Well, why not? Black people hate the word "negro"...though in spanish speaking countries, well, that's what you call black people. We obviously don't say that on TV or the N word. Just like all the white haters of the world don't go on TV calling them "crackers" or whatever the heck else. If the little people don't want to hear "midget", it would be really quite stupid not to do what they are asking. I support it.

i agree that you shouldn't make fun of them because they are different but i wouldn't really say i "support" banning of the word midget

that's what they are - midgets!

Political correctness is tyranny in disguise.

That celebrity apprentice was hilarious and i didnt hear any of the little people complaining on the show.

"Whenever I see commercials or movies treating little people as props rather than people, I wonder two things. First: does anyone actually find it enjoyable to laugh at people just because they're different? And second: why is it still acceptable to ridicule little people in a so-called "politically correct" society that allegedly discourages degrading people for characteristics or circumstances they cannot control"

we arent living in a PC world, we are on the edge of it and thats dangerous to me. Little People and Big people have jobs in the entertainment industry that involve being the bu.tt of jokes If its funny, I will laugh, and they get paid. No one is forcing them to do it.

If the problem is people being uses as props and gags for their appearance, then they should ban that. not the word that supposedly carries the history of it.

I really don't support the banning of the word. But I do think that ridiculing little people should be off limits. Like that stupid Jack in the Box commercial with the cowboys and little cattle. That is soo degrading.

I'm not a proponent of "banning" words but ridiculing little people really bothers me and makes me uncomfortable. I actually told my boyfriend a few months ago that I won't watch dumb movies that involve little people fighting big people and wearing stupid costumes and whatnot (I prefer more intelligent comedy anyway). I knew a little person in high school and the image of him being stared at and occasionally made fun of is burned into my brain. He couldn't help his size and I don't think that someone should be f*cked with for something like that.

All little people don't have a problem with the word "midget", just like all African Americans don't have a problem with "negro". Generalizations of group on behalf of all doesn't make sense.

The NAACP does not cover everything that I or other AA'S believe in, just like the LPA doesn't for little people. Send out a petition among little people and get thousands of signatures, then I'll buy it.

I think if they don't wasn't to be called that name, then don't call them that name. Its pretty simple to me.

We don't go around called people "colored" or what have you. Just because it was once done commonly doesn't make it ok. Plus its not that much effort to call them little people instead.
I don't think it should be banned just because its common sense and common courtesy to not call them that word. It shouldn't even have to be a requirement.

Then again, common sense isn't so common anymore.

I absolutely support a ban on the word. It's disgustingly prejudiced.

i agree that you shouldn't make fun of them because they are different but i wouldn't really say i "support" banning of the word midget
that's what they are - midgets!
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Sorry skigurl, but they prefer to be called little people or dwarfs, not midgets. It is like calling a black person colored or calling a mentally disabled person retarded. The majority of their community finds it offensive and that is what is important.

Sorry, whenever I hear "little people" I think of the song from Les Mis, and that's far more terrible to me than the word "midget"

I don't get why my first post was flagged but whatever...

I don't think it is necessary to ban it. One group does not necessarily speak for the entire cross section of America that it claims to represent.

All African Americans don't dislike "negro" like someone previously stated but some do so it is used less frequently than "black" or "African American". Do the same for "midget". There may be some little people who are not offended by it. The LPA does not necessarily speak for for all little people so I don't buy it.

We are going to unbelievable lengths to be PC and it is ridiculous.

Please people. A lot of black people have no problem with the terms colored or negro. It is not a majority thing, It is the fact that one group decided to make a decision on behalf of a group. The NAACP does not speak for me on every single situation so please do no generalize.

Number 5, you are ridiculous! Its just a commercial! Its about mini buffalo ranch chicken sandwiches! They don't call them midget chicken sandwiches!! Get over it, change the channel when it comes on if you don't like it.

Look, you can ban the word all you want, won't stop people from saying it. I'm short, I get called midget and I'm 5'3" and it doesn't bother me, so why would it bother a little person?

