- 3 hours ago
The Assembly (CA) - Season 1 Episode 5 -
Arlene Dickinson
Arlene Dickinson
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Besides humans, human people need to learn to love spiders.
00:05Human people need to learn to love spiders.
00:12Yeah, Kevin, she'll be coming behind you.
00:16Through this way?
00:17Yeah, from down over there.
00:18Oh, okay.
00:21Everybody, she's on her way.
00:24Hi.
00:30You've got a big crew here.
00:32Who are they here for?
00:33You.
00:35Hi, everybody.
00:38Hello.
00:39Hi.
00:40Hello.
00:41Nice to meet you.
00:42Hello, hello.
00:43Hi, nice to meet you.
00:44My name's Lyle.
00:45Lyle?
00:46Yes.
00:47Nice to meet you, Lyle.
00:48Nice to meet you.
00:49Did you come off the plane today to come here?
00:51I came all the way from Singapore.
00:52Oh, well, you're from China?
00:55From Asia, who was just there visiting.
00:57Oh, cool, cool.
00:58You're one of my favorite dragons on Dragon's Dance.
01:00Oh, thank you.
01:01You're now my favorite.
01:02Congrats on 20 seasons on Dragon's Dance.
01:03I know.
01:04Yeah, congratulations.
01:05Nice to meet you here.
01:06Dickinson.
01:07What's your name?
01:08Name's Luca.
01:09Luca?
01:10Yes.
01:11Okay, I'm not going to remember everybody's names.
01:12Juliana.
01:13Hi, Juliana.
01:14Hi.
01:15It's nice to meet you in person versus on TV.
01:17Oh, it's so nice to meet you, too.
01:19Are there more of you coming out?
01:20That's right.
01:21Yeah.
01:22Oh, wow.
01:23Wait a minute.
01:24I had no idea there were so many.
01:25Yeah.
01:26Wow.
01:27I'm a little nervous.
01:28Don't be nervous.
01:29Okay.
01:30Be yourself, for sure.
01:31Yeah.
01:32Be yourself, yeah.
01:33This is going to be the best one, right?
01:35Yeah.
01:36Yeah.
01:37Yay.
01:38Woo-hoo.
01:39Okay, everybody.
01:40I think we're ready to get started.
01:45Juliana, can you open the show for us?
01:53Welcome to the Assembly, a collective of autistic and neurodivergent interviewers.
01:59We are very delighted to have you join us today.
02:02Our rules are no subjects are out of bounds, no questions are off the table, and all might
02:11happen.
02:12Oh.
02:13Can you please tell us who you are and embrace yourself for something fun?
02:16Okay.
02:17Well, thank you, Juliana.
02:18I am Arlene Dickinson, and I'm going to have fun.
02:23I came all this way to have fun.
02:25So, yes, we're going to have a good time.
02:28Our first question is Lucas.
02:38Thank you so much for doing this.
02:40I know you've won the Queen Elizabeth III Platinum Jubilee Medal, is that correct?
02:45Mm-hmm.
02:46I'm also a King Charles III Coronation Medal.
02:48Oh, wow.
02:51That's amazing.
02:52I'd love to know why you got the King's Coronation Medal.
02:56My work in autism advocacy among others.
02:58Wow.
02:59Okay.
03:00Anyway, my question to you Arlene is, for anyone in the autism community or any community member,
03:05down on their luck, is there any advice or anything you would give to them?
03:08Because you've gone through so much in your life.
03:11So, I came from like, when we came from South Africa, my family had like $50.
03:20We had no money at all.
03:22And so we lived very, very poor.
03:24We had no money for groceries.
03:26So food was a very big thing in our home.
03:28We couldn't go to the grocery store to get food whenever we wanted it because we didn't
03:32have any money.
03:33So we couldn't just go to the store to get food.
03:35You know, we had food, but it was very, wasn't like a regular thing.
03:38We never had new clothes, but I never had a new dress until I was 13 years old.
03:44Holy.
03:45And that was because I actually saved my money from babysitting to be able to buy that dress.
03:50And it cost me like $12.
03:52I can remember this like yesterday.
03:54And that was like a lot of money back then.
03:57Mm-hmm.
03:58And I think when you come from nothing, it can be easy to become a victim and say that you're
04:03always going to have nothing.
