Fake Experts
People claim to be experts on anything and get a following.
You want an expert on brain surgery, that’s me. You need someone who knows what he’s talking about regarding auto mechanics? Here I am.
COVUS -19 concerns? I know a lot because I am smart and I can prove that the virus was created by Obama and shipped to China. You could look it up on the world wide web.
Most people who claim to be experts are liars or worse. Rather than write about things of which I know nothing, I’ll write about stuttering. I’m not an expert but I know something about stuttering.
Last week the singer Bill Withers died. Withers stuttered and I was there when he was honored in a 2008 benefit gala in New York City by the Stuttering Association for the Young or SAY, formerly known as “Our Time.” SAY is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides support, advocacy and life-changing experiences for young people who stutter.
Withers was one of many famous people who stuttered. There have been many others, like the singer songwriter Mel Tillis who was honored by Our time in 2013. I interviewed him in 2013 when he was 81 and his stutter was still severe. I asked him how he managed through the years and Tillis said he used humor to deflect people from his stutter. Tillis died in 2017.
I don’t really like to talk about poster boys for disabilities, whether it is for stuttering or people who cannot see. Talking about all the famous people who stuttered trivializes the disabilities. The struggles are the same, whether the person who stutters is famous or not.
My son isn’t famous like Mell Tillis but he is famous to me. He is 24 and has stuttered for most of his life. He was involved with the group when it was “Our Time.” The group’s goal is to empower young people who stutter and to help them understand that they are not defined by their stutter.
For many people who stutter, like Tillis and like my son, it is a lifetime challenge that may wane or intensify, but it never goes away. It is there when they wake up every morning and it’s there every night. My son says he knows a few moments after he awakens how his speech will be and therefore, how his day will go.
Like any disability, stuttering is emotionally painful for the person who stutters. People tend to judge a person by how he looks, acts or talks. Too often, people don’t look beyond the disability. And the tendency is to think that disabled people are somehow not as smart or as talented as people with normal speech.
My son knows he is smart and I’m not saying that just because he is my son (although the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree). He is kind and compassionate and finds ways to express himself beyond the stutter. It is no easy thing to do. It’s that way for millions of people around the world.
For those who are curious about the people who stutter who have become well known, here’s a very small list:
Taro Alexander — Actor; teacher; founder of Our Time and Our Time Theatre Company.
Dennis Barsema — Silicon Valley executive.
P.F. Bentley — Award-winning photographer known for his photos of presidents.
Joseph Biden — Former U.S. Senator, vice president and presidential candidate.
Arthur M. Blank — Co-founder of Home Depot and owner of the NFL Atlanta Falcons.
Jeffrey Blitz — Award-winning film director, producer, and screenwriter.
Emily Blunt — Award-winning English-born actress.
Alex Carter — NFL cornerback.
Johnny Damon — All-star and two-time World Series champion outfielder for the New York Yankees.
Sander Flaum — CEO of Flaum Partners, a consulting firm serving the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.
Annie Glenn — Wife of astronaut and the late Sen. John Glenn.
Sophie Gustafson — Winner of the 2009 LPGA tour title.
Ron Harper — Retired NBA basketball player.
Bo Jackson — Former NFL and Major League baseball player.
Marty Jezer — Writer and political activist.
James Earl Jones — Award-winning actor.
Scatman John Larkin — Jazz musician and poet.
Nobby Lewandowski — Successful businessman and motivational speaker, and former professional baseball player.
Bob Love — Legendary basketball star
Gerald A. Maguire, MD — Professor and Chair of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at UC Riverside School of Medicine, Distinguished Fellow of the APA.
Walt Manning — Speech-language pathologist, professor at the University of Memphis, and author of textbooks on stuttering.
Kenyon Martin — First overall draft pick in the 2000 NBA draft; NBA all star in 2003–2004; member of Team USA.
John Melendez — Television personality and writer.
Larry Molt — Speech-language pathologist and director of the neuroprocesses laboratory at Auburn University.
Marilyn Monroe — Hollywood personality.
Jack Paar — Radio and television comedian.
Adrian Peterson — NFL running back.
Alan Rabinowitz — Zoologist and conservationist known for his work in protecting endangered species.
Matt Slauson — NFL guard and center.
Darren Sproles — NFL running back.
John Stossel — Emmy-award winner and former co-anchor for the ABC news show 20/20.
Herschel Walker — Former NFL player.
Jack Welch — Retired CEO of General Electric and authority on business leadership.