@JeremyDuns Years ago when I worked for a bookstore we decided judging a book based on its cover wasn't shallow enough for us, and henceforth we would judge books by the author's photograph. I am now going to rush out and read everything by Forsyth.
@OpheliaBenson I suspect she would not be so tolerant if the same were to happen to one of her lectures. (And I'm not suggesting it should -- this shouldn't happen, period!)
@susie_dent Another in our family -- the condition of being unable to move because a cat is sitting on you and mustn't be disturbed. We call it being pussed.
@susie_dent I once attempted to say to my infant "who's a cranky monkey then", and it came out "who's a crunkle munkle?" Ever since, he's been "the Munkle" and "to crunkle" is an oft-used verb in our house (and sometimes out of it). No one ever seems to notice the latter isn't a real word!
Delroy Lindo called it “a classic case of something that could be very negative becoming very positive.”
For families living with Tourette’s, this past week has not felt positive.
Since the BAFTAs and what happened with John Davidson, I have been arguing that my son deserves to leave his home and be included in society like everyone else.
I have had to explain, again and again, that Tourette’s is neurological.
That tics are involuntary.
That coprolalia is not belief, not intent, not character.
Yet the conversation keeps circling back to whether people like John, and by extension my son, should simply stay home to avoid offending anyone.
Stay home.
Remove yourself.
Do not attend events.
Do not exist publicly in case your disability makes someone uncomfortable.
That is the reality this week.
This is not abstract for me. My son already navigates anxiety and the constant fear of being misunderstood. Inclusion cannot mean only if your disability is convenient. It cannot mean you are welcome as long as you do not embarrass us.
My son deserves to leave the house.
He deserves to attend events.
He deserves to exist in public.
And I am exhausted from having to argue that basic truth.
@JoeBangles11 That was the thing I found so surprising when I became a parent -- I expected it to be hard, and I expected it to be rewarding, but I didn't expect it to be so much fun!!
A teenage girl beat the reigning champion, a boy, in the regional chess tournament. He knocked the board over and stormed out. The organizers gave her the trophy in a back room. The local paper's headline read, "King Dethroned by Dark Horse." Her photo was not included. The boy was interviewed about "handling pressure." She quit competitive chess. But please, tell me about sportsmanship..
This is the ugly double standard: Boys get sympathy for losing, girls get erased for winning
@MrsBertBibby@BradfemlyWalsh Listening to it you can often get the gist -- when I studied it my professor started off by reading a parable (in Sweet's Anglo Saxon Primer) and it was instantly recognizable as the man who built his house on rock vs sand.
Happy Christmas to you all, my friends, followers, and fellow pedants.
May your pauses be short, your lists be clear, and no one wonder whether you’re eating Grandma.