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"Oh, Yeah? Then Prove it."
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| TheatreLvr08 |
Posted on September 06 2008 01:47 PM
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Member
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Posts: 171
Joined: 2006-09-08
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So I am a huge fan of Keira Knightley, and the other day I was reading an interview with her in The Guardian. If you're not aware, Knightley has dyslexia, and part of the interview read thus:
"She admits she's still a crap speller, though, So I ask her to spell February. 'You can't do that to somebody,' she says (and it occurs to me that challenging someone who has just told you they are dyslexic to spell something is perhaps a bit wrong.) But she spells it, correctly, though she makes the sounds of the letters rather than saying their names, much as a child would. Licence next. 'Are we actually going to do a spelling test?' she asks, then puts her foot down. 'I'm not going to.'"
I could not believe the interviewer would be so rude as to embarrass her like that!
Has anyone else experienced something like this when people hear about your dyscalculia? I know I have. A lot of people, when I tell them I have it and explain what it affects, go, "Oh, yeah? So what time is it now?"
Okay... I just told you I have trouble telling time, so what on earth would possess you to ask that question? Are you testing to see how dyscalculic I really am? And it's a no-win situtation- if you get it right, they go, "Ha, I thought you said you were dyscalculic!" But if you get it wrong, they just kind of look at you in disbelief. (This might just be in America where it's not nearly as well-known.) I hate being put into those situations, but it seems like it's inevitable.
~Rachel~
I love to act, sing, and dance. |
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| Laura |
Posted on September 06 2008 02:12 PM
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Member
Location: Scotland
Posts: 1229
Joined: 2006-11-16
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OMG the interviewer was unbeliavably rude and arrogant. I can not believe he tried to do that to Keira Knightley. It just goes to show that people are so insensitive to other people
BTW I LOVE KEIRA KNIGHTLEY SHE IS SO COOL!!!
BEEN THERE DONE THAT, GOT THE T-SHIRT |
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| reverend blamo |
Posted on September 06 2008 02:13 PM
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Member
Location: Island of Misfit Toys
Posts: 620
Joined: 2007-10-25
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Not so much "challenged" or tested. I have recently been told, after a woman did some internet searching on the topics, that I did't seem Aspergerish (is that a word?  ) or Dyscalculish. She said I seemed very smart. I found myself insulted at being called smart.
I think she caught on a bit when, at a BBQ, I only spoke to two people, an artist and a writer. People I felt comfortable with.
What were we talking about?
PS. I have no idea who Kiera Knightly is...I'll have to look that up. I have no pop culture knowledge whatsoever. (if she [?] is even part of pop culture)
"I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused..."
Elvis Costello |
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| eoffg |
Posted on September 06 2008 02:24 PM
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 of clu[26].jpg)
Administrator
Location: Australia
Posts: 1262
Joined: 2005-03-20
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Maybe the same interviewer would tip a Paraplegic out of their wheel-chair?
Just to see if they really can't get up?
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| TheatreLvr08 |
Posted on September 06 2008 02:30 PM
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Member
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Posts: 171
Joined: 2006-09-08
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^Good point, eoffg!
Reverend blammo, she stars in movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, Pride and Prejudice, Atonement, and Bend it Like Beckham, among others. 
~Rachel~
I love to act, sing, and dance. |
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| Lostinspatial |
Posted on September 06 2008 02:36 PM
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Member
Location: That would require me to know where I was
Posts: 429
Joined: 2008-06-08
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Ugh, how rude. Good for Keira. She & Daniel Radcliffe are doing their bit for LDs. Now we just need a famous dyscalculiac. |
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| justfoundout |
Posted on September 06 2008 08:15 PM
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Member
Location: Texas USA
Posts: 6097
Joined: 2008-05-25
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9/6/08
Dear Geoff,
This time you made me laugh. You always seem to be the "bookworm" here on the forum,... maybe peeking over your book at us through your glasses. It's exactly as you said in your illustration. Some people seem to think that people with LD's are a 'side-show of freaks', -- just there for their amusement. When we insist on being taken seriously, they try to make us believe that we are "spoil sports" with no sense of humor. We don't "dance for them", so they're mad.
I don't know who Keira Knightley is, either. But, like Blamo, I'll find out and keep my eyes open for her.
Blamo, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that you were offended by being called 'smart'. Rather, you were offended at being called 'smart' as opposed to 'dyscalculish' or 'aspergersish'. 'Smart' by itself is fine. It's when their 'menu selection' excludes 'smart' from being combined with any 'LD' that people cause offense.
Lisa_, let's get famous so we'll have a famous dyscalculic. ha ha
Surely there's some famous painter or singer that can help us out with a 'name'. - justfoundout |
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| reverend blamo |
Posted on September 06 2008 11:17 PM
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Member
Location: Island of Misfit Toys
Posts: 620
Joined: 2007-10-25
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I know who she is now...I saw one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. See? I have some reference to pop culture. (the others I never heard of, oh well)
No,I wasn't insulted by being called smart. It was more the "Are you sure you have this, you seem so smart?" as if I couldn't BOTH. Reading some of the stuff everyone (excepting a troll of course) has written here, I feel surrounded by very intelligent people. Saying something like this insults everyone with LDs. Then again, why should I care. People, my own parents have said much worse.
