I spent some time today meditating.  It was not scheduled and not planned for.  I was forced into an instant, complete, deep, meditation on life, through some rude comments I overheard in the public street.  I was walking on the crowded street, and behind me were two men, who were fairly young, and they were laughing and joking along the walk, for which I was participating with them for about five minutes.

I was in my own world, oblivious to any real, true thought, that could be worth money or friends.  I was doing my laundry list.  Then, amid the jokes and the funny stories, there came two very rude comments from the young men behind me.  They wondered why they had missed the dwarf-throwing contests due to their age.  They lamented that because they were born five years too late, that the bars and the clubs that regularly scheduled these contests were not doing it any more.  Neither of them were very large themselves, and in my opinion, I doubt that they could lift a very small dwarf in order to throw him.

The second offensive comment was very related, in fact, and came within a short minute of the first one.  They were wondering why midgets, somewhat like dwarfs, were completely out of proportion.  However, unlike the dwarfs, who have a bulk of muscle (for the male dwarfs) and a cuteness (for the female dwarfs), midgets were eerie.  If they stood in isolation, against a dark background and the only light was coming from a camera, which they were facing, they would look exactly like a monster form the depths of the swamp.  “Humanoid” but odd.  Eerie.  They would probably be looking upwards, towards the camera being held by an average-sized human being. They look like they are wearing children’s clothes, even if they are forty.  How do you address the situation, when confronted with the issue of talking to a midget?  Is it possible to find a seat, and feel that there are equals involved in the conversation?

Throwing dwarfs probably included throwing midgets, but, then again, they would probably be left out of the party, well, because it is eerie.

Many jobs require people to stand behind a counter and a cash register, as well as working all the machinery behind the counter.  What first job could a dwarf or midget get?  Like left-handedness, most of the world cannot accommodate these people.  They need to fend for themselves.  I concur with this option.  Let the dwarfs and midgets write a list of what they need, as they are the most familiar with what it is they need, and hand it in to their employer… proof that they are suitable for the job.  There should be subsidies for the employer for the adjustment in accommodations, since, it is a health issue, and the person most qualified for the job, will do a good job with successful work, with only small cost to anyone and everyone.

I am hoping that the rude and anti-dwarf and anti-midget comments are not the way that people treat these “little people.”  They are physically smaller, with a slight difference in proportion, but I find it is equivalent to racism that they are considered “not normal.”  They have brains, just like the rest of us, which, is of course a very fine insrtument when it is well-used and well-treated.  They have emotions, which can be hurt, by anything, and it is literally true, because any slight tone applied to a completely innocuous set of words changes it into “hate propaganda.”

As I found myself thinking about these things, at the speed of thought, I became scared and angry, and walked more quickly ahead, which was not entirely needed as the two behind me were already out of range of hearing within a few blocks.  The two young men might have actually turned at one of the corners.

I am, myself, considered by many, to be of average height, size, appearance, and intelligence.  I think that if I have this reaction to words, opinions, and thoughts, that there is a whole world out there that reacts the same way I do.  I am blessed with the gift of the gab, and I can talk about things until the cows come home, so, I think that I am also speaking for all those that hold the same opinion but perhaps cannot speak for it.

I believe that the world can change, and it takes only each person doing what it is they can.  I also became afraid when I heard what was said behind me, but I did what I could, taking the pen in hand , and wielding it against their weapons…  the opinions they voiced.  And as each person I can get to read this, to think about it, and then, in turn to do their part, the world will change.  It takes each person, to change the world.