Britney Spears' birthday dwarves slammed "a sick stunt"

[emilymoon]

are you suggesting that the persons who were paraded around in freak shows and the turn of the century were willing participants? rent "The Elephant Man " by David Lynch and you might get a better understanding of what life was like for persons with disabilities who were ostracized from society and often abused and forced to work in freak shows in order not to starve. it was true discrimination and and appaling reflection of how we treat people who have disabilities which has changed but not completely.

[Grimmlok]

that is crazy! as long as your getting paid it is not degrading? I'm sorry but that perspetive only works if someone has numerous options for earning money which many people don't and have not throughout history.

The people who have no choice probably find it degrading, but the ones who DO have a choice obviously don't. There's no constant that can be applied to EVERYONE.

In fact I think you could argue that it is more degrading if you are getting paid to do something which devaules you as a human being, which people do every day.

Payment is compensation for work done. Obviously if they felt it degrading they wouldn't be doing whatever they're doing unless they really had no other options. In that case, they're being paid for a service rendered and since they're making a living out of it they don't consider it demeaning to themselves. It's like acting.. does playing a prostitute in a movie demean the actor? No.

It seems to me having a little person pop out of a cake for Federlines amusement is degrading because it is seeing that person merely as a "freak" to laugh at rather than a human being.

Well the little person still popped out of the cake, so I guess it wasn't demeaning enough to warrant turning down the job.

Little persons working in the entertainment industry have to battle stereotypes and degrading work constantly. Very few roles are as real people. only Seinfeld and The Station Agent have really shown that little people are whole people who happen to have a disability.

I've seen handicapped people doing stand-up that makes fun of their disability. They get paid for it, and the content to you would be demeaning to them and yet they still do it. So how does that work, given your current theory?

Originally Posted by emilymoon

are you suggesting that the persons who were paraded around in freak shows and the turn of the century were willing participants? rent "The Elephant Man " by David Lynch and you might get a better understanding of what life was like for persons with disabilities who were ostracized from society and often abused and forced to work in freak shows in order not to starve. it was true discrimination and and appaling reflection of how we treat people who have disabilities which has changed but not completely.

You're going off the deep end with this comparison. A dwarf jumping out of a cake and being paid well to do it is no different than indentured servitude, paid terribly and in appalling conditions at the turn of the last century?

Kinda kooky.

[WickedHo]

I didn't realize "midget" is again an acceptable term. Good! Because I love that word. Midget midget midget midget midget midget midget!!

[Grimmlok]

even worse.. an ORIENTAL midget.

[WickedHo]

Originally Posted by emilymoon

Little people is the generally accepted term.

I hate this term!!! Children are "little people" too, dammit!! Insisting everyone use the term "little person" is, in a sense, promoting ignorance. Because not all "little people" are "little people" for the same reason. Some are dwarves, some aren't.

[Grimmlok]

Peopledwarves?

[emilymoon]

I was responding to another poster with my discussion of freak shows.

But I do not find you argument convincing at all. just because someone is willing to do something for money does not mean it is not degrading. they may not see the degredation themselves but they are being used by others for entertainment based on their physicality which is strange and different and easy for people to laugh at. Yes people make fun of disabilty, even their own, but it does not follow from that that all person's with disabiltities find this acceptable. People with mental disabilties are still repeatedy impersonated and degraded in films for comic relief and many find this acceptable but others feel differently. You cannot use one example and say that represents all persons with a disability, everyone is different. And anyone who is close or related to a person with a disabilty knows this.


from some of the comments on here it is apparent that some people still have no ability to respect other people and view person's with disabilities as less than human.

[Sojiita]

I thought 'midgets' were anatomically in proportion, just small in size..while 'dwarves' had hands, feet, heads, etc. that were normal size but just had shortened torso's and limbs? I believe the smallest people ever have been less than 2 feet tall and they were midgets..just genetically small all over.while that is not the case with dwarfs(dwarves..whatever)?

Originally Posted by MonkeyMix

oriental mongloid midget


do i win?

oriental mongoloid midget porn stars!!!

*grabs prize from MonkeyMix*

[emilymoon]

^

did you get your information from a medical text book from 1932? ignorance is apparent. Dwarfism is a term that applies to many in various ways, their is biological dwarfism and symptomatic dwarfism. their is no such thing as a midget, it is an old term that applies to no one.

[Grimmlok]

porn star prostitutes!

Originally Posted by emilymoon

^

did you get your information from a medical text book from 1932? ignorance is apparent. Dwarfism is a term that applies to many in various ways, their is biological dwarfism and symptomatic dwarfism. their is no such thing as a midget, it is an old term that applies to no one.

Wow, attitude. She asked a question hoping to be clarified.

[A*O]

A lot of 'little people' can still only find ANY kind of paid employment working in a circus or as movie extras or performing at Britney's trailerpark trash birthday parties. It may be well paid, and they may even enjoy being the object of people's amusement, but it's not something I'd ever be comfortable having to watch.

[Sojiita]

Originally Posted by emilymoon

^

did you get your information from a medical text book from 1932? ignorance is apparent. Dwarfism is a term that applies to many in various ways, their is biological dwarfism and symptomatic dwarfism. their is no such thing as a midget, it is an old term that applies to no one.

so when did you get your SOHB? Did it come with a free lobectomy thrown in?
I guess if 'dwarfism' is something that applies in many ways then it would also apply to your sense of humor and your walnut-sized brain?

[Grimmlok]

See, i'd object more to Titney and Cletus than I would to a midget jumping out of a cake.

[emilymoon]

thank you A*O

and I did not mean before to sound rude but I was getting tired of some of the hateful things people were saying about little people. It is something that bothers me a great deal and I am just trying to get others to see that they are human beings and should not be reduced to being called horrible names.

wow, after reading responses to my posts I am speechless. I an adult and was merely trying to get people to understand and be more aware of what person's with disablities go through but I see this was the wrong thing to do.

[UndercoverGator]

Originally Posted by Grimmlok

See, i'd object more to Titney and Cletus than I would to a midget jumping out of a cake.

Personally I thought it was most fitting that they have the freakishly height-challenged (is that PC enough for you?) help them celebrate considering both Twitney and McNasty seemed to have escaped from a rural science experience on breeding gone horribly wrong.