FOR JULIE (ERAD)

[Guest guest]

, please know this is not at all intended to be rude

here, okay? I don't doubt that you are a very neat, fun person to know.

And I don't doubt that even as a AP, your

ADD has been very difficult, frustrating, and heartbreaking at times. Yet

when you say our LP problems

are no different than your ADD problems, I cannot agree.

And maybe it is ME who is WRONG here, but I find it very

hard to swallow that our dwarfism is nothing compared

to your ADD. YOU can blend in------WE can't. YOU are not

followed, gawked at, and have to listen to the rudest words

being said about you when trying to simply live your life

each day. Nor do you have the physical orthopaedic battles so many of us

are struggling with.

Am I saying you are a bad person? NO, NOT AT ALL!!!

A little eccentric perhaps? Yes! But this is what makes

you special and unique. And you are compassionate too.

But I do have a problem understanding how you can say our problems are the

same as yours, and ours are not serious.

This is not true at all.

Nor are we LP's all at the same levels of self-acceptance as others

here are, who I admire very much, and am in awe

of too.

Many of us like myself, had parents who rejected us

simply BECAUSE of the way we LOOK. Mine, who also were alcoholics, happened

to be VERY ashamed of me, and did their utmost to make sure I knew that.

Thus MY journey

to complete self-acceptance has been a very long and painful one, and is

STILL being taken, and yes, I have come

a LONG LONG way to get where I am NOW. But this does

not mean I can always walk out there with my head held

as high as other LP's may hold theirs! Or how you apparently think we ALL

must do.

I happen to be very proud of many of my fellow LP's

who I am aware of, who not only have surmounted many

challenges, but who walk so TALL, and feel SO GOOD about themselves. I

think this is awesome!

Yet many of us are still trying to reach such a place too.

And we are NOT just like YOU, because we do NOT all just have ADD alone

to endure.

I have also been a VERY isolated LP, not having the

blessings of meeting other LP's, or getting to be friends

with LP's until very recently. To find the courage to write

what I have here, is more than any of you can know, because I do not doubt I

will be ripped apart by some.

To you, , bless your heart, I wish you nothing but the best. And

I hope you will " hear " what I have tried to convey.

Adelaide

[Guest guest]

I was going to reply to Adelaide in private, but her second-to-last sentence

tugged at my heart. So I decided to reply in public.

Adelaide -- BRAVO!!!!! Well said!!! While I'm sure is a

well-intended person, I've had to (metaphorically) bite my tongue at some of

her posts. She is kind-hearted and reaching out to us, but at the same time

I don't think she really has a grasp of what it means to be a dwarf (any

less than I may have a grasp of what it means to be an African-American, for

instance). That doesn't mean we shouldn't have a dialogue and try to

understand one another. But it does caution us against making assumptions

and comparisons.

So Adelaide, if anyone on this list flames you, or tries to " rip you apart "

for your eloquent post, SEND 'EM MY WAY! Half the list already thinks I'm

an a-hole, and I'm not afraid to tell anyone who gets on you where to stick

it.

Take care, God bless.

Bill Bradford

On 3/1/06, BASHUM7894@... <BASHUM7894@...> wrote:

>

> , please know this is not at all intended to be rude

> here, okay? I don't doubt that you are a very neat, fun person to know.

> And I don't doubt that even as a AP, your

> ADD has been very difficult, frustrating, and heartbreaking

> at times. Yet

> when you say our LP problems

> are no different than your ADD problems, I cannot agree.

> And maybe it is ME who is WRONG here, but I find it very

> hard to swallow that our dwarfism is nothing compared

> to your ADD. YOU can blend in------WE can't. YOU are not

> followed, gawked at, and have to listen to the rudest words

> being said about you when trying to simply live your life

> each day. Nor do you have the physical orthopaedic battles so many of us

> are struggling with.

> Am I saying you are a bad person? NO, NOT AT ALL!!!

> A little eccentric perhaps? Yes! But this is what makes

> you special and unique. And you are compassionate too.

> But I do have a problem understanding how you can say our problems are the

> same as yours, and ours are not serious.

> This is not true at all.

> Nor are we LP's all at the same levels of self-acceptance as others

> here are, who I admire very much, and am in awe

> of too.

> Many of us like myself, had parents who rejected us

> simply BECAUSE of the way we LOOK. Mine, who also were alcoholics,

> happened

> to be VERY ashamed of me, and did their utmost to make sure I knew that.

> Thus MY journey

> to complete self-acceptance has been a very long and painful one, and is

> STILL being taken, and yes, I have come

> a LONG LONG way to get where I am NOW. But this does

> not mean I can always walk out there with my head held

> as high as other LP's may hold theirs! Or how you apparently think

> we ALL

> must do.

> I happen to be very proud of many of my fellow LP's

> who I am aware of, who not only have surmounted many

> challenges, but who walk so TALL, and feel SO GOOD about themselves. I

> think this is awesome!

> Yet many of us are still trying to reach such a place too.

> And we are NOT just like YOU, because we do NOT all just have ADD

> alone

> to endure.

> I have also been a VERY isolated LP, not having the

> blessings of meeting other LP's, or getting to be friends

> with LP's until very recently. To find the courage to write

> what I have here, is more than any of you can know, because I do not

> doubt I

> will be ripped apart by some.

> To you, , bless your heart, I wish you nothing but the

> best. And

> I hope you will " hear " what I have tried to convey.

>

> Adelaide

>

>

>

>

>

>