Re: The 'M' word is slander, I'm sorry

[Guest guest]

I guess whatMr Bradford is saying is that the (M) word is ok since it's aimed

at someone he doesn't particularly like, ME.

That's ok.

What's not ok is that this closed club (MATT, And the Bradfords) have decided

they are mad at me SO they will let other LP's in New Jersey suffer from

bigotry.

If this sign was posted on Matt's Farm or Bills Apartment Door what would

they do?

[Guest guest]

Are we forgetting that there IS SUCH THING as a midget??? The word n*gger is

differen't in my opinion, than the word midget.

midg·et    ( P )  <A

HREF= " http://dictionary.reference.com/help/ahd4/pronkey.html " >Pronunciation

Key</A>  (mjt)

n.

1. An extremely small person who is otherwise normally proportioned.

2. A small or miniature version of something.

3. A class of small objects, as a class of very small sailboats or racing

cars.

adj.

1. Miniature; diminutive.

2. Belonging to a type or class much smaller than what is considered

standard: a midget automobile.

Yes, I DO feel that in Tony's case they DID know better and the flyers

shouldn't have been made. However, this isn't the only time I've seen you people

get

so bent out of shape over the word. As I said yesterday my parents taught me

the difference and the word " midget " was never a 'bad' word in my home. I'm

glad that raised me that way, because I'm not sure I could live my life as happy

as I have if I was having to get all riled up anytime anyone ever used the

" m " word.

Amy

[Guest guest]

for god sake its a word if you are going to let words hurt you and get to you

whats the point of being alive.

i never post anything on this group but i am sick of hearing about words like

dwarf and midget and people calling mini me etc....

If you let things like that get to you its stupid at the end of the day there

are words for everything and everyone like nigger blacks dwarfs fatty etc... the

list goes on and on

you cant let things like that get to you, when i was in school i was bullied cos

of my height i got midget, shortass etc.. and it stopped because it didnt get to

me

but dwarfs get called mostly cos yous get mad about it and start picking up on

little things, have a sense of humor for once. be happy cos you are not like

everyone else you are not a clone.

oh and one last thing i saw the messages about how hard it is being a dwarf

think it was last months, most of yous have it easy you know all about your

dwarfism try having one where there is only you and you are in a medical book,

and you know nothing about what could happen etc... then you will have something

to moan about.

I dont mean to be rude if thats how it comes off but there is more to life than

going on about words etc...

live it while you can

Take care

Stephy

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[Guest guest]

So I am White if they call me a Cracker is that as bad as calling someone the

N word. Call me anything you want just get it right so I can cash the check.

Irwin

[Guest guest]

when on national TV,Discovery Channel to be exact, in a documentary about

dwarfism, one of the doctors involved with LPA informs millions of people about

the medical differences between a 'dwarf' and a 'midget', it is next to

impossible to educate the general AP public that this particular word is

offensive to many.

YMMV

Whims

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

No mind, however loving, could bear to see plainly into all the recess of

another mind.

- Dr. Arnold

The 'M' word is slander, I'm sorry

Sorry BJ, Jim, obviously disagree with you folks.

If you noted my letter, it DOESN'T specify who or what party initiated

the flyers. Such action by the community is an act of discrimination

and shouldn't be put tolerated, period. If they publish our letters,

then obviously it'll be read by those who took such disguisting

actions.

Is it illegal to press charges? I don't know, you tell me.

Is is illegal to post signs up that say, 'nigger' or 'dirty Jew' or

'Gooks'?

But the word 'midget'? According to the vibes from this list, we

shouldn't be offended by this word' when it's one of the ONLY remaining

words out there that is used IN SLANDER against little people.

How hard is it to understand that concept?

I'm stunned that everyone is still debating about 'whether or not we

should write a letter' (for 2 whole listserv pages) when we can be

putting our energy in already sending some letters out (personal ones

like the template I created) and just end this bickering already.

Irene

[Guest guest]

On Thu, 22 May 2003 Nickles629@... wrote:

> Are we forgetting that there IS SUCH THING as a midget??? The word

> n*gger is different in my opinion, than the word midget.

I understand what you're saying Amy and I agree that there is a

difference. But in my opinion the difference is in historical timing. Bear

with me.

Fifty years ago, or a hundred years ago, or perhaps even further back (at

some point in America's past, anyway) most people were not aware that the

word " nigger " possessed a derogatory connotation. Even many

African-Americans were not aware of that. It probably even appeared in

standard dictionaries of that time, not designated as an offensive word.

Of course, looking back, we know who had power and authority in this

country over the language and the dictionaries -- ignorant, slave-owning

white America. Over the course of our history Americans (black and white)

have fought the ignorance that was racism and the immorality of slavery.

All these battles may not be over yet, but the war has been going on for

quite awhile and much progress has been made.

The fact that the meaning of the word " nigger " changed during the course

of the war is a by-product of that progress. This change did not occur

overnight; it was a slow building fire. But as this fire grew, more and

more African-Americans realized they had the power to change the meaning

of the word. Eventually it became an implicit agreement that " nigger " was

highly offensive because, due to its historical use, it was a symbol that

represented slavery, racism, and ignorance.

Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me. A

word written or spoken doesn't mean anything until it is interpreted by a

human mind. All words start out as meaningless symbols -- just ink on a

page, or sound waves in the air. It is human beings that give symbols

meaning.

African-Americans took ownership of a symbol that was applied to them, and

decidedly changed its meaning. Doing so was a way of saying loudly and

clearly " WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS. " That much of the rest of humanity heard

them and decided to honor their chosen meaning of the word was a way of

saying " we hear you and we agree. "

To me, the word " midget " is a symbol of ignorance and ridicule, and it

often offends me. It is a term often used to describe me and people like

me in a degrading and dehumanizing fashion. Not always, but often enough

to make me hate it. When it happens it makes me want to throw that word

back in their face and say " you can't treat me that way because I AM A

HUMAN BEING " .

So in that sense, to me the word " midget " is almost exactly like the word

" nigger " . The only difference is that our war is young, and we haven't

been able to change the meaning of the word yet. But I think it is only a

matter of time before humanity says " we hear you and we agree. "

Dave

[Guest guest]

Given that the M-word didn't even exist until the 1860s, and then

immediately became associated with the idea of public performance or

display, it is an utter mystery as to how it *also* came to be seen as the

" correct " word for people with growth-hormone-deficiency dwarfism.

Words are just words, but conversely a community has the right to determine

what it considers to be hateful speech. Not everyone has to agree, but such

opinions do need to be taken into account.

Dan

On 5/22/03 3:43 PM, " Bradford " <dbradfor@...> wrote:

> On Thu, 22 May 2003 Nickles629@... wrote:

>

>> Are we forgetting that there IS SUCH THING as a midget??? The word

>> n*gger is different in my opinion, than the word midget.

>

> ===

>

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/23/03 5:59:23 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

stephy19uk@... writes:

> but dwarfs get called mostly cos yous get mad about it and start picking up

> on little things, have a sense of humor for once. be happy cos you are not

> like everyone else you are not a clone.

>

>

Stephy,

I can see your frustration, but to correct something. Dwarves don't get

called that because of some being mad about the " M word " its due to ignorant

people who think dwarves are something to ridicule and discriminate against.

I don't have a problem with the term midget just aware of how its used at

times.

Helen

[Guest guest]

hehe very well said! Do I belong to that closed club?!

Ames

[Guest guest]

> If this sign was posted on Matt's Farm or Bills Apartment Door what would

> they do?

Probably stick up for myself, and not whine, bitch and moan when every

single LP on the planet doesn't 100%, without thought, support every single

thing I do or say.

Tony, personal attacks will get you nowhere.

I know, being a politician, having a long-term memory can be a handicap, but

bear with me...

Remember about 4 months ago, when Jimmy Kimmel made derogatory comments

about little people on NATIONAL TV (not just a few telephone poles in

Hoboken)? What did you do?

I know what I did.

My conscience is clear.

-Bill Bradford

(part of the closed club of Diastrophics of America, the real power behind

the throne of LPA)

[Guest guest]

This is for all of the people who insist that on tv it's open season for lps all

the time and no other minority.

TV would be pretty damn boring if that were the case. All of the sitcom's would

be a one line show~ " Hey, guess what? I saw a MIDGET at the park today!! "

Here's a scene from next week's episode~ " Hey, guess what? I saw a MIDGET at the

store today! "

These sitcoms are making fun of a person or a situation all of the time~ how are

they filing a 1/2 hour time slot?

Gawd....

Sent: Friday, May 23, 2003 4:24 PM

Subject: Re: The 'M' word is slander, I'm sorry

> If this sign was posted on Matt's Farm or Bills Apartment Door what would

> they do?

Probably stick up for myself, and not whine, bitch and moan when every

single LP on the planet doesn't 100%, without thought, support every single

thing I do or say.

Tony, personal attacks will get you nowhere.

I know, being a politician, having a long-term memory can be a handicap, but

bear with me...

Remember about 4 months ago, when Jimmy Kimmel made derogatory comments

about little people on NATIONAL TV (not just a few telephone poles in

Hoboken)? What did you do?

I know what I did.

My conscience is clear.

-Bill Bradford

(part of the closed club of Diastrophics of America, the real power behind

the throne of LPA)

[Guest guest]

Quoting " stephy . " <stephy19uk@...>:

> for god sake its a word if you are going to let words hurt you and get to you

> whats the point of being alive.<< (Snip)

The problem is that words such as midget are indicative of a discriminatory

mindset. I don't want to eradicate the use of the " m " word because it is a

personal assualt to my feelings, but rather because I want to end the ignorance

and bigatory that surrounds dwarfism in particular and disability in general.

I cringe every time I hear the word midget not because I find it hurtful, but

because I know those using it are either completely and utterly ignorant of the

condition or have objectified those with dwarfism. Every time the " m " word is

used, the people using it have removed the humanity from those they are

directing it at, regardless of whether their language is motivated by ignorance

or by something more sinister. If we want people to start taking us seriously,

we have to begin to purge the mindset that we are caricatures and/or novelty

objects. We must also begin to educate those who have never come into contact

with dwarfism or disability. One way to begin to do this is to start rallying

against the words that suggest mockery and objectification. Because of the

contexts it was used in historically and current connotations in contemporary

society, I believe that midget is one of those words.

~Hillary