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My name is Pedro Pereira. I was born and raised in Portuguese-speaking territories, and I consider myself a survivor of several wars, including… the stuttering ones. I’m 52 years old, chronologically speaking. Today I am interested in taking the message that stuttering is okay to territories where this message hasn’t yet reached. I am interested in taking seeds of peace where peace hasn’t yet arrived (territories inside myself included). I am interested in helping people see that birds don’t sing all in the same way, nor do they have to sing (all) the same way, and that the day this happens isn’t a day, but a very dark night. I am interested in learning or relearning and practicing something that I wasn’t able, who knows why, to do before: to relax and enjoy, to live, in harmony and community (stuttering included). |
The high-quality detail that allowed Sapiens to get where they did: to the ends of the earth.
Diversification isn’t just a survival strategy in the greedy markets. In fact, it’s not even a strategy; it’s simply how life develops. You can say that I’m no one to speak on this topic, as I didn’t study it at official universities… however, I am a living being, an inhuman being searching for humanity. An inhuman being searching for its humanity using for this purpose, not only but also its stuttering, its difference, its nuance, its detail, one of its particularities.
Without diversity, we’d still be on Mars, and I’m not talking about chocolate. We’d be just another cold, monotonous billiard ball rolling around on the celestial table.
Diversification is the natural way life develops, offering all the wealth of fruits that come from it and that make life worthwhile, truly worthwhile. Diversity offers a never-ending palette of sounds, colors, flavors, odors, and textures, infinite, I say, without fear of being judged presumptuous. Diversity is… in itself, I almost dare say… an orgasm, such is its exuberance at its peak. It’s a perpetual fireworks display. But its fruits are not in reality only “aesthetic”, they are also in reality strategic. And that’s where stuttering comes in.
Without genetic diversity, the first humans wouldn’t have ventured out of Africa. Without the stuttering genes in their DNA, they wouldn’t have reached every corner of the world; that’s why we’re everywhere (at the magical 1%, they say). Not only but also (let’s leave the catalytic aspect of empathy, compassion and solidarity that cement healthy groups for another conversation) because they wouldn’t have been able to capture the dangerous frequencies we pick up in certain environments.
In truth, the issue isn’t just “aesthetic”; it’s truly strategic, martial for Mother Nature. It certainly was for the first Sapiens. There was a time when, within the tribe, it was discovered that a child was indeed a child who stuttered, a great celebration would be held. Stuttering wasn’t a cause for concern; it was a promise, it was protection. This is your good fortune. So don’t curse stuttering, don´t curse yourself or lower your head; sail with it held high for you are heir to great wealth.
Hi Pedro,
I enjoyed reading your paper.
I like the comparison between stuttering and the birds singing in different ways. I do believe that there is beauty in difference.
I also like it when you mentioned the magical 1% and I was imagining a world where stuttering is celebrated.
Thanks for sharing.
Cynthia
Hello Cynthia and thank you so much.
I totally agree with you, and it’s not that I believe, it’s how I see and feel things.
A mentally healthy world or… society… group… is a world where what you imagine happens naturally, I believe.
In fact, I’m almost certain that the way a person, a society, reacts to diversity… is a bit of a measure of a person´s, society´s, sanity.
Hello Pedro
Thank your your thought-provoking paper. I like your message, if I understood corectly, that stuttering is just part of natural diversity.
you wrote that “There was a time when, within the tribe, it was discovered that a child was indeed a child who stuttered, a great celebration would be held. “. This is fascinating. Can you provide more details?
Thank you, and be well.
Hanan
Hi Hanam. Glad you liked it
It’s not just… it’s more than just.
I’m not the product of chance, nor was I planted in the earth for free. My stuttering and I are the products of necessity.
Let’s take a quick look at just one angle, but there are more… many more.