04:05But, but it's advocating for yourself and doing the things that are going to tell you that
04:12you can get out of the situation you're in.
04:14Absolutely.
04:15And that takes courage.
04:19And I think when you're feeling down, remember that you actually are shining for somebody
04:24else and you're making their life better.
04:26Well, I really do appreciate that.
04:28And everyone here thanks you for that.
04:30Thanks, Lucas.
04:31And next is Damon.
04:33Hello, Arlene. I'm Damon.
04:44It is lovely to have you here with us today.
04:47I am non-speaking, so we'll need a little time to type out my question.
04:53As a non-speaking individual, it often happens that people assume I don't understand the world
05:21around me.
05:23They address me as though I am an adorable little kid.
05:26Consequently, I am anxious in new situations.
05:30So, I am wondering, are there aspects of your life in which you feel insecure?
05:37Oh, Damon, such a good question.
05:46I'm really insecure in places where I feel judged by my appearance.
05:56So, I almost didn't go on the TV show, Damon, because I thought people were going to judge
06:02me by the way I looked.
06:04And it was a new situation for me.
06:06And I thought they were going to think that I was either too old or too overweight or I
06:11had too many wrinkles or I wasn't smart enough or didn't know what I was doing.
06:16And that made me really anxious.
06:19So, I suffer from anxiety attacks and panic attacks often.
06:25And they're scary, right?
06:27They're horrible because you wake up in the middle of the night and you can be really upset.
06:31But I think we need to just remember that you shouldn't care what they think about you.
06:36You should only care about how you feel about yourself.
06:38When I have anxiety attacks, I try really hard to do breathing exercises and all the things
06:47that they tell you to do when you have anxiety attacks.
06:49So, I do all that stuff.
06:50I hope maybe that will help you too because it helps me.
07:08I don't care.
07:09I don't care.
07:10I don't care.
07:11I don't care.
07:12I don't care.
07:13I don't care.
07:14Thanks.
07:15Sorry about your panic attacks.
07:16You are exceptionally lovely.
07:19And thanks for the advice.
07:20Yeah.
07:21Anxiety, it's not fun.
07:23It sucks.
07:24But don't let it get to you.
07:26You're great.
07:29Okay, darling.
07:31Okay.
07:32Are you going to give me a hug?
07:35Oh, thank you.
07:36That's all.
07:37Aw.
07:40Yeah.
07:46Alex is next.
07:48Sorry, my yarn's tangled.
07:50There you go.
07:52Hey.
07:53Alex, is that a snail?
07:55Yes, it is.
07:56It is a slug.
07:57I love it.
07:58Yes.
07:59Would you like to try it out?
08:00Yeah, let me try it out.
08:02Thank you for sharing it with me.
08:03It's a slug.
08:04There you go.
08:05This is a mini slug.
08:06They do come in larger sizes as well.
08:08I like it.
08:09I like it.
08:10Fantastic.
08:11I'm glad you like it.
08:12Okay, so my question for you today is, what is your biggest weakness in your career?
08:20My biggest weakness in my career has been probably not believing in myself enough early on.
08:27Yeah.
08:28I think when we're trying to build our lives, it's really easy to defeat yourself before anyone else defeats you, right?
08:37Definitely.
08:38To tell yourself you can't do things and to tell yourself you're not good enough.
08:41And so I think my biggest weakness has been not believing in myself early enough to be able to realize I could do more than I thought I could.
08:51That's fantastic.
08:52I started my career out like a slug, I would say.
08:55I was a little slow and I was sliding along.
08:59I needed to grow into something that was a little bit bigger and stronger.
09:02Yeah.
09:03I don't want to take this from you, so thank you for sharing it with me though.
09:06It actually helped to have it.
09:09Next is Luke.
09:10Hey Luke.
09:11Hi Arlene, thank you for being a guest on the assembly.
09:24My question for you is, have you always had a love for people?
09:29As an introvert myself, I find extroverts interesting.
09:38That's such a good question, Luke.
09:41Oh, you make me cry.
09:45Aw.
09:46Aw.
09:47Aw.
09:48Okay.
09:49If you need to cry, go ahead.
09:52So, I'm an introvert too, Luke.
09:55And people think I'm an extrovert because I'm on TV and I'm like I'm out there as a public personality.
