Lets extend your analogy further. On the island, there's 5 people with different stuttering severities. 2 with mild, 1 with moderate and 2 with severe stuttering. The two with mild stuttering have barely limited speech. They might have a few repetitions here & there, some small blocks. Largely, theyre fluent. The 3rd with moderate stuttering has visible trouble with their speech. They try to hide it but sometimes... the words just don't come out. Then there's the last 2 with severe stuttering. And oh my, they are really struggling. Extended repetitions. Hard, hard blocks. On their name, ordering their favourite food, can't tell a joke at the right time, can't tell an interesting story. Sometimes they need to write down their words. Theyre quite disabled in their ability to speak. Now imagine the 2 with mild stuttering saying to the moderate and severe stuttering, "Nobody really cares anyway" or "it's actually how you perceive other peoples reactions, that's the problem". Yet the moderate and severe stuttering people do not feel seen in this moment. What's being said to them does not match their experience of the world. It is incredibly invalidating. It isn't the perception of others that worrys them, its their physical inability to speak. Stuttering happens TO them. This is what is key. This way of thinking by the mild stuttering person is just wrong, and it is pervasive within the stuttering community. This is the current status quo and what I am fighting against.