Stuttering is genetic in my family. My brother and I both stuttered severely as children and into our young adulthood. My daughter is a 17 year old advanced AP senior with an active stutter. I am truly sorry you went through thaf, but I am also really impressed with the way you handled it so well. My daughter was teased by boys, out of pure meanness, in school until around 7th grade. You would think it would end there, but it didn't. She began attending a STEM academy in 9th grade and the curriculum included a lot of something we tend to hate: oral presentations. In one class, instead of being graded, all of the students presenting were given written and one-on-one verbal feedback by their peers. Time after time, these well above average students told her that the ONLY thing she needed to do to improve her presentation was to NOT STUTTER. This was, of course, rather humiliating, but it also very frustrating and upsetting. She felt very much like you did with that jerk. The truth is that many young people can be broadly ignorant, socially inept, and insensitive, knowingly or not. Also, some people are just pretty shallow and basic. That guy displayed embarrassing levels of ignorance, insensitivity, and thoughtlessness. Of course it bothered you. While your handling of the situation was perfect, his total ignorance regarding a stutter, combined with his laughing, reflects horribly on him on multiple levels, especially his lack of even slightly decent manners. There are no excuses for such behavior. Moreover, to any reasonable observer, you would not be the person who should be embarrassed or ashamed. You handled yourself with incredible grace. I know it bothered you, but you did the right things in your handling of the situation and many will find your story both encouraging and inspiring. There will always be basic, uncouth, ignorant, insensitive people in the world. I am genuinely impressed by your handling of this incident and grateful that you chose to share it. Well done. 👍