10:01But I think, I think introverts are just people who feel things inside but they still, it doesn't mean that they don't like people, right?
10:15Just because you're an introvert doesn't mean you don't like people.
10:18And I love people but I like having just a few people around me at a time.
10:23The reason I'm crying is my parents taught me to love people.
10:27But I am very much an introvert, very insecure introvert.
10:32So, it's interesting how we can see people on the outside and we can judge them for what we see and we think they're a certain way but we never know what people are feeling on the inside.
10:44Right?
10:45Right.
10:46It's a really great question, Luke.
10:48And thank you for recording it.
10:55All that, all that work on my makeup, gone.
10:57It's just that, yeah.
10:58Okay.
10:59It's natural to, natural to feeling.
11:01Yeah, it's natural.
11:02Natural to so emotion.
11:04Yeah.
11:05Yeah, it's natural to so emotion.
11:06The kindness that makes you beautiful, actually.
11:07Not, uh, not really the makeup.
11:08Aw.
11:09Yeah, it's okay to be emotional.
11:11It's all right.
11:12Everyone has those moments.
11:13It's okay, yeah.
11:14Next is Conrad.
11:16Hello, Arlene.
11:17Hey, Conrad.
11:18Thanks for coming here.
11:19Um, since nothing is off the table, what led you to have an affair?
11:31Oh!
11:32Oh!
11:33Oh!
11:34Oh!
11:35Oh!
11:36Oh!
11:37Oh!
11:38Oh!
11:39Oh!
11:40Oh!
11:41Oh!
11:42Oh!
11:43Oh!
11:44Oh!
11:45Oh!
11:46Oh!
11:47Oh!
11:48Oh!
11:49Oh!
11:50Oh!
11:51Oh!
11:52Oh!
11:53Wow!
11:54Oh!
11:55Oh!
11:56Oh!
11:57Okay.
11:58Well, what led you to have an affair?
11:59Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
12:02Wow!
12:03Oh!
12:04I mean, okay.
12:06Well.
12:09Well, what led you in having an affair?
12:11What led me to have an affair?
12:14My ex-husband, he was nine years older than me,
12:17and we got married when I was 19 years old.
12:20And I didn't, I don't know, like I just wasn't thinking very well.
12:24I was young, and I was in a hurry to get married,
12:27and I was in a hurry to fall in love.
12:29And I was really unhappy in my marriage.
12:33And I wasn't very mature.
12:36And I was looking for love in all the wrong places.
12:40That's what led me to have an affair.
12:43Right?
12:44Uh-oh.
12:45Yeah.
12:46Yeah, I was very young, and I was just the first person
12:49that showed me some love, I thought, loved me.
12:52And it was exactly the wrong thing to do.
12:54So I'm not very proud of that moment, but that's why I did it.
12:59We appreciate it.
13:00Thank you for sharing.
13:01Yeah, yeah.
13:02You're welcome.
13:03Next is Dylan.
13:09Hello, Arlene.
13:11My question for you is, you wake up, and everyone thinks
13:16you are Kevin O'Leary.
13:18Oh, no.
13:19No.
13:20Wonderful.
13:23What would you do?
13:24Would you freak out or lean in?
13:27What would you do?
13:28He is so different than I am.
13:30We couldn't be more opposite of each other.
13:33Like, well, first of all, I have hair.
13:36Oh.
13:37Oh.
13:38Is that a little burn?
13:43And second of all, I like to make people happy,
13:49not tell them that they can't do something.
13:52I would be doing everything I could to tell them
13:55that I was a nice version of Kevin O'Leary.
13:59So I'd be Kevin O'Leary 2.0.
14:02I like that.
14:03Yeah.
14:04Yeah.
14:05Thanks, Dylan.
14:07Bobby, you're up.
14:08Oh, okay.
14:09Hey, Bobby.
14:10Is there a childhood experience that still haunts you today,
14:21and how does it affect your life now?
14:25I don't know.
14:29Yes.
14:30When my parents got divorced when I was 13 years old,
14:34because I came from a very poor upbringing,
14:38and that was a really difficult time for me.
14:42I had to learn to take care of myself
14:45and that I couldn't rely on anyone else to take care of me.
14:48And so that was very hard.
