The anger toward John Davidson’s racist Baftas outburst is understandable. But I’ve had to ask what I owe to others with the condition
I cover Canada for the Guardian, a country spanning six time zones and more than 40 million people, whose stories I get to tell for a living.
I’ve had a successful career but at times, I worry that my work suffers because I have Tourette syndrome (TS).
I almost always suggest phone interviews instead of in-person. I worry my twitching eyes and head shakes distract the very people I need to open up to me. I’ve tried hard to convince myself that the effects of TS are something mostly just I notice, that most people don’t care.
But during the Bafta awards last weekend, John Davidson, who has dedicated much of his life to expanding society’s understanding of TS, made several racist outbursts, including yelling the N-word as actors Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan presented a prize on stage. Davidson lives with a rare and particularly cruel form of the disorder called coprolalia – one that forces him to involuntarily shout the most obscene and offensive things imaginable.
