouldn't have bleeped it, but given people's lack of awareness of tourettes I've changed my mind on that. People just don't have that level of acceptance to choose to ignore it.

I can't imagine how difficult life must be for JD, given that this is his every day, every conversation, every trip out somewhere and he knows people will be judging him and thinking he's being offensive on purpose. Thinking that that's what he "really" wants to say, when it's the opposite. It's not like he could do an in-person apology because it'd just happen again. His life would just be one constant apology.

For those saying that black people shouldn't be subject to racist slurs well... no ordinarily they shouldn't. Nor should gay people have homophobic slurs shouted at them or women have misogynistic things shouted at them and so on. If we want people with this disability to be included unconditionally in society then unfortunately it's going to happen. Not deliberately, not with malice, not to hurt but because this condition picks something that the person knows is the least appropriate thing to say and makes them blurt it out, whether it's hurtful to an individual or "I've got a bomb" at an airport.

This is a really important point, and one that is borne out by some of the disgusting attitudes towards disability expressed on this thread. Reasonable adjustment and accommodation of disability exist for a reason. To enable disabled people to participate as fully as possible in society and not have to hide themselves away for fear of causing offence over which they have no control and no intent to cause harm. It’s not incumbent on such people to limit themselves in this way for the convenience of others - it is incumbent on the rest of society to educate themselves so that they can accommodate inclusion for everyone, and so that people are no longer marginalised simply because of disability.

I think apologies are a natural response to embarassment. He shouldn't feel like that though.

As I thought there would be, lots of speculation online that JD doesn’t just have Tourette’s. The very specific insults reacting to his surroundings rather than random swearing or nonsense tics could be some kind of personality disorder. Interesting.

This. But I don’t think the BBC should have bleeped it out, any more than if it had been a gay or misogynistic slur. It’s a characteristic of disability and if society is continually shielded from the reality of that, how will anything change ? The shock value needs to be reduced, and censoring won’t achieve that.

Agreed - I imagine he feels more compelled to apologise in a situation where he’s stood in front of someone who hasn’t been forewarned of his disability unlike at the BAFTAs

But that’s exactly how Tourettes’ works. His tic is typical of the effects of the condition. There has also been a lot of innuendo on this thread that he doesn’t have Tourette’s at all, or is using it as a ‘cover’ for racism. Which is equally unfounded.

I agree this is part of the problem. The USA has a much deeper history of racism and this still exists there today than compared to the UK.

Americans have a curious habit of expecting their issues, situations and nuances of discrimination to be the centre of every other person in different countries. But they also have no education or idea about the issues in non-US countries.

No but the N word should always be edited out. If a white person yells it out so it sounds like an insult.

Just BC someone's disabled the word itself is still offensive. I'm sure John himself would have rather they edited it out? And if they can edit out 'Free Palestine' they can certainly edit out N word.

Quite.

Is there a full clip on the free Palestine thing? I’m pro-Israel but as long as there’s no antisemitic undertones I’m completely against censoring people’s support of Palestine. An odd choice to make if it wasn’t offensive

Agree 100!

Educate

Yourselves

on

racism

it's

not our Job.

You're welcome ❤

That's literally how Tourette's presents

No one should apologise for their disability.

Tourettes is an awful disability that's not understood and people try to shame or blame.

It's not ok.

The posts I have read aren’t saying that he doesn’t have Tourette’s more that the very specific slurs reacting to events around him are a sign of extra problems. He isn’t presenting as typical of the condition, it’s normally way more uncontrolled. People who know about the disease and these conditions were always going to have an opinion and watch the footage especially if he isn’t random with the insults.