14:50Sorry to hear that.
14:51Yeah.
14:53That still drives me today,
14:54where I feel like everything I have
14:57could be taken away from me tomorrow.
14:59And so I'm still very driven to do as best as I can
15:04and take care of myself and my family.
15:07And it still drives me every day.
15:10Yeah.
15:12Thanks, Bobby.
15:14Nicole, you're next.
15:15I've had some seizures before, so I'm using a walker like that.
15:28Okay.
15:29So due to my autism, I was ostracized as a student.
15:36My question for you is, what was your social life like in school?
15:43Well, I'm sad to hear you were ostracized because of your autism.
15:50That's just wrong.
15:53I was younger in school, so I was a smart kid.
15:59So I was two years younger than everybody else in my class.
16:03And so when I graduated high school, I was 16 years old,
16:07and everybody else would have been almost 18 years old.
16:09And I didn't fit in.
16:12I didn't fit in with the older kids, and I didn't fit in with the younger kids
16:16because the younger kids were behind me in school,
16:18and the older kids thought I was just a kid.
16:20You know, they didn't want to hang with me.
16:22And I wasn't one of the cool kids.
16:24Like, I was not a cool kid at all.
16:26I was, like, really nerdy, and I just didn't.
16:29I wasn't cool.
16:30I still am not a cool kid.
16:31Like, you know what?
16:32I think it's okay.
16:34All the kids in school that were, like, the cool kids,
16:37if you meet them today, they're not as cool today.
16:40So you just realize that that's their moment in time.
16:42They peak early, is what I say.
16:44They peak early.
16:46But I think kids can be super mean.
16:51Yeah, I've seen that.
16:53Yeah.
16:54An experience.
16:55That's been my experience.
16:56Yeah.
16:57We were all surrounded by assholes when we were kids.
16:59Exactly.
17:00Yeah.
17:01Yeah.
17:04That was a great question.
17:07Sophie, you're next.
17:13Okay.
17:14So my question is, bring up your podcast with the title,
17:21Arlene is alone.
17:23What's it like being alone at your age?
17:26Oh.
17:27Wow.
17:28Well, I actually really like being alone,
17:35because I get to do whatever I want whenever I want to do it.
17:38And I actually, I'm never really alone.
17:42If you've watched the podcast, I always have people on the show.
17:45But being alone is nothing to be afraid of.
17:49Being alone can be scary when it first happens to you,
17:53but you can, again, you can be strong.
17:55And just because I'm not with somebody like romantically doesn't mean I don't have friends.
18:01I have lots of friends.
18:02Yeah.
18:03Yeah.
18:04Yeah.
18:05Thanks, Sophie.
18:06Luca, you are next.
18:08Hello, Arlene Dickinson.
18:10I am here to ask you a question.
18:12This one's going to kind of cut a little deep.
18:14So I heard you got divorced.
18:17And I wonder, like, how did you feel when that divorce happened when you lost custody of children?
18:28Oh, wow.
18:31Like, you guys go right to the heart.
18:33Yeah.
18:34How I felt at the time, it was devastating.
18:40It was awful.
18:41It was really, really hard.
18:43And so going through divorce when you have little kids was not easy.
18:48And I felt like a failure.
18:51What kind of failure?
18:52Did you feel like you were on, did you feel like you were falling off a waterfall?
18:58I think I felt like I was hitting a wall.
19:03Like I was driving into a wall because I felt like it stopped me.
19:08And so I'd say it was more like that.
19:10You know, my ex-husband is no longer alive.
19:13So what I would say is, you have to forgive.
19:17I had to forgive him and I hope he forgave me.
19:21Because if you carry hate in your heart, it just makes you unhappy.
19:26And what do they say?
19:28You don't want somebody living rent-free in your head.
19:30Understood.
19:31Let's go.
19:32.
19:33Wow.
19:35Cool shit.
19:36Cool shit.
19:38,
19:40Who are you?
19:41OK did?
19:42Great, Channel.
19:44Cool shit.
19:49That is Good, man.
