Re: M-word final thoughts (long)

[Guest guest]

I read it, and enjoyed it, because I respect you~ no matter what your height

is!!

Patty

PS~ Debi, See, I can play and work well with others!

M-word final thoughts (long)

(Okay, I'm going to post one last thought (or perhaps a couple) on the topic

of the M-word, lest I lose my co-admin permanently (just hit the delete key

Dan). This may find itself submitted as an editorial in a paper near you.)

First, what makes a word offensive? Why is the N-word offensive, and not

" black? " Why is the M-word offensive, and not " dwarf? " I think it all boils

down to ownership. 50 years ago, the M-word wasn't considered offensive when

referring to people of disproportionately small stature. However, one could

argue that is was offensive, but no bothered to ask little people. LPs, like

many other minorities in this country, were marginalized and kept out of the

mainstream of public discourse. We didn't have a voice. The same can be said

for African-Americans.

Then again, many LPs from that era will tell you at the time, they didn't

think the word was offensive, it was the only term they knew. It was " applied "

to them, and they grew accustomed to it. ( Barty, however, was

uncomfortable with the " Midgets of America " label first chosen for LPA. He is

documented as saying that he was glad it changed to LPA.)

Fortunately, thanks to the Civil Rights Movement and the advent of mass media,

marginalized groups began finding their voice. African-Americans moved more

quickly than LPs (due to the fact that there are many, many more of them than

us) and shed terms " applied " to them (N-word, Negro, colored) and took ownership

of their label. And this is an important step in gaining respect and dignity.

If you can get the majority of society to call you by a label that you have

deemed appropriate, then it shows they respect you. You've taken ownership of

the word. Removing a word from common usage is also taking ownership: you must

" own " it to " destroy " it. LPs are currently undergoing this process: we are

attempting to shed the labels applied to us, and take ownership of our label.

It won't happen overnight, and sometimes even within our own circles we can't

agree on the most appropriate label. But the key is that we are taking

ownership and trying to gain respect.

Unfortunately, there is a backlash. The PC movement (which is NOT what this

ownership issue is all about) has created an atmosphere where any group trying

to gain self respect, or choose appropriate labels for themselves, is

automatically labeled as PC. (The PC movement is about elitists " applying "

labels to minority groups, and forcing the mainstream to use that label. Dogma

versus critical thought). Because of this backlash, some in the media now use

the M-word derisively, and hurtfully. Perhaps that is why a significant

minority of the LP population claim not to be offended by the use of the M-word:

if it can't hurt you, it has no power. However, this is a defensive posture,

and does not aid in the battle to take ownership of the word.

In closing, I wish that we didn't need labels at all. Dwarf, little person...

should just be adjectives describing a smaller-than-average human. A few issues

back, LPA Today ran a great column on " People First " language (i.e. " he is a

person with dwarfism, " as opposed to " he is a dwarf). I guess that's the next

battle after ownership.

That's my thought on the topic and now I'm done. I thank those of you who

bothered to read it all.

-Bill Bradford

[Guest guest]

Hi this is me, Eileen, a person of short stature , a person thats a dwarf, a

sweet and bitchy person, (wait can I say that?) oh well why not? Anyway I am

who I am !!

I listened or should I say read all of your comments and thoughts and positions

and opinions.... you know what they say???? everyone has one! Good for you guys

!!

What it boils down to is this...

Life Goes On! Enjoy it ... Live it as you see fit. Who is anyone to judge? I

just want you all as well as myself to live a long and most importantly HAPPY

life. Who cares what they call me or you? Really, think about it!!!

Your friend WILL call you Friend, your husband/wife will call you Lover or

Friend and/or Lover and Friend.

I will call you FRIEND if you're nice to me DOESN'T matter what Stature Shape or

Color You ARE!!

Mean People Suck !! That's my motto.....

You might be saying " She's not even taking this serious " You are right!

I have much more important things to worry about. Not a word described by

others.

I do not particualarly like Dwarf Tossing or whatever they call it.... now that

ticks me off!

A human being will throw another!!! That really HURTS ME!!!

Okay .... bye! (wink )

tslug@... wrote:

(Okay, I’m going to post one last thought (or perhaps a couple) on the topic of

the M-word, lest I lose my co-admin permanently (just hit the delete key Dan).

This may find itself submitted as an editorial in a paper near you.)

First, what makes a word offensive? Why is the N-word offensive, and not

“black?” Why is the M-word offensive, and not “dwarf?” I think it all boils down

to ownership. 50 years ago, the M-word wasn’t considered offensive when

referring to people of disproportionately small stature. However, one could

argue that is was offensive, but no bothered to ask little people. LPs, like

many other minorities in this country, were marginalized and kept out of the

mainstream of public discourse. We didn’t have a voice. The same can be said for

African-Americans.

