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lenona
[Actually, the comments are even "better" than the article. But then, there are dozens of commentators who choose to post, and only one blogger.

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Dorisan

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zombie bitch
I remember when I was little being at a bakery with my dad. There was another customer there, a man with dwarfism. I was confused about this man's appearance. From his height I thought he was a boy but he also had a mustsche (and I knew little boys didn't have mustaches). I pointed at the man and asked my dad, "Is he a boy or a man?"

My dad glared at me and told me sternly to be quiet. After we got back to the car my dad explained to me what dwarfism was and told me that it was rude to point and stare at people, telling me, "how would you like it if people pointed and stared at you?"

Later that week there happened to be a special on TV about dwarfism that my parents made me watch.

When I look back on it now I am really ashamed about what I did. That man was just going about his day and some rude brat had to point and stare at him

Peter Dinklage has come into his own with his role in "Game of Thrones", but was outstanding in "The Station Agent" with CF actress Patricia Clarkson. The story is relatable to this thread: a small person who is tired of the inappropriate reactions by average people inherits an old train station in a remote area. He moves there and is gradually drawn into the lives of a couple of other people; normal in size; but in situations that reflect their own loneliness and disconnect from the world. I highly-highly recommend it.

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blundy
Jessikitty - Eczema is bloody awful. I spent a good deal of my life suffering like that, and it destroys your self esteem. I have been hospitilised several times to try and get it under control, the infections, the antibiotics, the steroids - been there and done it all. When I was in my early 20s I got a referral to an immunologist (on a mostly unrelated matter). As soon as I walked in the room the Dr says "I can fix you". I laughed in his face. After more than 20 years of torture I had no reason to believe him. Skin allergen testing showed the only things I wasn't allergic to were feathers and dirt. My IgE level was >2000. He ended up putting me on an immunosupressant drug called Imuran. It changed my life. I was on it for a couple of years, came off it, had to go back on it for a bit and now, 10 years later I get a little bit of rash here and there, but it is nothing and can be maintained with mild cortisone cream. People don't even realise I have eczema anymore, it used to be the first thing they noticed.

I suggest with all my heart that you tell your dad my story, talk to an immunologist instead of a dermatologist - it really did change my life. PM me if you want anymore info or have any questions.

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zombie bitch
I remember when I was little being at a bakery with my dad. There was another customer there, a man with dwarfism. I was confused about this man's appearance. From his height I thought he was a boy but he also had a mustsche (and I knew little boys didn't have mustaches). I pointed at the man and asked my dad, "Is he a boy or a man?"

My dad glared at me and told me sternly to be quiet. After we got back to the car my dad explained to me what dwarfism was and told me that it was rude to point and stare at people, telling me, "how would you like it if people pointed and stared at you?"

Later that week there happened to be a special on TV about dwarfism that my parents made me watch.

When I look back on it now I am really ashamed about what I did. That man was just going about his day and some rude brat had to point and stare at him

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lenona

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lenona
[Actually, the comments are even "better" than the article. But then, there are dozens of commentators who choose to post, and only one blogger.

Example:

"I know I'm late to the game, but how about this one:

"When my son was about three, he walked up to another mom who was sitting on the ground, grabbed her breasts, and loudly asked, 'Are these your breasts? Are they private on you, too?'

"I just wanted a hole to swallow me up."

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lenona
[Actually, the comments are even "better" than the article. But then, there are dozens of commentators who choose to post, and only one blogger.

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lenona

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kidlesskim
I'll never forget my youngest sister blurting out embarrassing shit but the worst was when she was about three and had recently been scolded for picking her nose. As we were in line behind this HUGE woman at the grocery store, whose ass was the size of a barn, she blurted out, "Mama, do fat people pick their noses too"? My mother was mortified and started with the stern and muffled, "SHUT UP!" to her, but that seemed to egg her on for more information and she further blurted out, "Does THAT FAT LADY PICK HER BOOGERS?" Oh, the more my mother threatened her the worse it got until nothing but an apology would do because by that poiint it was OBVIOUS she was referring to the woman because by the end of it she was pointing too.8-)

This is why I don't understand the concept of "indoor voice" and "outdoor voice." That is, it's not how they say it, it's WHAT they say. Since preschoolers say horribly embarrassing things ALL the time, I think the rule should be, instead: "You can yell at the playground. When we're off the playground, WHISPER everything until I give you permission to talk a tiny bit louder. (This of course, would only be when the child is not sitting near strangers.) Indoors OR outdoors."

