Boston Herald - Thousands of people were expected this weekend at the Motorcycles, Midgets and Mayhem show at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, but advocates for little people are frustrated by the mockery they say the event promotes. “People of short stature wrestling — I just find it hard to believe that people come to watch it for the sport of it,” said Barbara Spiegel, director of the New England chapter Little People of America. “That they have the m-word in it, it draws a certain crowd.” Steve “Puppet” Richardson, wrestler and founder of Half Pint Brawlers, said the audience takes them seriously. “Nobody uses (the word midget) as a hateful term,” he argued.
Who does Barbara Spiegel think she is? Just running around spreading her hate speech and discrimination against little people. Little people have as much a right to promote and organize sanctioned bouts as people of average height do. Who is she to violate their consitutionally protected right to non-discrimination and deny them the career opportunity of their choice?
It's not like we're talking about pitting half-pints against professional UFC fighters for our entertainment. These are fair and balanced fights. People watch them for the same reason they watch any boxing or MMA match, we're naturally drawn to the primal brutality in the pursuit of claiming alpha-dog status. Hell I used to watch midget wrestling with my grandparents back when I was 4 or 5 years old. This isn't anything new.
And what certain crowd does the "M-word" draw? Who uses the term midget as a hateful term? Last I checked we weren't talking about a group of people who were enslaved and forced into manual labor against their will for centuries.
In fact I don't think I've ever heard anyone claim they hate midgets. Everyone I've ever encountered loves little people. Is there an odd fascination? Sure, but it's not hateful or mean spirited. It comes from a curiosity due to lack of exposure, I'm pretty sure. Why do you think random midget TV shows on AE, Spike and Animal planet have been popping up and succeeding? No one's running around trying to snatch up and auction off little people for their services, its just a curiosity into a way of life that hasn't been popularly documented or understood to this point.
And I for one take the half-pint brawlers very seriously. I'm fairly certain 90% of them could kick my ass, and that's without me fighting from my knees.