Then again, many LPs from that era will tell you at the time, they didn’t think

the word was offensive, it was the only term they knew. It was “applied” to

them, and they grew accustomed to it. ( Barty, however, was uncomfortable

with the “Midgets of America” label first chosen for LPA. He is documented as

saying that he was glad it changed to LPA.)

Fortunately, thanks to the Civil Rights Movement and the advent of mass media,

marginalized groups began finding their voice. African-Americans moved more

quickly than LPs (due to the fact that there are many, many more of them than

us) and shed terms “applied” to them (N-word, Negro, colored) and took ownership

of their label. And this is an important step in gaining respect and dignity. If

you can get the majority of society to call you by a label that you have deemed

appropriate, then it shows they respect you. You’ve taken ownership of the word.

Removing a word from common usage is also taking ownership: you must “own” it to

“destroy” it. LPs are currently undergoing this process: we are attempting to

shed the labels applied to us, and take ownership of our label. It won’t happen

overnight, and sometimes even within our own circles we can’t agree on the most

appropriate label. But the key is that we are taking ownership and trying to

gain respect.

Unfortunately, there is a backlash. The PC movement (which is NOT what this

ownership issue is all about) has created an atmosphere where any group trying

to gain self respect, or choose appropriate labels for themselves, is

automatically labeled as PC. (The PC movement is about elitists “applying”

labels to minority groups, and forcing the mainstream to use that label. Dogma

versus critical thought). Because of this backlash, some in the media now use

the M-word derisively, and hurtfully. Perhaps that is why a significant minority

of the LP population claim not to be offended by the use of the M-word: if it

can’t hurt you, it has no power. However, this is a defensive posture, and does

not aid in the battle to take ownership of the word.

In closing, I wish that we didn’t need labels at all. Dwarf, little person...

should just be adjectives describing a smaller-than-average human. A few issues

back, LPA Today ran a great column on “People First” language (i.e. “he is a

person with dwarfism,” as opposed to “he is a dwarf). I guess that’s the next

battle after ownership.

That’s my thought on the topic and now I’m done. I thank those of you who

bothered to read it all.

-Bill Bradford

[Guest guest]

Well, Eileen, that's all fine and good for you to say your piece and leave~ but

now you've opened up a whole 'nother can o' worms, and I think you should be

required to stick around and ride this one out!! jk!!

Patty

Re: M-word final thoughts (long)

Hi this is me, Eileen, a person of short stature , a person thats a dwarf, a

sweet and bitchy person, (wait can I say that?) oh well why not? Anyway I am

who I am !!

I listened or should I say read all of your comments and thoughts and

positions and opinions.... you know what they say???? everyone has one! Good

for you guys !!

What it boils down to is this...

Life Goes On! Enjoy it ... Live it as you see fit. Who is anyone to judge?

I just want you all as well as myself to live a long and most importantly HAPPY

life. Who cares what they call me or you? Really, think about it!!!

Your friend WILL call you Friend, your husband/wife will call you Lover or

Friend and/or Lover and Friend.

I will call you FRIEND if you're nice to me DOESN'T matter what Stature Shape

or Color You ARE!!

Mean People Suck !! That's my motto.....

You might be saying " She's not even taking this serious " You are right!

I have much more important things to worry about. Not a word described by

others.

I do not particualarly like Dwarf Tossing or whatever they call it.... now

that ticks me off!

A human being will throw another!!! That really HURTS ME!!!

Okay .... bye! (wink )

tslug@...<mailto:tslug@...> wrote:

(Okay, I'm going to post one last thought (or perhaps a couple) on the topic

of the M-word, lest I lose my co-admin permanently (just hit the delete key

Dan). This may find itself submitted as an editorial in a paper near you.)

First, what makes a word offensive? Why is the N-word offensive, and not

" black? " Why is the M-word offensive, and not " dwarf? " I think it all boils down

to ownership. 50 years ago, the M-word wasn't considered offensive when

referring to people of disproportionately small stature. However, one could

argue that is was offensive, but no bothered to ask little people. LPs, like

many other minorities in this country, were marginalized and kept out of the

mainstream of public discourse. We didn't have a voice. The same can be said for

African-Americans.

Then again, many LPs from that era will tell you at the time, they didn't

think the word was offensive, it was the only term they knew. It was " applied "

to them, and they grew accustomed to it. ( Barty, however, was

uncomfortable with the " Midgets of America " label first chosen for LPA. He is

documented as saying that he was glad it changed to LPA.)

Fortunately, thanks to the Civil Rights Movement and the advent of mass media,

marginalized groups began finding their voice. African-Americans moved more

quickly than LPs (due to the fact that there are many, many more of them than

us) and shed terms " applied " to them (N-word, Negro, colored) and took ownership

of their label. And this is an important step in gaining respect and dignity. If

you can get the majority of society to call you by a label that you have deemed

appropriate, then it shows they respect you. You've taken ownership of the word.

