mastodon.social is one of the many independent Mastodon servers you can use to participate in the fediverse.
The original server operated by the Mastodon gGmbH non-profit

Administered by:

Server stats:

373K
active users

A coworker of mine years ago once said of James Earl Jones’s voice, “When he says ‘This…is CNN,’ you think to yourself, ‘Oh my GOD, it is, why did I never think about that??!?”

There’s something I want you to about James Earl Jones: he was a person who stuttered.

1/

He said: “I was a stutterer. I couldn't talk. So my first year of school was my first mute year, and then those mute years continued until I got to high school.“ “It wasn’t that I stopped talking, it’s that I resolved that talking was too difficult.”

So what cured him? Wrong question: “I’m still a stutterer. But we all find a way to mask it.”

Interview video here: achievement.org/achiever/james

2/

Academy of AchievementJames Earl Jones | Academy of Achievement"I was a stutterer. I couldn't talk. So my first year of school was my first mute year, and then those mute years continued until I got to high school." When a five-year-old James Earl Jones moved with his grandparents from rural Mississippi to frosty Michigan, he developed a stutter so severe that he refused to speak aloud, even in school. One day in high school, an understanding teacher, impressed by a poem Jones had written, dared him to recite it in front of the class. When he recited without faltering, teacher and students were amazed by the power of the voice Jones had kept bottled up inside him. Today that voice is one of the best known in the world. Through an arduous program of public speaking, James Earl Jones overcame his handicap, and today he is one of America's most celebrated actors, renowned for what critics have called "the voice of the century." His performance in the play and film The Great White Hope made him a star. He has won multiple Tony, Emmy and Grammy Awards for his stage, television and recording work, and an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement in motion pictures. He has been heard by millions as the voice of Mustafa in The Lion King, and Darth Vader in the Star Wars films. This triumphant star is the recipient of the National Medal of Arts — awarded in tribute to his outstanding contributions to the cultural life of the United States — and of the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the American theater.

This is James Earl frigging Jones. •The• voice. Stuttered. His whole life. Poetry and acting helped him speak.

We judge people impulsively and •incredibly• harshly by how they speak: a stutter, an accent, a dialect, how they make a certain sound, how they sound.

In honor of James Earl Jones, let’s all just try to find that judgement within ourselves, grab it with both hands, and yank it out. I know I’ll try.

/end

P.S. Some quick advice if you’re talking to a person who stutters:

Relax. Be patient. Don’t rush them. Don’t be anxious for them. Don’t “help” them by completing their word for them. (It’s NOT helpful!) If a stutter starts, let them find their own way through it. Chill. You’re good. It’s all good. Show them you’re listening and attentive, and you don’t mind them taking the time they need. Give them your patience, your attention, and your acceptance.

(The above is paraphrased from my speech-language pathologist spouse, who I would like you to know kicks a whole lot of ass)

Kate Zimmerman

@inthehands I don't suppose your spouse has their own Mastodon account I could follow? (kidding / not kidding)

@kzeta
Nah, she’s way too busy (and maybe too wise) to spend her time on social media like all of us fools here! But if she ever makes one, I’ll make sure you’re the first to know.

@inthehands can't say I blame her for that! I look forward to hearing more of her wise words through your account though 😁