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I keep seeing now people going up to random white touretters and accusing them of having an n word tic whether they have it or not and like......???
Do y'all think this is how to solve racism??
I wish I could stop talking about this, but these narratives literally endanger me.
Do y'all think this is how to solve racism??
I wish I could stop talking about this, but these narratives literally endanger me.
For clarity, I have tics where I involuntarily swear at the police specifically, among other situational tics that can put me in danger or, yes, offend people. I am also Black, so this affects me in a much different way than these white touretters.
If you're saying in any way that we should control our symptoms, be able to hide them or that they're a true reflection of our thoughts, feelings, intent, etc., you are directly contributing to a narrative the police can use to shoot me.
And it's one thing if someone actually has an n word tic. I know tics like that can be confusing to people. But at some point, y'all have to stop using your "confusion" to excuse your ableism and willful ignorance and the perpetuation of stigma.
Painting all people with Tourette's as awful people who use their condition as an excuse bad behavior does not help me as a Black person whose behavior is far more stigmatized. But y'all assume all touretters are white and therefore this is supposed to be allyship, right?
As a Black touretter, white people's offensive tics are the furthest thing from my mind when I think about how to tackle white supremacy. That is absolutely the least of my problems. And yes, I have had people tic the n word at me. I do not care.
And I'm not saying you can't have feelings about it, but you are responsible for how you respond because that affects Black touretters like me too. And honestly, if you're white or just non-black, you really have no excuse.
Why harass disabled people for something they can't help and doesn't even really affect you anyways? And that leads to dangerous consequences for Black people who also do have Tourette's?
I should also mention that it's FAR less likely for Black people with Tourette's to have a diagnosis because a lot of the white Tourette's community is actually really racist, but not because of their tics. So they're far less likely to even have this cogent of an explanation
to give people, including the police. And furthering this stigma doesn't help them get a diagnosis or reduce the stigma we still face when we go out in the world. Let's focus on that rather than worrying abt which tics white touretters have & whether or not we wanna cancel them.
