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Midget - is it a "bad" word?

Discussion in 'News & Current Events' started by Salty, Jul 7, 2009.

?
  1. Yes

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  2. Under certain circumstances

    2 vote(s)
    11.8%
  3. No

    12 vote(s)
    70.6%
  4. Not sure

    1 vote(s)
    5.9%
  5. Other answer

    2 vote(s)
    11.8%
  1. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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  2. Scarlett O.

    Scarlett O. Moderator
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    I voted for "other answer". I am 5' 5" and am not qualified to say if the word midget should be banned.

    I know this. Certain little people are offended by it. So I don't use the word.

    It's etymology comes from the word "midge" which means "little sand fly." The word midget also is quite commonly used to describe things other than human beings .... there are midget horses and midget cars. One of the definitions at the online dictionary that I looked at said "a word to describe small animals and things".

    Then there's the ridiculous use of the word that completely strips away any dignity of a little person - midget wrestling, midget tossing, and the like.

    So, I'll just let the little people make the call on this one. As I said, I don't use the word.

    I think the phrase "little people" lets you know of their stature and at the same time lets them keep their humanity and not share the term with animals and things and does not refer to a joke.

     
  3. Martin

    Martin Active Member

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    Any such ban would be unconstitutional.
     
  4. SaggyWoman

    SaggyWoman Active Member

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    I don't think banning is appropriate. I think using kindness would be better.
     
  5. sag38

    sag38 Active Member

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    Here's another group that is looking to be offended. When will this madness end?
     
  6. rbell

    rbell Active Member

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    I appreciate your keeping your responses brief.





    :D
     
  7. donnA

    donnA Active Member

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    maybe they should ban the words tall and short, fat and skinny, because someone might be offended, especially by the short and fat.
     
  8. JohnDeereFan

    JohnDeereFan Well-Known Member
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    I don't mind calling someone what they want to be called, just pick one and stick with it. Don't tell me you're black today and then get mad at me tomorrow because I don't call you African American.

    Don't tell me you're handicapped today and then get mad at me tomorrow because I don't call you "differently abled".

    Don't tell me you're a midget today and then get mad at me tomorrow because I don't call you a little person.

    How dare you call me "white"! I'm a Euro-American, you racist!

    Seriously, until people make up their minds and decide what they want to be called, I reserve the right to call you whatever I want to. I refuse to play the ever -evolving name game.
     
  9. Gwyneth

    Gwyneth <img src=/gwyneth.gif>

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    :laugh: well !!! I`m 4`10" tall and you may call me Gwyneth :laugh:

    ;) notice I said tall ;)
     
    #9 Gwyneth, Jul 8, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 8, 2009
  10. RAdam

    RAdam New Member

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    The problem with your analysis is many little people don't equate midget/little person with black/African-American. Many equate it to a slur.

    That is not to say all do, but many do.
     
  11. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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    May I call you "SPACE EFFICIENT" ? :saint: :thumbsup:
     
  12. targus

    targus New Member

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    "...contestants created a detergent ad called "Jesse James and the Midgets." The contestants, including Joan Rivers, suggested bathing little people in the detergent and hanging them to dry."

    I am sorry, but this would be a really funny commercial if they actually made it !!
     
  13. JohnDeereFan

    JohnDeereFan Well-Known Member
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    They did. It wasn't really all that funny.
     
  14. moscott

    moscott Member

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    Should it be banned? No. Could it be inappropriate at times--yes if used in a derogatory manner. That said, any word can be deemed to be "bad". Some people use the word "Christian" as if it were bad----me, I take it as a complement.:thumbsup:
     
  15. rbell

    rbell Active Member

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    Q: "Is 'midget' a bad word?
    A: I conducted a scientific experiment. I hit my thumb with a hammer. I promptly yelled, "Midget!"

    Yelling a bad word would have improved my thumb's condition. 'Midget!' did not. Thus, by definition, 'midget' is not a bad word.
     
  16. Alcott

    Alcott Well-Known Member
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    Interesting this is brought up today. This afternoon on TVLand I saw part of the Gunsmoke episode, "Arizona Midnight," which is surely one of the worst GS eps ever made. A "little feller" comes into the Long Branch and says something about needing help quickly. Festus wants to go over and talk to him, but Doc warns him that he would be sensitive to being called "little" or "a midget." All that proves much beside the point, as the guy beats around the bush for a while, then after he makes an offer of $50 for a night's work to "take care of him," he tells everyone that he is a were-elephant, and since it is a full moon he will turn into an elephant at midnight. Then 3 old drunks, not allowed to stay in the Long Branch, take his offer, and after he goes into a barn supplied with hay and green apples, an elephant is heard roaring, then they go in and see an elephant wearing his hat :laugh: . Having said he would "turn back into himself" at daybreak, many citizens wait for that to happen-- and guess what? it doesn't. But the 3 lushes who took his job offer decided to keep the elephant.

    It turns out he inherited 30 elephants from a circus owner he was in business with, and this is his trick, already used many times before, to get rid of them. Clever little person!
     
  17. Jim1999

    Jim1999 <img src =/Jim1999.jpg>

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    Gwyneth said, well !!! I`m 4`10" tall and you may call me Gwyneth :laugh:

    ;) notice I said tall ;)

    I missed you cos I'm 6 foot with a huge shadow and missed you...............5' 10", but how many stone?

    Cheers,

    Jim
     
  18. donnA

    donnA Active Member

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    [​IMG] I think you just made my day
     
  19. BigBossman

    BigBossman Active Member

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    That reminds me of a Christmas card that I once had. It was one of those Far Side cards. You see two elves making toys. There is a bigger elf & a smaller elf. The smaller elf tells the bigger elf, "Hey, guess what? Santa says I'm his little helper." The bigger elf has a disgusted look on his face too. I couldn't help but laugh at that.:laugh:
     
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