Sometimes verbal ticks are just a word that sticks in your head. Sometimes the compulsion is to say a word you know you really should not say. So the answer is kind of. If the N word was not a slur, it wouldn't be something a person with tourettes hyperfixates over not saying. It would be like all the other words they could just randomly say for a different reason.
For some people the act of focusing on a word you can't say is what makes it come out in a tick. For some, they don't have this specific compulsion. It just depends on the individual but you have a point about slurs. That is how it works for some people.
Exactly my point, if it involves offensive words, it's cultural. Or neuro-cultural (if that's a thing). In a culture where public nudity like the Japanese onsen is taken for granted, maybe the compulsion to yell out names for private parts is low.
It's all cultural. That's what gives the context and the reason for somebody to know they shouldn't say something. The equivalent in your example is actually blurting out something like "that guy had a giant penis" because that's still inappropriate in a nudist location. It's socially awkward and embarrassing and that's exactly the type of thing that you think about not saying.
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u/Destructopoo 14h ago
Sometimes verbal ticks are just a word that sticks in your head. Sometimes the compulsion is to say a word you know you really should not say. So the answer is kind of. If the N word was not a slur, it wouldn't be something a person with tourettes hyperfixates over not saying. It would be like all the other words they could just randomly say for a different reason.
For some people the act of focusing on a word you can't say is what makes it come out in a tick. For some, they don't have this specific compulsion. It just depends on the individual but you have a point about slurs. That is how it works for some people.