Easy for YOU to say...

[Asif]

Many years ago, I found myself at a drunken party in the Pulp-Mill town of Ocean Falls, British Columbia, Canada.
I made some kind of announcement, or other, I forget about what…
The other drunks dutifully endured my glacially slow and tortured attempts to get the message out past my lips,
and when - at great length - I had finished, one of them said:
"Easy for you to say!"

That was about the funniest thing I've ever found about stuttering. Everybody laughed - even me! But...

Stuttering is no fun.
If you stutter, you already know this.
It is one of the most insidious of handicaps, in that it can not be seen.
The listener is often left with the impression that the stutterer is either stupid, mentally subnormal, or stoned on drugs or drink.
I've often wished for ANY other handicap rather than the one I have: at least people would KNOW I had a handicap!

Stuttering has shaped my life: limiting what I might have achieved, preventing me from having any kind of ordinary existence, and setting me on a dangerous course that has led to mountains of trouble and hurt.

But even so, there has been a good side to this…

I wonder how boring and underdeveloped as a person I would now be, had I not been forced to deal with this affliction.

[Professor]

man i feel ya i freaking hate it

[Marco]

i feel you too man. it friggen blows so huge.

[bignick]

That easy for you to say line is superb, I have had it said to me a few times by family and it has been so funny.

With regard to your stutter limiting your life, it depends on if you see the glass half full or half empty. Every one on here has different views on how their stutter has affected their lives and how they react to it. There is no right or wrong opinion on peoples stutters.
Its good that you have positive opinion of what stuttering has made you.

Nick

[Standingtall]

Pretty Isolated place to work, and now your in UK. Interesting life there my friend. Great to see you have an great sense of humor.

[Asif]

White Man work many place, but never for long :)
Finally left the crazy (I mean CRAZY) U.K. and moved back to the Gulf Islands, in B.C. Ahhhhh......
Speaking is a whole lot easier again without the stress of London and the various kinds of people that inhabit it.
I have had many revelations about the nature of communication and my own difficulties with it.
I plan to share those revelations in the coming months as the snow builds up outside my door and it's too cold to do much outside.
Stay tuned :)

[Violet]

Stuttering is no fun.
If you stutter, you already know this.
It is one of the most insidious of handicaps, in that it can not be seen.
The listener is often left with the impression that the stutterer is either stupid, mentally subnormal, or stoned on drugs or drink.
I've often wished for ANY other handicap rather than the one I have: at least people would KNOW I had a handicap!

yeah i often wish that to.. but then i suppose most people with handicaps would wish they had anything but the thing they have.

I have a friend who is apparently 20% deaf and another who is dislexic. I sympathise with the dislexic one, because it would be hard not being able to read as fast as everyone else and having to have special provisions and feeling like shes so stupid when in reality she is far from it. And the other day she was getting kinda upset about it cause she had to do some test that she hates and the 20% deaf one chimes in rudely "well at least you arnt 20% deaf!! you don't know how hard it is for me!! etc, etc.." and its kinda like wtf? while yes it would be hard to be 20% deaf but she doesnt even need a hearing aid! She, at least appears to have, no problem at all hearing. If i was dyslexic i would swap to being 20% deaf in less than a heart beat. and i would be both if i didnt have to stutter. :p

but then i suppose we have to remember that the 20% deaf one is one of the most pesimistic people i know and is ALWAYS ing about other people and hating everyone and everything.

lol and in that conversation i didnt even bother to mention the fact that i cant speak fluently and that i win hands down.

[JoeE]

Great anecdote Asif! Stuttering is no fun at all - I agree. Wonderful to hear you have braved the worst for so many years and come out extraordinary.