We believe that stuttering doesn’t have to hold anyone back from achieving success. In one case, stuttering actually ushered one (reluctant) interviewee into deity status! With tongue firmly planted in cheek, here is a brief review of the story of Raj Patel, an academic, activist, and author of New York Times best-seller The Value of Nothing.
According to this NYT article, on Jan. 14, a religious sect called Share International announced the arrival of a deity named Maitreya, who is to be a leader for all faiths around the world (who some say is the second coming of Buddha). Maitreya was not identified, but these clues to pinpoint him revealed that he would:
- have been born in 1972
- have traveled from India to London in 1977
- be dark-skinned
- speak with a stutter
Patel was in the public spotlight in January during his book tour for The Value of Nothing. He also happened to meet criteria 1–3. Then, during an interview on the popular Comedy Central show The Colbert Report, he stuttered. Share International had found their Maitreya.
Patel refused the notion that he is a spiritual leader, but that has only encouraged followers since they believe that Maitreya will deny his divinity. It looks like Patel is stuck being a teacher of all faiths of the world for now, and he has a moment of stuttering to thank for it.
Here is Stephen Colbert, in his usual sardonic character that holds nothing sacred, reporting on his role in Patel’s case of mistaken iden-deity. Sadly, this is also a strong example of how stuttering is still viewed as less of a disorder and more of a punchline.
source: NYT Bay Area blog | photo: Jan Sturmann
Related posts:
It’s a shame people like you just reprint other people’s info without even a minute investigation into the facts. Your report is full of misinformation – gossip journalism. The only reason I reply is because it makes me angry that that syberspace is being poluted in such a manner.
Regards
Comment by Yev — March 17, 2010 @ 3:55 pm
Sorry, but you got the story wrong, and so did Colbert.
If you go to the NYT article cited above, you will see that NEITHER Share International NOR Benjamin Creme say that Maitreya was born in 1972, or that He would have a stutter. In fact, this was what was reported tabloid-style as rumor by the “award winning” writer Scott James. It was only AFTER Scott James had published this distorted piece that he then called Benjamin Creme to get the real story…but by then the mis-information and rumor had been set in ink. At least James was repentant enough to tape the phone conversation and post it to Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jWKAC1Y9LU
In that conversation, Mr Creme makes clear that Patel could not be Maitreya due to the conteradcition of time lines.
But Scott James never did do a reasonable job in backtracking the story and all subsequent blogs have continued to refer back to that original inaccurate article, including this blog. I suggest you hit the edit button and get the facts straight on this very important and serious story. And leave Raj Patel alone…..
Comment by LifeByond — March 17, 2010 @ 8:56 pm
This is an interesting post. Beyond fact checking and the fact that Raj Patel may or may not be the second coming of Buddha, Colbert addressed stuttering in a very public way. He didn’t present stuttering in the most intelligent (ie porky pig) or comprehensive way, but I didn’t see this as a mockery of stuttering or of Raj Patel. He actually comes close to normalizing it in a sense.
Comment by Roisin McManus — March 22, 2010 @ 1:47 pm
Attention !!!
Raj Patel could be the false Messiah (Antichrist).
To all Christians read the 2nd Thessalonians Chapter 2.
The rapture of Jesus Christ is coming soon.
Here are the links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qjxpjd88PcM
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/267526/march-15-2010/i-can-t-believe-it-s-not-buddha—raj-patel
http://www.share-international.org/
Comment by trix — March 24, 2010 @ 3:45 am
Wow, we’ve certainly received some interesting comments on this one! Thanks for sounding in everyone.
Regardless of what deity or anti-deity Raj Patel may or may not be, I’m interested to know how people feel about the way stuttering was depicted on the Colbert Report.
Roisin, thank you commenting specifically on this point. I actually enjoy watching the show personally, and have mixed feelings about how stuttering was portrayed here.
Comment by Carl — March 24, 2010 @ 12:19 pm
Raj Patel is being used as a mouthpiece for maitreya. Don’t be fooled by any of these smooth talking liars.
Comment by knowledge is power — March 30, 2010 @ 5:38 am