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zombie bitch

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quills
I am ashamed to say that at the age of 4 I made such a grievous social stumble. Well maybe not as grievous as that douche-canoe since I definitely didn't have any malicious intent.

See I was all really into fairy tales and folk lore so the first time I saw someone with dwarfism....well...being 4 the first thing I thought was he must be from a fairy tale. Which is why I said...out loud to my mother while pointing excitedly "Look mommy he's MAGIC! He's MAGIC!"

My mother was mortified. She apologized to the man (he supposedly thought it was amusing and laughed about it but still) and lectured me soundly all the way home. That was the first time I had EVER seen someone "different" before so such a lecture hadn't really come up yet....

My mother laughs NOW and I just feel absolutely shamed that I did that....4 yrs old or not that was terrible of me D:

I remember when I was little being at a bakery with my dad. There was another customer there, a man with dwarfism. I was confused about this man's appearance. From his height I thought he was a boy but he also had a mustsche (and I knew little boys didn't have mustaches). I pointed at the man and asked my dad, "Is he a boy or a man?"

My dad glared at me and told me sternly to be quiet. After we got back to the car my dad explained to me what dwarfism was and told me that it was rude to point and stare at people, telling me, "how would you like it if people pointed and stared at you?"

Later that week there happened to be a special on TV about dwarfism that my parents made me watch.

When I look back on it now I am really ashamed about what I did. That man was just going about his day and some rude brat had to point and stare at him

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quills
I am ashamed to say that at the age of 4 I made such a grievous social stumble. Well maybe not as grievous as that douche-canoe since I definitely didn't have any malicious intent.

See I was all really into fairy tales and folk lore so the first time I saw someone with dwarfism....well...being 4 the first thing I thought was he must be from a fairy tale. Which is why I said...out loud to my mother while pointing excitedly "Look mommy he's MAGIC! He's MAGIC!"

My mother was mortified. She apologized to the man (he supposedly thought it was amusing and laughed about it but still) and lectured me soundly all the way home. That was the first time I had EVER seen someone "different" before so such a lecture hadn't really come up yet....

My mother laughs NOW and I just feel absolutely shamed that I did that....4 yrs old or not that was terrible of me D:

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kidlesskim
I'll never forget my youngest sister blurting out embarrassing shit but the worst was when she was about three and had recently been scolded for picking her nose. As we were in line behind this HUGE woman at the grocery store, whose ass was the size of a barn, she blurted out, "Mama, do fat people pick their noses too"? My mother was mortified and started with the stern and muffled, "SHUT UP!" to her, but that seemed to egg her on for more information and she further blurted out, "Does THAT FAT LADY PICK HER BOOGERS?" Oh, the more my mother threatened her the worse it got until nothing but an apology would do because by that poiint it was OBVIOUS she was referring to the woman because by the end of it she was pointing too.8-)

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paragon schnitzophonic
I call bullshit on his kid being the catalyst for this. I'll bet my tuition that this guy was the curious one and wanted to know why and how that woman was burned. He just used his kid as a shield because somehow he figured that if he used the "my kid was curious" excuse, then nobody would dare to jump on his ass. He's just being a "good father" teaching his kid about how people are different and not a rude asshole calling out a woman's visible scars and putting her on the spot in public.

Breeders are the absolute worst. I hope this guy gets deformed somehow and has to deal with the shit he just pulled. Burn scars are pretty obvious to tell what they are, there was no need to ask.

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quills
I am ashamed to say that at the age of 4 I made such a grievous social stumble. Well maybe not as grievous as that douche-canoe since I definitely didn't have any malicious intent.

See I was all really into fairy tales and folk lore so the first time I saw someone with dwarfism....well...being 4 the first thing I thought was he must be from a fairy tale. Which is why I said...out loud to my mother while pointing excitedly "Look mommy he's MAGIC! He's MAGIC!"

My mother was mortified. She apologized to the man (he supposedly thought it was amusing and laughed about it but still) and lectured me soundly all the way home. That was the first time I had EVER seen someone "different" before so such a lecture hadn't really come up yet....

My mother laughs NOW and I just feel absolutely shamed that I did that....4 yrs old or not that was terrible of me D: