This is a favorite
pastime of mine. For example I walk through the
mall throwing my shoulder into spasms,
striking my head. I throw my
head back, and make
weird noises. Everyone around me looks at me for a
split second and quickly
averts his eyes in an
awkward stare toward the
floor, or toward the
ceiling; they look in any
direction but mine. After displaying these
classic symptoms of
Tourette's syndrome, I
flash my
middle finger at someone, and then my friend comes by and hugs me from behind across the shoulders, in an
ostentious effort to calm me down.
This little game is often more fun on a bus or subway, because other passengers are seated opposite me and are forced to endure my nearly epileptic episodes until they get off at their stop.
What makes this game so intriguing is the ability to see how people react to freaks, firsthand. After all, there is no appropriate way to deal with a situation like this. You can't continue staring because that is rude and insensitive, but it is very difficult to look away because it is patently obvious to the person with the disability why you are looking away. Stepping into the shoes of someone with Tourette's syndrome allows you to see how it feels to have everyone's eyes averted away from you.