A conversational transcript from a YouTube video titled "The Importance of Empathy and Diversity" (uploaded by Patrick Biddiscombe). The speaker (SPEAKER A) recounts growing up with a disability, describing parents' roles—an encouraging, prank-loving father and a strict, equality-enforcing mother—who pushed her to try and not be coddled. She links this upbringing to resilience in facing public criticism, and urges society to stop online trolling, stressing that words can cause real harm and encouraging people to speak up against injustice.
Chapters
Yep. Oh, God. I don't care much, but it's good to be less trashy.
It's the jersey. You just can't.
It's the jersey, and it's red. Why am I not wearing a black bra? Who can talk to me about my fashion choices right now? Because my mother is gonna throw a slipper across the Hudson river, smack me upside the head, and then put it right back on her.
What role did your parents play in your life and perhaps even your humor?
When I was born, right, the doctors told my parents I was never gonna walk. And again, no problem in not walking. But my dad was determined to teach me. And he had a mantra, and his mantra was, you can do it. Yes, you can. Can. So he was my lifetime cheerleader, and he was the funniest dude you would ever meet. And his favorite holiday was April Fool's Day. And my dad had the best April Fool's jokes. And I tell people about them, and they get horrified, and they're like, that is not funny. I'm like, yes, it is. So my dad, one time, he came running into the house, and he was like, put your shoes on. Put your shoes on. And we were like, what's happening? What's happening? And he said that one of my siblings had gotten run over by an ice cream truck, and we had all distinctly heard the sound of the ice cream cream truck right before you ran in, so we knew there was a truck. And we're, like, putting on our shoes, and, like, you know, people are, like, fanning themselves. And he's like, evan, polish. And I was like, yes. You nailed it. And, like, my friends were like, that's not cool, dude. That is not. I'm like, that is so cool. But my mom is the enforcer. You know, I like the phrase tiger mom. I love my mom. My mom makes me walk three miles a day. And, like, when we first started walking, I was like, undisable lady, leave me alone. And she's like, walk. And I'm like, fine, I'll walk. Like, that's who she is. And when I was younger, I was like, my mom is still tough on me. And now it makes me strong enough to deal with all the hate that I get, because I was on 60 Minutes, and I called up my mom. I was like, mom, did you see me on 60 Minutes? And. And she was like, yes, your hair looked terrible. And she was right. I watched the video, and my hair did look terrible. And I'm glad that she told me so that I could look good instead of looking Terrible. And I don't think that we as a society take criticism the way that we should.
Yeah, right, absolutely.
You know, because we think of everything as an attack. But there's criticism that will actually help you become a more decent Beyonce, like human being, you know, and having her treat me exactly like my sisters. I was my dad's favorite, but my mom, my sisters will not like that. But she treated me exactly like my sisters. So I remember one day she was like, we're going to clean the house. And I was like, I can't, I'm disabled. And she put a towel under my butt and had me scooch on the kitchen floor. And I was like, okay, I guess I'm grateful. But that equality, that being treated exactly like my sister served me so well in my life because when I didn't do things, I didn't do things because I couldn't, not because I didn't try. I always tried before saying, I can't. I didn't try to do like open heart surgery. Like, don't, you know, don't do that.
I wouldn't do that. Many of us shouldn't.
You could, but I really cannot.
Did you know, like, when growing up as a kid, your mom treating you equally as your sisters, did you know that in the moment or was that something that was like a hindsight is 2020 and you realized as you got older?
I didn't know. I knew that I had a disability. I was fully aware, but my friends didn't treat me differently, my sisters didn't treat me differently, and my parents didn't treat me differently. So. So when I got older and I heard the horror stories, how parents would either put all the focus on the disabled child and neglect the non disabled siblings, which caused jealousy and, you know, all those things, or they would leave out the disabled child, just assuming that they were never gonna do what their siblings would do.
What is your hope for? I don't know, call it the next 30 years, 40 years, 50 years? In that time, like, what do you want to see? Where do you want us to have gotten? If we could get this one thing.
It would be so I'm going to make sure that I'm good for this one because this is deep. I want people to not be Internet trolls and not raise Internet trolls. I think that another way that we can be a better society is by realizing that words matter. We were raised to believe that sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. And that's simply not true. People will harm themselves based on words. And you don't ever want to be the person who causes another person to harm themselves. And I think we've lost that. I think that the viciousness that we see online is because people don't realize that they have better choices that these things. They think it's a game and. And it's not a game. So I always say, if you feel like posting hate online, Google cats on glass tables. It will change your life, you know? And finally, you have to say no to being silenced, because your voice is your only way against injustice, and we need you to use it.
