When it comes from within

I've been thinking about this post for a week. I've written it several times in my head. It will possibly come out on the screen nothing like I planned in my head...but that's ok. Maybe this is the right telling.

Last week someone called me the M-word. In itself I guess that's no biggie. I mean, it happens. I get annoyed, I move on.

But this one came from within the "disability club" and it was deliberate. This person knew my name - my actual name. This person looked me in the eye as I did something kind and said, "Thank you little midget....oh, I mean, Leisa."

I arked right up. I didn't yell, or scream or get obnoxious, but I felt the hackles rise and I told him that there was no way I was going to stand for it. It was rude, mean and the same as calling someone the n-word. He said it was a slip of the tongue. I told him it wasn't. He knew what he was saying.

After the incident I pondered for a while. Would people have thought I should've been a little more lenient because of the type of disability the name-caller had?

My answer is no. I respect my new friend as a person, a fellow human being. I expect the same courtesies from him as I do the rest of the human race. Just because my friend has a particular disability doesn't give him an excuse to be rude because, "He might not know what he's saying." He knew exactly what he was saying and he needs to know it's not on in the same way everyone else needs to know it's not on.

I don't believe in rules for us and rules for them.

I have to admit that I was hurt. I thought they would have known better. He too would have been subject to obnoxious words used to describe his condition over the years. Back in my day people with his condition were called all sorts of things that were "acceptable" back then but are totally inappropriate now.

Back in the day the M-word was once the moniker they assigned to people like me. Not anymore. I won't take it from anyone.