Did I just have a go at a person with Tourette's?

[MarmaladeTwatkins]

Ok...

Was just queuing to get into the bakery with my friend's DS in his pushchair. A group of 4 people were in front of me. One of the females was talking really quite loudly and saying "fucking" "cunt" "twat" repeatedly. Her friends were laughing at her conversation. One of her friends then purposely knocked her bag off her shoulder. She responded by calling him a fat, four-eyed cunt.

I did get the red mist and asked her to please stop sounding her potty mouth off so loudly and said little ears are present, motioning towards friend's DS. Then she went "I've got Tourette's, you stupid cow" I did face and her friend sheepishly backed her up and said that she did have Tourette's.

I really don't think that she did. My old boss had Tourette's and he didn't just swear in the flow of normal conversation. I could be wrong and if I am, I will feel shitty.

It's not the first time I've asked people to stop swearing around kids. AIBU?

Yanbu if she did have Tourette's how were you to know. She sounds very rude and horrid

A violent response? I don't live in the Bronx, you know?

Ok... I have Tourette syndrome. Swearing tics are rare, and constant swearing is even rarer. My coprolalia (swearing) tics used to be frequent and obviously a tic. Though when walking down a street would often get angry comments from people, disapproving looks etc. however my response was always calm and educational and a lot of us carry cards explaining our condition.
Yes sometimes my friends do laugh at in context tics. Shouting ' it's poisoned' when being served dinner at a restraunt, or stopped by the security guard for announcing 'I'm stealing' rarely fails to cause a smile amongst close friends.
Sadly TS will often pick up on the physical features of a person, shouting 'fat' when seeing a larger person etc. however most of us feel awful about this, despite having little control over it, and are always apologetic.
I would also be doubtful of this girls TS if she had no motor tics. It's hard to deny I have TS as my heads jerking, nodding, arms flapping, blinking etc and these are far more common than the swearing.
TS destroys your confidence and security and often compromises your independence by making going out alone challenging and dangerous, many times i have felt threatened, laughed at or abused due to my tics. Equally people mimicking tourettes is an equal problem as it invalidates those of us that do have it and also causes offence to both touretters and non touretters alike.
For more info on TS don't hesitate to look at the tourettes action website.

I find a really polite 'would you mind not swearing' and a nod to the DC usually works really well. One group of extremely sweary boys on the train suddenly became very polite and apologetic, just like Harry Enfields Kevin and Perry.

Marmalade; how would you like if a stranger lectured you on something you were doing that they felt inappropriate? People who mind their own business are not the 'cause of all the problems' in society, people who can't cause many problems for others. Whether it is disabled people or their carers who are harassed for acting 'inappropriately' because others can't see their disability, women who are harassed on the street because certain religious types are offended by their 'lack' of clothing, gays harrassed because people choose to be offended by them holding hands with their partner, etc...

Everybody is offensive to someone, you think you are free to limit another's words to only what you want your children to hear, the next arsehole thinks they are free to limit their childrens exposure to gay couples, female clothing that is not to their personal standard etc. You obviously live in a very non diverse area, if you had to be around a variety of people, you would understand that tolerance of all types is needed for a civilised society.

It is necessary to interfere/call for help if someone is being bullied, abused, endangered, it is not ok to declare yourself God and demand the right to dictate other peoples behaviour. You are the rude one and very silly if you think that living in a little village will forever protect you from a bad reaction to your rudeness. You just need to get the wrong person on the wrong day and if you do that often enough, your chances are very likely of learning that.

Off Topic Warning

I just googled Pete and he's getting divorced

thezebra really??? Really really???

OP the girl was a twunk and you were right in expressing that small children shouldn't be listening to her filthy mouth...a bar of soap and water might do her some good....

Also Thezebra if young people are not pulled up on poor behaviour, when are they going to learn that certain things are not acceptable in a social setting?

The thing is you don't know.

Something's are rare but they do occur,she could have had Tourette's equally as such she could have been acting up.

You don't know and you will never know.so as you go about your life correcting other people's behaviour try and remember that.

Nobody is obliged to spend their life educating others disability or not.

The zebra I am deeply, deeply offended by your comparison of someone asking a person to not use the c-bomb round their children with disablism, sexism and homophobia. They are not the same thing at all.

And I live in an extremely diverse area and I have often politely requested that people stop swearing around DS.

OP, YANBU and the swearer clearly didn't have Tourettes. Toomuch is right, saying 'I have Tourettes' when all you have is a potty mouth is a real issue for the people who do have Tourettes.

You were not being unreasonable at all, well done for saying something.

There was a young lad on our train the other day on his mobile using fuck and cunt a lot but luckily the kids seemed oblivious so I didn't say anything as that might have made them start hearing the conversation.

I hate swearing in public but unfortunately you can't stop people doing it.

I first heard a swear word when I was in the end of primary school and was really shocked. My son first heard fuck in reception class, there is a boy who said it, I was not happy! But he knows that adults can swear if they choose to and if he wants to when he's an adult that's up to him, but he's not allowed to swear now.

Zebra- is this some sort of comedy character you are working up for a show?

Perhaps those like the zebra poster need to know a bit more about the law if posting in the UK. Various Public Order Acts cover swearing and other offensive behaviour if it is in the sight or hearing of a member of the public or indeed a police officer. So you were not BU to ask them to stop. If a police officer was present they would have been warned about their conduct and if it persisted then they could be arrested.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect someone to modify their language for your child. You're lucky the response was only "I have tourettes". And it's ridiculous to try and work out whether she does really have tourettes. It's none of your business whether she has difficulties or is just a cunt...

We were in a restaurant once - well Nandos - with our children - family group right next to us, guy kept swearing in flow of conversation . I asked him not to. They continued with under breath comments etc at us and when they got up to go one of the women said to me that I had no right to say anything as he had Tourettess' plus she gave me a mouth full of abuse.

There is no way the guy had tourettes as like in Ops he was swearing in normal conversation.

"The zebra I am deeply, deeply offended by your comparison of someone asking a person to not use the c-bomb round their children with disablism, sexism and homophobia. They are not the same thing at all."

This exactly. I think that Zebra is on a wind-up or very dense

LOL at "We were in a restaurant - well Nandos"

2much thank you for your insightful post. You sound like a really lovely person.

I have never been to Nandos. I thought it was posh.

Under Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986:
"A person is guilty of an offence if he uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour, or displays any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting, within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby"

I think the fact we still have things like the watershed on TV with things that can be said before or after suggests that there are some words our society deems unsuitable for children to hear.

I have asked teens before to pipe down, and have never had a bad reaction. I wouldn't do it just in passing, but if we're on a long tube journey so the kids are likely to hear it for a while.

I do agree with Zebra, you cannot expect people to desist their activities just because you find them offensive, as almost everything we do is offensive to someone.

it's not nice for your child to hear swearing, you can only ask someone to be considerate, or move yourself away.

Morniong Marmalade what you up to today?