John Davison BAFTA Tourette’s incident and competing rights

[slet]

It’s interesting how this is being discussed atm. I see Ash Sarkar has framed it as an example of competing rights between disabled people and victims of racism, forgetting about intersectionality. But there is a struggle from those on the extreme left to see how women’s rights are compromised by ceding to TRAs.

not expressing myself very well but thought it had some interesting parallels with the sex and gender debate.

It has something in common with the gender issue, in the form of idealists wanting something that can't be achieved because it's physically impossible.

Transwomen cannot ever use a women-only space, because their very presence defeats the object.

Minorities - and, indeed, people - of any sort cannot share space with sufferers of coprolalia, without sooner or later hearing a slur apparently directed at them.

Of course, it's physically possible for sufferers to stick to private spaces, shared only with consenting companions. But it's not right. How would they work or do the shopping?

BAFTA and BBC could and should have planned this so much better. Why weren't the sound engineers briefed to eradicate every questionable sound? Was the presenter's spiel comprehensive enough?

But instead of those questions, we're just getting the usual online bunfight and gratuitous unpleasantness.

I think the main parallel between the two is that both parties have a right to exist safely and it’s the responsibility of those in charge of the environments they’re in to provide that safety. In John’s case, the teams at BAFTA and the BBC needed to adequately brief each guest ahead of the ceremony (not just a one line intro), scenario plan for reacting live in the moment and have a thorough aftercare plan should any incidents arise. It seems as though they’ve failed on all accounts.

@GargoylesofBeelzebub the comment about some thinking DEI is just for black people is incredibly ignorant. John Davidson has been vociferously defended and issued a statement where he didn’t even acknowledge Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo. Black people are tired of being told to get over it; no one should apologise for a disability but the impact that disability has had on another person shouldn’t be ignored.

He would spend his entire life apologising out of politeness for something he doesn't have capacity to stop. Why should he name anyone? It just happened to be two black guys - they were not consciously singled out for unfair treatment. It could have been anyone. I would expect everyone to appreciate the condition. That's not telling black people to suck it up over and above others. It's not a racism issue as such as a result.

This is part of the shaming and punishing process for those with Tourettes which only leads to more stress and more mental health issues for them and makes more tic attacks more likely.

You are entitled to your opinion. It’s clear to me that when it comes to inclusion people in America in particular don’t seem to consider that disabled people have the same rights to be included as other minorities. Where is the month for disabled people for example?

The Queen coped when he swore at her.

These snowflake actors need to grow up.

If the US adequately recognised disability issues and rights they'd have to reconstruct their entire health service structure.

Disability Equality rights and US insurance based health care system are completely incompatible.

The number of homeless disabled in the US is shocking to Europeans.

Exactly. I’ve seen so many people saying that he should have been segregated away so he didn’t make other people feel uncomfortable. Thats not inclusion. Thats not diversity.

Aftercare? For someone with a disability saying mean words to millionaires?

Grow the fuck up.

I'm not sure why we're talking about Americans but in the US July is Disability Pride Month. It celebrates the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law on July 26, 1990. National Disability Independence Day is on July 26. March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.

I literally said he shouldn’t apologise but simply acknowledge the unfortunate impact his condition had on others that night. I’ve seen clips of him apologising to a woman in a supermarket just for saying fuck near her so I think a few words acknowledging the hurt and embarrassment caused to two men in front of millions isn’t too much to ask. It may not have had racist intent but it was a racist word said to multiple black people in a room full of their peers.

If my brakes failed and I ran someone over, I wouldn’t be at fault but I would acknowledge that I caused someone pain and regret that it happened.

Thank you for your posts Red, and for giving insight into life with Tourette’s. That is sobering, and I feel for your friend and people, like you, who care about her, as well as others affected by Tourette’s.

I don't see this as a competing rights issue

I absolutely despise the BBC, I haven't had it for years, and genuinely wonder if they handled it the way they did in order to get some publicity

I think they have let down everybody here

I know how awful it is when somebody shouts at you like that in the street. When it happens at a public event, and I don't know if the actors had a proper briefing,it will be 100 times worse

I'm sympathetic to everybody in the situation

None of them should ever have been put in that position

I think there are a lot of situations where competing rights are at play but on reflection, this isn't one of them

I wouldn't have commented yesterday because I was processing it. Not sure how I would feel about it.

It does seem they had the opportunity to edit it out - if that is true, then what is their excuse for not doing it?

Incredibly badly handled.

Alongside that astonishing story that came out yesterday about the guy who stole from care home residents - you really have to ask yourself if the organisation is genuinely this incompetent.