What were we talking about?.boy do I go off topic.
"I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused..."
Elvis Costello |
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| Dulcy |
Posted on September 09 2008 05:23 PM
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Member
Location: American Southeast
Posts: 202
Joined: 2008-08-27
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I've been asked all sorts of rude questions. Not about this, but other things. I have two tactics. One is to simply pretend I didn't hear the question. Or, depending on the level of rudeness, just raise an eyebrow at them and THEN pretend I didn't hear it.
If they ask again, I just say, "Wow, and I was going to let you pretend you didn't just say that once already." And then let it go at that. Rare is the person who persists after that.
Or, if it's really rude, "I beg your pardon?" never fails to shut them up.
I almost said "I can't believe anyone would be so rude as to attempt to embarass someone like that in an interview", but you know what? I can believe just about anythihg at this point.
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?"
The Summer Day by Mary Oliver |
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| evie dee |
Posted on September 09 2008 07:58 PM
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Member
Location: Detroit, Michigan
Posts: 570
Joined: 2007-12-01
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Laura wrote:
OMG the interviewer was unbeliavably rude and arrogant. I can not believe he tried to do that to Keira Knightley. It just goes to show that people are so insensitive to other people
BTW I LOVE KEIRA KNIGHTLEY SHE IS SO COOL!!!
Yeah that does seem rather rude. |
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| Lostinspatial |
Posted on September 09 2008 08:24 PM
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Member
Location: That would require me to know where I was
Posts: 429
Joined: 2008-06-08
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Dulcy wrote:
One is to simply pretend I didn't hear the question. Or, depending on the level of rudeness, just raise an eyebrow at them and THEN pretend I didn't hear it.
If they ask again, I just say, "Wow, and I was going to let you pretend you didn't just say that once already." And then let it go at that. Rare is the person who persists after that..
I love this approach! May I borrow it? |
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| justfoundout |
Posted on September 09 2008 10:18 PM
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Member
Location: Texas USA
Posts: 6097
Joined: 2008-05-25
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9/9/08
I'd love to use that, Dulcy, but I'm one of those people who always flubs her lines. - justfoundout |
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| thespazzgirl |
Posted on September 20 2008 02:10 AM
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Member
Location: Iowa, USA
Posts: 17
Joined: 2008-09-20
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eoffg wrote:
Maybe the same interviewer would tip a Paraplegic out of their wheel-chair?
Just to see if they really can't get up?
Well said. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually did. |
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| Dulcy |
Posted on September 20 2008 02:21 AM
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Member
Location: American Southeast
Posts: 202
Joined: 2008-08-27
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Yes, Lisa, please do. I'd love it if more people took rude people to task.
PS TheatreLve08, I love your avatar. That may well have been off one of my math papers from freshman year high school. I told them I couldn't do the work. They didn't believe me.
I swear I may have actually turned that in as an answer. I know for a fact that when asked to write a proof....worded "prove blah blah blah" I simply wrote "I'll take your word for it." on the paper and tuned it in.
Even then I was a smart ass.
Edited by Dulcy on September 20 2008 02:25 AM
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?"
The Summer Day by Mary Oliver |
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| Toe_Nail |
Posted on September 28 2008 07:23 PM
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Member
Location: No value
Posts: 915
Joined: 2006-08-13
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Hi TheatreLvr, nice to see you back
TheatreLvr08 wrote:
...Has anyone else experienced something like this when people hear about your dyscalculia?
Yeah I think that we all have. It sure annoys the heck out of me. That was espescially true when I first got diagnosed with dyscalculia. Now I have just learned to stay away from people like that.
It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer -- Albert Einstein |
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| evie dee |
Posted on September 29 2008 06:11 PM
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Member
Location: Detroit, Michigan
Posts: 570
Joined: 2007-12-01
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TheatreLvr08 wrote:
So I am a huge fan of Keira Knightley, and the other day I was reading an interview with her in The Guardian. If you're not aware, Knightley has dyslexia, and part of the interview read thus:
"She admits she's still a crap speller, though, So I ask her to spell February. 'You can't do that to somebody,' she says (and it occurs to me that challenging someone who has just told you they are dyslexic to spell something is perhaps a bit wrong.) But she spells it, correctly, though she makes the sounds of the letters rather than saying their names, much as a child would. Licence next. 'Are we actually going to do a spelling test?' she asks, then puts her foot down. 'I'm not going to.'"
I could not believe the interviewer would be so rude as to embarrass her like that!
Has anyone else experienced something like this when people hear about your dyscalculia? I know I have. A lot of people, when I tell them I have it and explain what it affects, go, "Oh, yeah? So what time is it now?"
Okay... I just told you I have trouble telling time, so what on earth would possess you to ask that question? Are you testing to see how dyscalculic I really am? And it's a no-win situtation- if you get it right, they go, "Ha, I thought you said you were dyscalculic!" But if you get it wrong, they just kind of look at you in disbelief. (This might just be in America where it's not nearly as well-known.) I hate being put into those situations, but it seems like it's inevitable.
I've never had anyone ask me that. |
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