He was not able to finish school because he kept getting kicked out of class and wasn't able to sit for his exams. I believe he still works at the same place he's worked since he was a teenager - as a caretaker for a rec center that helps, among other things, kids like him. He attempted suicide after his family blamed him for his father leaving, and moved in with a family friend, where he was largely a shut-in because every time he tried to go out, he either did something or said something (his tics are also motion-related, of course, that's most TS patients, so like one time he knocked a guy's drink out of his hand and that's when the fight started). He has been passionate about advocacy though, so he goes to schools and gives lectures and hosts summer camp for kids with TS. His story got picked up and eventually the film I Swear was made. I think it won awards last night, and that's why he was there - he helped a lot with the film. It's because this is the last thing he wanted to happen...that it happened.
I don't know the answer either - I don't want people to be harassed or harmed. I have my own mental health issues - namely extreme anxiety and PTSD on top of severe depression - and if I had no context for why a guy was suddenly screaming that I'm a slut, I'd be terrified. And that's on a much lesser level of intensity than someone using the n word specifically. But I do have empathy for how hard his life is. There IS a lot of disability advocacy about not apologizing for things out of your control, and he's had to go through things his whole life of having to be sorry he ruined his family and sorry his teachers beat him because he wouldn't stop saying inappropriate things and sorry he told the cops he had drugs and sorry he told the queen "**** the queen" and so on. It's just that for me...I am American, and that word has SUCH heaviness, even that I feel, which isn't a fraction of what Black people feel. He may not have realized that the warning given wasn't sufficient for people not super familiar with his story, where he often is in the UK, meaning this men could not be sure exactly who was yelling or why. I saw MBJ's face - we're a soap board, I've loved that kid since AMC - just drop and I felt so bad for him. This is a situation where it wasn't just his night, it was their night and they'll be stuck with this clip chasing them forever now. I wish he'd leaned more towards that end because this particular situation is so bad.
I genuinely don't know the right thing here. I have such empathy for all three and that feels so incompatible right now.
