Community Chat

[Noel7]

I never forgot this bit of Greek history....

Demosthenes was a contemporary of Plato and Aristotle.  He had a speech defect and stuttered terribly.  He spent a lot of time teaching himself, the story goes, to speak more clearly by filling his mouth with pebbles and speaking around them.  He then went on to become a great orator and statesman.

Just a guess, but he must have had his own moments of crushing failure and doubt.

[Noel7]

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@Plaid Pants2 wrote:

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@Noel7 wrote:

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@Plaid Pants2 wrote:

After reading the article, all I have to say is, omg!

She expects the world to be mind-readers!

First off, how was the cop to know that she wasn't drunk?

Drunk people stutter, stammer and slur their words.

He was doing his job.

Second, by her own admission, she had been carded before, but assumes that this time is because of her stutter.

The bartender was protecting himself, because they can be held liable for serving someone who is intoxicated.

Again, drunk people stutter, stammer and slur their words.

She expected the bartender to be able to read her mind, and to somehow magically know that she wasn't drunk.

And lastly, the teller.

If someone was trying to rob the bank, by using a name that is not their own, they would, because of nerves and adrenaline, stutter and stammer over the fake name.

Just suppose that someone was trying to fraudulently withdraw money from her account, and stumbled over saying her name.

If the teller had just handed the cash over, no questions asked, you better believe the the author would be hopping mad, plus, most likely the teller would have lost her job.

The teller was doing her job, in making sure that a crime wasn't being committed.

 I have compassion and empathy, but rules and laws still have to be followed.

One cannot just ignore those rules and laws simply because they have empathy for someone.

And that's what the author seems to want people to do.

She wants people to walk a mile in her shoes, she also needs to walk a mile in theirs, and understand that people are not mind-readers, and that if they suspect that someone is up to no good, including her, that it is their job, duty and responsibility, to act on it, and that when they do, that it isn't because they are targeting her because of her stammer.

Even in her own article, she said that only 5% of the population stutters.

That means that 95% of the population doesn't, and therefore, most of us don't normally ecounter people on a daily basis who stutter.

So, when we do, we might look at them a bit more closely to make sure that there us nothing hinkey going on.

To not do so would be foolish, and could possibly end up costing jobs, if not lives.

I'm sorry if she does not realize this.

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@Plaid Pants2

Are you kidding?  You think we have to check them (those who stutter) out “to make sure nothing hinkey is going on”? Like what?

Surely you can’t mean that, it’s too vile. 

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When someone is nervous, there is more adrenaline in their system, and that can cause someone who doesn't normally stutter and stammer, to do so, and this is especially true when someone is trying to do something untoward, if not illegal.

And since most of us do not come across stutterers on a daily basis, there is no way of knowing upon first glance, that when interacting with someone who is stuttering, that they are afflicted with stuttering.

So yes, because of the world that we live in today, one can't be too careful, and just blindly assume that just because someone is stuttering and stammering, that that means that they are just a stutterer, and that nothing hinkey isn't going on.

It is better to err on the side of caution, than to not.

Because to just assume that "oh, this person is just a stutterer" could possibly end up costing lives, especially when the stuttering is part of their nervousness in commiting the crime.

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@Plaid Pants2

Sorry, but imo that’s pretty paranoid and is discrimination against the disabled, which IS illegal.  What next, we require those with prosthetics to have their limbs checked for guns or bombs?  

The ADA would be more than happy to sink their teeth into that kind of thought.

[Stray]

It's not about the stutter but her frustration not being able to communicate effectively.  She can go off and cry that's her right, she's not hurting anyone.  But, then, go inside to the bank and take care of business.  The teller did not insult her or mock her but was trying to assist her better.   The transaction required communication, apparently.  When I drive through, I don't need to communicate except for "Thank you".  If my transaction requires conversation, I go into the bank.   Most likely, the teller was also concerned about others in the line waiting to drive through.  

[Noel7]

Brain injuries, stroke or severe emotional trauma can cause stuttering.  

It also runs in families due to a part of the brain that is for language. 

Just another guess, but I’ll bet many of our vets with head wounds may stutter.  Shame on anyone who suspects them of being hinkey.

[Plaid Pants2]

Let's take this to the extreme then.

Suppose someone did hide a knife or a gun in their prosthetic, and ended up slaughtering people.

How would you propose that that possibly is prevented?

And yes, behavioral detection officers do look for signs of nervousness, and then interact with someone who is acting out of the ordinary, and sorry if no one one else believes it but adrenaline and nervousness can cause one who does not normally stammer, to stutter and stammer.

And there is no way of knowing within the first split nano-second of interaction, whether the person is stammering because of nerves, or because they are just a stutterer.

More information needs to be obtained to make a decision on what is happening.

And most people do act nervous just before committing a crime, which can include stuttering/stammering.

[Noel7]

🙄

[Cakers3]

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@Plaid Pants2 wrote:

Let's take this to the extreme then.

Suppose someone did hide a knife or a gun in their prosthetic, and ended up slaughtering people.

How would you propose that that possibly is prevented?

And yes, behavioral detection officers do look for signs of nervousness, and then interact with someone who is acting out of the ordinary, and sorry if no one one else believes it but adrenaline and nervousness can cause one who does not normally stammer, to stutter and stammer.

And there is no way of knowing within the first split nano-second of interaction, whether the person is stammering because of nerves, or because they are just a stutterer.

More information needs to be obtained to make a decision on what is happening.

And most people do act nervous just before committing a crime, which can include stuttering/stammering.

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@Plaid Pants2  Kind of hard to just whip out a knife or other weapon if you have a prosthetic arm.  At that point you only have one "good" arm to "slaughter" people.

Equally kind of hard to run on one leg around "slaughtering" people if you have a prosthetic leg.

[sidsmom]

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@software wrote:

How is asking her to come inside treating her badly?

I rarely go to the drive in myself but sitting at the ATM I've heard people ask complicated questions at the drive through and they've been asked to come inside.

I feel so sorry for her, she needs better coping skills.

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I read the article.

She’s lived in this world long enough to know how to cope with her disability (late-20s/early-30s).  She’s an established writer w/ credits in many high-toned publications...how did she get those jobs if the world is against her disability?  

She has a Twitter account & the description of herself is:

”MFA, essayist, person who stutters”.   

She’s defining herself with the same thing

she wants everyone to forget about her.  

[Cakers3]

KInd of hard to rob the bank when you are sitting in a drive-through lane.  Seriously.

I don't know how we went from this woman's story to evil criminals with prosthetics but I find that line of reasoning rude.

[mistriTsquirrel]

I read the linked article, and my take on it is that she is frustrated and wants to raise awareness about stuttering.

As far as identifying herself as a stutterer, it is her way of saying, "this is part of who I am, and I shouldn't have to feel shame about it."

Having read the article, I don't see why people have to advise, condemn, characterize, etc.  Just read the article and learn something.