👣niteyeti 🏴‍☠️ @niteyeti - Twitter Profile

>be John Davidson >born 1971 >Galashiels, Scotland >working class family in the Scottish Borders >football-mad kid >just wants to be a goalkeeper 1983: >you're 12 >a scout is coming to watch you play >this is your shot >then something happens >your body starts doing things you can't control >tics >involuntary vocalisations >noises you didn't choose >head teacher's response: whip your hands with a belt >you perform badly >dad leaves shortly after >you walk into a river >you're 12 school: >no diagnosis >no framework >just a kid who "can't behave" >mocked daily >leave at 16 >no qualifications >the world has decided what you are 1989: >BBC comes to Galashiels >films your life >"John's Not Mad" >airs nationally >some people feel compassion >most kids use it as ammunition >your face becomes shorthand for mockery in playgrounds across the country >you know this >you keep going the wilderness years: >no diagnosis until you're 25 >25 years old before anyone gives it a name >you've been living it for over a decade without language for it >you get a job >caretaker at Langlee Community Centre >you stay there your whole working life the turn: >a family is referred to you >their daughter has Tourette's >she's struggling >you start hosting workshops >schools >police stations >you explain what it means to live in a body people don't understand >unpaid >for years >because nobody did it for you 2019: >Holyrood Palace >the Queen is about to give you an MBE >you shout "Fuck the Queen" >directly at her >she reacts with complete calm and kindness >the kid the belt hit >gets a medal 2025: >a film about your life premieres at Toronto International Film Festival >"I Swear" >six BAFTA nominations February 2026: >you're in the auditorium >watching a film about your life >your Tourette's doesn't stop for the occasion >it never has >mid-ceremony your tics ring out across the room >and on the live broadcast >as Black actors take the stage >you shout a racial slur >involuntarily >uncontrollably >you leave early >you know you're causing distress >you've known that feeling your whole life >Jamie Foxx goes on Instagram >"Nah he meant that s**t" >"Out of all the words you could've said Tourette's makes you say that" >the internet piles on >thousands outraged at a man who cannot control what comes out of his mouth >the film that explains exactly this wins three BAFTAs that same night >including Best Actor >the room got it >the internet did not >because the internet didn't watch the film see -- Every founder, artist, activist, author, coach or ANYONE who wants to change the world should take note: Stop apologising for who you are. Be the change you want to see.