Are you serious? Being called N**GER on live TV in front of millions. Are you completely unaware of the history of African Americans ? Do you have any idea how painful and humiliating that would have been for those actors who didnt sign up for being abused in front of milliions. Did you know that one of the actors parents burst into tears? Do you not understand the gravity of that language? Why are the rights of that one man more important than the feelings of all people of colour who had settled down to see an award ceremony and had to see those two men humiliated. No, this isnt comparable to the fucking Queen!

A quick Google search would tell you that there are disability awareness days and weeks throughout the year, including UK Disability History Month in November. This doesn’t need whataboutism; you create your own disability month if you want and black people will continue to celebrate Black History Month.

Some of the American response has been disappointing and demonstrates a lack of understanding about Tourettes. John absolutely had a right to be there but MBJ and DL also didn’t deserve to experience that language.

Please don't minimise the impact on black people of hearing the n word.

Calling a black person a snowflake or telling them to grow up when they are affected by verbal slurs is cruel.

Yes I’m serious. If a couple of millionaires and their families didn’t make time to understand Tourette’s when they had been made aware that Davidson would be there, that’s on them.

And I can be pretty certain that if that had been a totally white event and he’d shouted sexual slurs at women instead, no one would have cared.

How do you prevent someone from Tourettes from ticing so that black men don't get exposed to offensive words?

Perhaps you would like to offer a solution because the people with Tourettes would love one much more much than anyone who hears their verbal tics.

The nature of Tourettes is that EVERYONE is exposed to offense. The BBC / BAFTAs were celebrating his work in making people aware of this.

He kinda had to be there or it would defeat the purpose of the award and the film.

So being a millionaire erases 72 year old Delroy Lindo’s experiences of having that word yelled at him during the civil rights era? Being millionaires meant hearing that word yelled on at their son was OK for Michael B Jordan’s parents? What about the other non-millionaires he also yelled it at during the evening?

I think it’s you that needs to grow the fuck up if you think money erases people’s lived experiences and makes them immune to feelings in a situation like this.

He has acknowledged it

“I wanted to thank BAFTA and everyone involved in the awards last night for their support and understanding and inviting me to attend the broadcast. I appreciated the announcement to the auditorium in advance of the recording, warning everyone that my tics are involuntary and are not a reflection of my personal beliefs.

I was heartened by the round of applause that followed this announcement and felt welcomed and understood in an environment that would normally be impossible for me. In addition to the announcement by Alan Cumming, the BBC and BAFTA, I can only add that I am, and always have been deeply mortified if anyone considers my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning.

I was in attendance to celebrate the film of my life, I SWEAR, which more than any film or TV documentary, explains the origins, condition, traits and manifestations of Tourette Syndrome. I have spent my life trying to support and empower the Tourette’s community and to teach empathy, kindness and understanding from others and I will continue to do so. I chose to leave the auditorium early into the ceremony as I was aware of the distress my tics were causing.”

I think if you knew one of the awards was for someone with Tourettes if you decide to attend you kinda are going to have to be prepared for hearing offensive words tbh...

As a woman of colour, you bet I would have cared! I would have wanted to be warned that I would potentially be abused on live TV in front of millions BEFORE I signed up! I would have declined ! No way would I be prioritising the feelings of one disabled man over the whole world hearing me being abused!!! One mans feelings are not more important than mine!!!

If they weren't told that's a matter for the BAFTAs /BBC not the person with Tourettes

wheelchair fell onto an audience member, injuring them. No one would call that a conflict of rights!!

This right here is the problem – at best unconscious bias at worst racism. The slur carries centuries of oppression, generational trauma, violence, and danger. It is not just a word or a one-off moment. An accident, regardless of intent, does not come anywhere near the historical weight or the impact it triggers for many black people. Intentional or not. A more appropriate comparison would be asking a female rape victim to reframe their trauma and share group counselling session with trans woman who had been raped.

A reasonable person can see that space should have been held for JD and others who live with Tourette’s, while also holding space for MJ, MBJ, and DLO. Two things can be true at once: it was unintentional, and it caused harm. Centering ableism erases the racial impact of the moment. A balanced response would acknowledge both the neurological reality of tics and racial harm of the slur not a hierarchy of harm which as usual put black people at the bottom of the pile.

The BBC should be ashamed.

You starting again?

Nice words. No practical solution.

You haven't actually got a solution that doesn't shame and punish and punch down though have you?

So this statement isn’t 95% centred on himself and has zero direct acknowledgement for the two men he embarrassed on stage as well as the two others he also yelled the slur at?