Did You See That Movie?
Posted on: September 9, 2013
- In: Posts
- 2 Comments
This past Saturday I had an appointment at a tax office. That’s right, talking taxes on a Saturday in September. Not the ideal way to spend a Saturday. And I was there for more than three hours.
She was doing most of the work and I was trying to act like I knew what she was talking about. We got to some small talk eventually and talked about school starting up again. I mentioned that once or twice a year I went into schools and talked to kids about differences and bullying and tolerance.
She mentioned that her own daughter had had a hard time in school because of being different. She shared a story about a classmate approaching her daughter and asking her to join in an activity. This woman remembers to this day how grateful she was to that kid for making her daughter feel included. She apologized for tearing up a little as she told me this story.
The woman heard me stutter a couple of times, and looked like she wanted to say something about it. I shared that I’ve stuttered since I was a young kid and its easier for me now as an adult. She said my stuttering wasn’t too noticeable until we started talking about it.
Then she asked me if I had seen the movie “The King’s Speech.” She went on to say how she saw it and loved it, and what did I think.
Then she commented: “Do people ask you if you’ve seen that movie just because you stutter?” I replied, “Yep!”
We then drifted back into the awful reality of talking taxes on a Saturday.
Do people ask you if you have seen stuttering related movies when you’ve been found out as a stutterer?
2 Responses to "Did You See That Movie?"
September 23, 2013 at 6:57 PM
Yea, it’s annoying, but sometimes it’s in ‘good’ intentions’ when they ask if I’ve seen a stuttering related movie (well, it only happened once when my family directed me to a 60 minutes episode on ‘the king’s speech’ [great coincidence lol] ). My reaction might have seemed mean. I was simply like ‘Oh, they’re showing that?’ in the most indifferent way. It’s just awkward, y’know…but I think my family’s idea was to give me a sense of solidarity, that, “O look, other people stutter!” Or (i hope not) it might have been, ‘look, they’re talking about stuttering (~my brother) on national television!’.
It’s actually kind of sad though: even though it’s not their fault, it’s kinda sad that a movie/tv broadcast is required for them to even reach the tip of the iceberg in empathizing with us. Many times, people would like to avoid the issue of stuttering, let alone hear it on tv. If they are ‘forced’ to hear it explained, I guess it makes them think….Anyways, glad I ran into your website! Much appreciated. Keep it up!
Make Room For The Stuttering 
September 16, 2013 at 10:49 PM
Hey..just found your blog. It’s great! I just wanted to know that as a stutterer, I really appreciate what you are doing and please continue what you are doing!