July 31, 2014 Dear Friends, This past weekend, we had a college student come to our home to sell us a learning system for children, published by Southwestern Advantage. The product being offered was an early education program consisting of several different books that would grow with the child as they age. As the salesman was showing me a sample of one of the books, this dictionary of sorts, titled My Fun With Words, he happened to scroll past the M’s. Unfortunately, as he did, I saw the word ‘midget’ printed on the page. After he was finished speaking, I asked to see the book again and he handed it over. He was professional and courteous but there, printed on the page, was the following: Midget: A man who is three feet tall would be called a midget. Our daughter, Emily, who is approaching 2, has achondroplasia. We’ve been a part of the Little People of America since she was born. As we have participated in the LPA, we’ve met more people and tried to learn as much as possible about this very new and unexpected aspect of our child’s life. Armed with the understanding, outlined by the LPA on the website, that : …we understand that no group can dictate what words are spoken or images are projected, we hope to continue to raise awareness around the dwarfism community and use of the word midget – a word that many people of short stature consider a slur and a word closely associated with the public objectification of people of short stature. …I contacted Southwestern this morning. My initial thought was to place a phone call and explain the situation in a clear and concise manner. The associate heard my concern and engaged me in ensuring he had all of the information correct. I left my contact information with him and formally requested that I be contacted once Southwestern had a chance to review the concern. He explained that someone would be in touch. Expecting nothing from that initial point of contact, I wrote and mailed a letter to Southwestern, explaining the situation again. I then set out to inform the various social media groups and the LPA directly of what I had seen and what I was trying to do. I was interrupted however in the middle of writing that correspondence. A representative from Southwestern called me back, about 3.5 hours after I placed the initial call, and explained that they were extremely sorry for printing something like that and they were interested in changing it immediately. At that point, I was not only shocked to hear back from them at all, but I was also shocked that they were willing to act. The rep stated that they had not known the negative connotation of the word when they decided to use it. I believe them to be sincere. He then asked me directly what my goal was in contacting them. I explained that I would like to see the word removed and replaced with more acceptable terminology. He asked me for suggestions. I referred him to the LPA website but in the interim explained that ‘little people’, ‘dwarves’, and ‘short statured people’ were more commonly used. He latched on to the idea of the LPA link and suggested that they add a footnote with whatever word they ended up using, to direct readers directly to the LPA to help further the understanding for young people. He explained that the next edition is to be printed next summer, 2015, and he would be submitting the request for change immediately to ensure it takes effect before the next printing. I reminded him that he had my contact information and that I would be available to discuss with anyone if needed. I also formally requested that they notify me how and when they plan to change the entry. I explained that I wanted that information because I wanted to commend them and share their willingness and openness to change with the LPA and other groups associated with this issue. He explained that he would submit the change request, the team would review and come up with a plan, and I would be contacted. The rep then thanked me for bringing this to their attention and explained that they would be in touch. So, I am writing this letter, and sharing it with you all, for only one reason now. Unfortunately, I have limited time to devote to this endeavor due to work constraints and a growing family. Additionally, I do not purport to be an expert on this issue in any way. I leave that to the people at the LPA. I am average height and feel that while I may be able to help spot trouble, I don’t have the education, nor truly, the right, to make these types of decisions. However, I do know what was in that book is wrong, and now the publishing company knows as well. I obviously don’t want what I heard today to be lip service. I also don’t want this to fall off my radar and be lost due to a hectic schedule. I would like to formally ask you all personally, if you are involved with dwarfism awareness in any way, to help us all and contact this company. I can not stress enough that Southwestern seems to be a reputable company and they seem to hear the message loud and clear, but I think it will be far more effective if they hear it from multiple sources. I’m specifically hoping you guys at Understanding Dwarfism and the LPA directly can reach out as you all are way better equipped at handling these issues than I am. Thanks for taking the time to read this. I appreciate whatever anyone can do to help us change this conversation. I’ve included the contact information I have below. I’ve also included my own if anyone needs to reach out to me. Please start writing and calling so this issue does not go away. Thanks again everyone. Southwestern Advantage 2451 Atrium Way Nashville, TN 37214 southwesternadvantage/Home.aspx 1-888-602-7867 Dan, Representative that contacted me directly 615-391-2702 Thanks again for any help you can offer,
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 19:16:57 +0000
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