Some reflections on #SpeechDiscriminationIs
I want to say some things about yesterday, which feels strange, because yesterday certainly wasnāt anything that we owned. It became something far more than Iād anticipated and I woke up this morning still feeling profoundly grateful and a little in awe.
Iām grateful for everyone who shared their stories, here and on twitter. Iām grateful for everyone who reblogged or retweeted or signal boosted or took the time to read along. So many of your stories I identified with. Many more were experiences I havenāt hadāhavenāt even considered. Iām honored and a little humbled that I had the opportunity to hear those things, especially in a public context like this.
And Iām surprised by how deeply yesterday affected me. Weād been planning trying to do something like this for a little while, and in the preparation I sort of lost track of what it would actually feel like to spend a day immersed in stories of discrimination.. and yeah, that stuff hits pretty hard.
Mostly, though, Iām incredibly excited about the community that is forming around stuttering. And I donāt want any of us to lose sight of just how remarkable this group of people and the conversations we have been having lately are.
Since starting this blog Erin, Zach and I have been told a lot of things. Things that were meant to discourage us. Things that were meant to silence us.
Weāve been told that people who stutter will never be comfortable identifying with the wider disability community.
Yesterday we joined with people with a wide range of disabilities to focus on our shared experiences of speech discrimination. Some of those communities have been doing this ādisability rightsā thing for a very long time. We shared our awareness day with them, and they shared their passion with us. Being able to tweet stories of other disabled experiences alongside our own is still something very new for stutterers, and it was so important.
Weāve been told not to complain about how weāre treated.
Yesterday we dared to speak up about the unjust ways weāve been discriminated against. And it wasnāt a pity fest. My entire life people have told me that getting angry or focusing on the haters will just leave me feeling sorry for myself. But yesterday is proof that anger can also be empowering. It can be generative, and community building, and a reminder that we arenāt alone, and that these things are *wrong*, and that weāre allowed to stand up for ourselves when they happen.
Weāve been told that people who stutter arenāt going to believe that society, rather than their voices, disables them.
Yesterday we stopped focusing on whatever frustrations we may or may not have with our bodies and focused on social and structural discrimination instead. And it wasnāt even hard. We resisted the impulse so many of us have been taught to blame ourselves when weāre ignored, mocked, rejected, denied accommodation, education, or employment, and we started placing that blame on the people and society that are actually responsible. And we kept it up for an entire day. I for one found it one of the most refreshing conversations about stuttering that Iāve ever been able to take part in.
Weāve been told that fluent speakers arenāt going to care, and arenāt going to change.
Yesterday thousands of fluent speakers scrolled through our posts and tweets. I donāt know how many read them, I donāt know how many cared. But I know that some did. As a whole, stutterers have a long history of not expecting very much of our friends and colleagues. Yesterday, whether they heard us or not, we were bold enough to remind others to start taking responsibility for the shit their assumptions and practices can put us through. This is a very real change in the conversation about stuttering. And it was awesome.
I didnāt know that these things would happen yesterday. Iām not sure what I expected, but I know what I saw went beyond what Iāve ever seen in the stuttering community before. And Iām hopeful, and pretty damn excited.
So from the Did I Stutter team, a huge shout-out to everyone who took part in #SpeechDiscriminationIs yesterday. Weāre honored to have been able to participate in sharing your stories, and look forward to continuing the conversation with all of you. Ā