19:52That was fun, okay that was good thank you that was fun great okay everybody is back Kevin you
20:12are next hello Arlene welcome and congrats on 20 seasons of Dragon's Den so I'd like to
20:18congratulate thank you so my question is um when you got your first divorce you were kicked out of
20:24the Mormon Church how did that feel how do you feel about the church now well yeah I did get
20:33kicked out of the church and it at the time it felt like it was devastating but you know to me
20:40religion is only good if it teaches you how to be a better human not if it teaches you to divide and
20:48to think that other people aren't are good enough and and the church actually gave me a lot of good
20:54foundational teachings that I take with me still today um so I don't I don't hold it against the
21:01church that they excommunicated me in some ways they set me free to be who I am so yeah like when
21:10another door closes and a door opens definitely right yeah similar to that yeah just because they
21:14didn't want me doesn't mean somebody else yeah yeah as long as you feel happy now it doesn't yeah
21:20exactly yeah and I do feel happy now excellent thank you Kevin thanks Kevin okay next is Juliana
21:28when writing your book persuasion what was the biggest thing that it forced you to admit to
21:40yourself that you hadn't said out loud before oh yeah that first book was really hard because
21:48when you write a book you have to really be prepared to say things that you haven't said to
21:54everybody before so that you can be really honest and transparent and so for me it was admitting all of
22:02the things that I doubted about myself it was very difficult to admit out loud you know things that I
22:10wasn't sure about and and didn't hadn't done right um in particular you know like the divorce I'd gone
22:16through and having to raise my four children and all of these very personal things that I now was
22:22sharing with complete strangers because they were going to read a book about it but when you share
22:28things that are really personal and hard for you to share it actually makes you stronger not weaker
22:34right being vulnerable actually makes you a stronger human thank you thank you Juliana Devin is next
22:44hey Devin
22:46my question for you is I worry about professor what's starting
23:00can I help you a little bit how do you feel how do you feel about professor
23:12how do I feel about the future yeah um I'm worried about the future because I think people are kind
23:25of gone a little bit out there right now and the world can be feeling a little bit like it's spinning
23:31too fast if that makes sense you know do you ever get the sense that things are going too fast yeah
23:35things aren't in control right yeah I feel that way about the world right now um but I think the
23:42future is going to be better I think people are gonna hopefully figure out how to hold hands and get
23:47along and I really want to believe that people are gonna sort it out I hope that technology doesn't
23:54replace this what I love about this is it's people talking to people what I hate about technology is
24:01that we're looking at our phones or looking at our computers and we're not talking to each other
24:06anymore so I really like I hope the future is more human interaction great thank you Devin
24:13thanks Devin thank you Julia is next hey Arlene hey first of all I know that when someone else tells
24:24you this it doesn't mean anything all the time um but I think you're gorgeous oh thank you oh thank
24:32you I'm sorry you feel that way about yourself I get that way too yeah yeah who in your life do you
24:38think sees you as you see yourself oh wow I don't think anybody sees us as we see ourselves I I actually
24:51think we we how we think we are is generally not how other people see us how we think we're showing
24:58up might not be how other people are receiving us because of where they're at in their lives
25:03I don't even think my kids see me for as I am I don't think anybody does I think I see myself for
25:09who I think I am but I'm not sure how I show up always so it's interesting but thank you for saying
25:16what you said like the big a that means a lot it's true you're beautiful too thank you yeah
25:23thank thank you for coming here all right everybody Nicole is going to close the show for us
25:32so how was this experience for you it was probably the best TV experience I've ever had and I've had
25:52lots of TV experience so it was amazing was it hard or easy it was harder than I thought because you
26:01asked really good personal tough questions and it was easier than I thought because you're all so
26:09kind and easy to get along with did you learn anything yeah I learned that we can be really
26:16quick to judge we can be too fast to assume that people you know can't do things because of their
26:23either their physical appearance or their you know their challenges like we all have and I've learned
26:29to again remember to be understanding and patient and to help other people succeed is really what I
26:37care about so I've learned a lot yeah thank you for joining us thank you so much thank you everybody
26:44nice to meet you guys nice to meet you nice to meet you
26:56something I don't know what did I say okay everyone everyone come on in okay I'll go
27:06I'll stand beside you how's that yeah thank you you're welcome get big heart man yeah just a
27:14little laugh time everybody say love
27:19nice to meet you nice to meet you they're like amazing you could just I was gonna sit talk to
27:35them for the hours their questions are like hard questions
27:40you
27:46you
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