Removing a word from common usage is also taking ownership: you must " own " it to

" destroy " it. LPs are currently undergoing this process: we are attempting to

shed the labels applied to us, and take ownership of our label. It won't happen

overnight, and sometimes even within our own circles we can't agree on the most

appropriate label. But the key is that we are taking ownership and trying to

gain respect.

Unfortunately, there is a backlash. The PC movement (which is NOT what this

ownership issue is all about) has created an atmosphere where any group trying

to gain self respect, or choose appropriate labels for themselves, is

automatically labeled as PC. (The PC movement is about elitists " applying "

labels to minority groups, and forcing the mainstream to use that label. Dogma

versus critical thought). Because of this backlash, some in the media now use

the M-word derisively, and hurtfully. Perhaps that is why a significant minority

of the LP population claim not to be offended by the use of the M-word: if it

can't hurt you, it has no power. However, this is a defensive posture, and does

not aid in the battle to take ownership of the word.

In closing, I wish that we didn't need labels at all. Dwarf, little person...

should just be adjectives describing a smaller-than-average human. A few issues

back, LPA Today ran a great column on " People First " language (i.e. " he is a

person with dwarfism, " as opposed to " he is a dwarf). I guess that's the next

battle after ownership.

That's my thought on the topic and now I'm done. I thank those of you who

bothered to read it all.

-Bill Bradford

[Guest guest]

As far as dwarf tossing...

Here is my opinion...the person that is being tossed is an adult as

far as I am concerned. As an adult, he can make decisions about his

life. Those decisions are HIS, not ours. I understand that it is

important to make society realize that he does not represent the LP

community as a whole, but I feel it is more important that we

respect other people's wishes, regardless of our personal opinions.

He was only harming himself is the bottom line. If society is going

to base their opinion of LP's on one person's actions, then we have

a problem with society, not the person being tossed. I think the

main problem was the media blowing it out of proportion. I think if

everyone would of let this guy alone and just let the tossing run

it's course, things would of died out and it would of went away with

far less publicity.

That's just my opinion,

Chad

> (Okay, I'm going to post one last thought (or perhaps a couple) on

the topic of the M-word, lest I lose my co-admin permanently (just

hit the delete key Dan). This may find itself submitted as an

editorial in a paper near you.)

>

> First, what makes a word offensive? Why is the N-word offensive,

and not " black? " Why is the M-word offensive, and not " dwarf? " I

think it all boils down to ownership. 50 years ago, the M-word

wasn't considered offensive when referring to people of

disproportionately small stature. However, one could argue that is

was offensive, but no bothered to ask little people. LPs, like many

other minorities in this country, were marginalized and kept out of

the mainstream of public discourse. We didn't have a voice. The same

can be said for African-Americans.

>

> Then again, many LPs from that era will tell you at the time, they

didn't think the word was offensive, it was the only term they knew.

It was " applied " to them, and they grew accustomed to it. (

Barty, however, was uncomfortable with the " Midgets of America "

label first chosen for LPA. He is documented as saying that he was

glad it changed to LPA.)

>

> Fortunately, thanks to the Civil Rights Movement and the advent of

mass media, marginalized groups began finding their voice. African-

Americans moved more quickly than LPs (due to the fact that there

are many, many more of them than us) and shed terms " applied " to

them (N-word, Negro, colored) and took ownership of their label. And

this is an important step in gaining respect and dignity. If you can

get the majority of society to call you by a label that you have

deemed appropriate, then it shows they respect you. You've taken

ownership of the word. Removing a word from common usage is also

taking ownership: you must " own " it to " destroy " it. LPs are

currently undergoing this process: we are attempting to shed the

labels applied to us, and take ownership of our label. It won't

happen overnight, and sometimes even within our own circles we can't

agree on the most appropriate label. But the key is that we are

taking ownership and trying to gain respect.

>

> Unfortunately, there is a backlash. The PC movement (which is NOT

what this ownership issue is all about) has created an atmosphere

where any group trying to gain self respect, or choose appropriate

labels for themselves, is automatically labeled as PC. (The PC

movement is about elitists " applying " labels to minority groups, and

forcing the mainstream to use that label. Dogma versus critical

thought). Because of this backlash, some in the media now use the M-

word derisively, and hurtfully. Perhaps that is why a significant

minority of the LP population claim not to be offended by the use of

the M-word: if it can't hurt you, it has no power. However, this is

a defensive posture, and does not aid in the battle to take

ownership of the word.

>

> In closing, I wish that we didn't need labels at all. Dwarf,

little person... should just be adjectives describing a smaller-than-

average human. A few issues back, LPA Today ran a great column

on " People First " language (i.e. " he is a person with dwarfism, " as

opposed to " he is a dwarf). I guess that's the next battle after

ownership.

>

> That's my thought on the topic and now I'm done. I thank those of

you who bothered to read it all.

>

> -Bill Bradford

>

>

>

>