Here’s a question I’ve often pondered: Do people with tourette’s syndome go to the cinema, or do they always wait for the DVD release of a film, knowing that they’re likely blight other people’s enjoyment of a movie by suddenly shouting “TWAT!” during the quiet bits?
Dunno Fras. I’ll give it some serious thought however. I guess though that no matter where they went they could yell ‘fuck’ at the inappropriate time.
True, but you’re not going to ruin anyone’s shopping experience by repeatedly shrieking obscenities at Costcutter or IKEA. If anything, it would add a frisson of excitement to the entire adventure.
have you read confederacy of dunces by john kennedy toole. pretty much my favourite book. ignatius often goes to the cinema to see the popular movies of the day and swears and shouts at the screen all the way through. he didn’t have tourette’s though. just a troublesome valve.
I lunched near an elder with Tourette’s last week. He kept yelling “Vanilla Ice!” which was funnier than yelling “Twat” for some reason.
Anyone watch Shameless? Excellent Tourettes action each week.
Cheers for the tip Ian – bought Confederacy of Dunces at lunchtime, read the first few pages on the way home. Very promising indeed.
Saw the Shameless Xmas special, thought it was genius.
surely crying CRAP or BOLLOCKS forms an integral part of a normal visit to Ikea… or should I start quizzing my mother for a precedent of the tourets gene….?
you’ll notice that his girlfriend (or sorts) is one myrna minkoff – the pen name adopted by cath carroll back in the day.
Read Oliver Sacks’ ‘An Anthropologist on Mars’ – it’s got an essay on a *surgeon* who had Tourette’s, but was able to function pretty well. Oh, and he was a pilot too. Sacks actually went flying with him. Twat.
Hi, I actually have tourettes but don’t have the problem with swearing. Did any of you know that tourettes has many forms and a lot of people don’t shout swear words of have similar problems? Most cases are quite mild. Infact one in ten school children have tourettes of some degree. Ever seen someone blink irregularly and often, or someone who seems to widen their eyes every so often for no reason? Look out for it any you’ll realise that you often see at least one person a day who has tourettes.
Hey, I also have tourettes, but I don’t know about the irregular eye widening or blinking thing. One out of ten is kind of steep. I’ve never had a problem swearing, but I sure say “NO!” a lot. Kind of embarassing. Anyone else out there say “NO”? What’s up with that?