"Look, you can ban the word all you want, won't stop people from saying it. I'm short, I get called midget and I'm 5'3" and it doesn't bother me, so why would it bother a little person? "

Um, I'm going to guess because you aren't actually a little person so you know it doesn't really apply to you. To me it would be like if someone called an Asian person a "sp*c" (don't know if that word is allowed on these boards) because they were tanned. That Asian person would just be like "What? Whatever" and roll it off because they aren't Hispanic, but call them something that does degrade Asian people and suddenly now it means something (and now they are mad).
Just my two cents.

Political correctness is not tyranny in disguise

Political correctness, in its most basic form, just means not being an *sshole

Are there little people that go on tv to be the butt of jokes and get paid cash? sure. and I will admit, I love watching Weeman on Jackass. But that doesn't mean every single little person out there wants to be the butt of jokes...looked at, laughed at, or picked up and tossed out of the blue (which I have seen happen at bars).

great, another post flagged

14, she SPECIFICALLY said "I really don't support the banning of the word," but doesn't like that the little people are dressed up in costumes riding tiny horses to make people laugh at them. If you think the only point at which we should raise an eyebrow is the use of "midget chicken sandwiches," that actually strikes me as more ridiculous. Additionally, changing the channel doesn't change an opinion.

dwarfs and midgets aren't the same thing

Skigurl brought up what I was thinking - I was under the impression that dwarves and midgets are not necessarily the same. Dwarfism is a condition which can cause disproportionate bodies/limbs and other physical conditions, while midgets are just really sort, but otherwise normally proportioned. Am I wrong in thinking this?

I mean Gidget was a girl-midget because she was short.

There are many different types of dwarfism. Some of them cause disproportionate bodies, and some of them cause very small, proportional bodies.

Medically, they're dwarves, but they prefer to be called little people, and they find "midget" offensive.

To be honest I never realized that midget was an offensive word. I just thought of it as another slang term. Thanks for bringing this topic up, I would never want to offend anyone. However, banning a word will not stop discrimination if the actions are still continuing on tv.

We were all brought up on hearing the word midget when we watched the Wizard of Oz for the first time and our parents said they are all midgets, and we thought how cute. I never knew this was a slur? Little people sounds more of a slur like your putting someone down.

Weren't those munchkins?

It has been interesting reading all these comments. I happen to be a little person. While I certainly cannot speak for all other little people the majority do find the term midget offensive. Personally I understand that most people do not realize it is offensive so I don't get offended each and everytime I hear the word. It is when people know that they are making fun of someone who is different and just choose not to care. While yes is true that some choose to make a living being ridiculed it isn't something that most want. Little People Big World has done wonders in educating people. I think it is great when now I hear a kid yell out "look there's a little person!" rather than "look there's a midget!" For me even though I find the term "little person" a bit too cutesy, I prefer it because it leaves "person" in there. Dwarf is the correct medical term, but I'd rather be described as a person with dwarfism. Just saying dwarf or midget makes me feel less than human and like another species or something. The reason midget is so offensive is because it dates back to the "freak show" era when little people were displayed in circus sideshows for amusement.

"Political correctness is tyranny in disguise. "

Wow, CG you're so clever!

I think the most important thing to do in any situation is to be able to laugh at yourself. Everyone has something funny and odd about themselves, and everyone has something teasable... either physically or personality-wise.

I've always thought that "midget" was just a branch of abnormal growth... like "dwarf" was one category, "midget" was another. "Midget" being the more fun one to say.

And if this has to do with "making fun of people based on physical characteristics" or whatever, then we have to ban jokes about people with glasses from being on TV, or blondes, or burly women, or steriotypical nerds... Aside from hair color (and in most cases, glasses, and in some cases, fatness), these aren't changeable characteristics.

And for the record: If I were a "little person" the first thing I'd do is sign up for a career in showbiz. Money, and being able to do some of the most fun jobs in showbiz? Sign me up!

I don't think you can really make that decision until you've actually been a little person.

I think "midget" is an inappropriate and often offensive term, and since many little people don't like it, shouldn't that be enough for people to stop using it?

Bella - I don't like the term "sorostitute," and most sorority girls don't. People still use it. Frat boys HAAAAAAAATE the word "frat," and people still use it. Some servers don't like the terms waiter/waitress, and people still use them. I feel like your reasoning would be great in a Utopian world, but that isn't the world we live in.

Annie875, thanks for offering your experience. I understand that it is important to promote compassion and tolerance, and that de-humanization takes many forms, often in the form of stupid, stupid humor.