It’s okay that I eat my burgers and get the rest of the essential nutrients from a pill contained in a bottle or blister pack, but it wasn’t always like this. Humans had to leave their comfort zone and face different dangers… a spectrum of dangers, so to speak… some… rarer and more sophisticated than others…
So, do you think, at a time when man was hyperconnected and in need of nature, that having a natural scout, guardian, capable of detecting different, sophisticated, and subtle threatening frequencies within and outside the tribe, was a cause for celebration?
It was a blessing, a blessing to be highly celebrated.
Spectral rarity has always been celebrated and prized, except today.
And we’re talking about times, let’s not forget, that were quieter, more contemplative, and meditative.
Thank you Hanan and be well.
Hello Pedro,
Your writing was poetic and incredibly thought-provoking. I love how you connected stuttering to the idea of diversity and survival-it is a powerful way to reframe something that is usually seen as only a limitation. The way you described stuttering as a “promise” and “protection” really stood out to me.
Question: You discuss stuttering as something to celebrate and even view as an advantage. What helped you personally reach that level of pride and peace with your own stutter?
Hello Hugo, thank you for reading and for your comment and question.
Wherever I am today in my pride and peace, I believe it’s related to, not only but also, the blossoming of seeds of pride planted some time ago by some members of this community in community. I’ve begun to question certain assumptions, and when you question, when you take the time to question, when you honestly question yourself, answers come… often bringing with them peace.
Today, thanks to some self-inquering, i guess, I see stuttering as a tremendous plus, not a minus. Something to be celebrated? for me… today… Yes! As an advantage… it depends… for a person who stutters it’s always the person, their stutter, and their circumstances, but I have no doubt that individuals and groups that embrace stuttering are, paradoxically, more resilient and genuinely happy. It’s a bit like iron embracing carbo, Iron gains a lot when it embraces these “impurities”, turning it into steel… that does not rust or corrode when exposed to… harsh weather conditions.
As someone who works with young speakers, I think this is wonderful. It should be viewed as ancestral wisdom, not a flaw; it makes me think of how many “differences” that have been misunderstood. Diversity is absolutely necessary, but needs to be honored rather than fixed or hidden.
I like that… “ancestral wisdom”… Mother´s Nature wisdom.
I find myself thinking the same thing, how many differences sacrificed on the altar of… I don’t know what? In favor of… I don’t know who? Shit! Completely unnecessary suffering! Guilty… I am not! Responsible… I am.
Thank you so much for reading, taking time for making a comment. All good.
What a beautifully poetic celebration of diversity and difference, Pedro. I love how you’ve woven stuttering into the larger tapestry of human survival and flourishing…the idea that our differences aren’t just tolerated but essential feels both radical and true. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Thank you Gina for reading and commenting, just loved.
I’ll take the liberty of commenting on your comment; to be honest… I don’t like the word “tolerated”. They’re essential.(Period)
… Who am I to tolerate the differences of others? The kind of difference we’re talking about here… to give them a chance… Who am I? Today I now know what I am… I am a human being, however, made inhuman, with his inherent arrogance (this comment may be proof of that, but still taking the risk) searching for his lost humanity.
Perhaps one of the reasons “our differences” exist, perhaps one of the most important reasons, is precisely to check where I am as a human being, where I am in terms of empathy, compassion, and solidarity. Let me tell you that paradoxically, since I am a person who stutters, I am not in a good place… but I still have time… I believe… to redeem myself and become a nice Human Being.
… with the help of my stutter : ) isn´t it amazing?
Hi Pedro,
Your text is, in a way, celebration of life and stuttering as one of the diversities that make our world interesting!
I love that message.
Vesna Palaversa
Hi Vesna Palaversa,
Yes, all people who stutter carry, not in their bellies, but in their chromosomes, a set of genes that play a fundamental role in the protection of all species. That’s my point. Something that in ancient times always deserved celebration when detected. That’s my point. Does it resonate with you? When you sit and think about it in silence, do you hear your cells dancing and clapping? You see… it’s true.
Guilty you are not! Responsible you are! Celebrate it!
Thank you so much.