OT: Fear of Little People (I HAD to post this) | Arthritis Information
From Fox News:
Complaint Filed Against South Carolina McDonald’s Claiming Clerk Screamed, Ran From Little Person
A little person picking up some fast food in a South Carolina McDonald’s has filed a complaint saying his server shrieked and ran away at the sight of him.
Ethan Wade, who suffers from a form of dwarfism, retained a lawyer after claiming the clerk at the Greenville County restaurant threw up her hands, started screaming and ran away upon seeing him, WYFF4.com reports.
The shift manager and store manager apologized after the incident, Wade told WYFF4.com said.
An employee at the franchise office explained that the employee had a fear of little people, Wade told the station.
"The employee had stated to her, 'Imagine if you saw a snake or a spider, how would you respond?' And that employee said she understood that. And I said, 'That's unbelievable. I am a human being,'" Wade said.
"How could you compare the fear of a snake and spider to a human being? That makes no sense to me," he continued. "I've seen kids kind of react like that. Understandable. But grown adults to act like that? That's just not acceptable."
Cynthia Samour, the franchise owner, released a statement to WYFF4.com.
"We take these matters seriously and do our very best to serve our customers with the utmost care and respect," it read. "We have a strict policy prohibiting any form of discrimination and we continually strive to maintain an environment in which everyone feels valued and accepted."
Wade is irked by the claims.
"You can't have a phobia of a person. I'm a human being. You can't have that type of phobia."
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Am I evil because I giggled at this? I mean.......what if she REALLY does have a fear of little people??? People have irrational fears ALL the time! The whole situation is............amazing........
I just wanted to share........get opinions, etc. I feel bad for the guy, but if she really is afraid, I feel bad for her too. She's probably REALLY embarassed. :(
arriscolwell2008-03-26 16:22:05This is crazy, because I was just told this weekend that my future SIL's uncle has this fear. He is terrified of little people, and they blocked his view of one in a restaurant on Easter, so he wouldn't freak out! This is a guy in his 60's! They knew he would do something that would embarrass them if he saw the little person who was entering the restaurant as they were exiting.I can't lie and say that I've never wondered to myself "What if you were afraid of midgets???"
(my mind is not PC, sorry!)
I've actually sat and thought about this before, but NEVER in my wildest dreams would have imagined a news story about it. I think what made me think of it was that TLC show, Little People Big World (is that the title??) I just thought "man...if you were afraid of them, this show would be TORTURE...."
I have issues, I'm aware.
Anyway! I feel bad for both parties involved, but I sure wish he would lay off. If she really is afraid she's probably already mortified.
I suppose it could be true. I have heard of fear of such things that I have to wonder how someone could be so afraid.
Like the lady on tv that was so terrified by baby kittens. Or the other one that was afraid of mushrooms.
Didn't Oprah or someone have people on like that?
No wait! It was Tyra!! She had a girl who was TERRIFIED of pennies. They brought a penny out on stage, and she LOST it. It was so weird.
And Tyra is terrifed of Dolphins. She can't even stand it when they put a picture of one up on the screen.
so this lady prolly has never seen the Wizard of Oz then....sad....I do feel bad for the guy...Scared or not when you are working w/ the public you cant react that way..IMHO....im waiting for a lawsuit to be filed nowMaury Pauvish (sp?) used to have shows on people that were terrified of things all the time. He had a hypnotist that said he could cure them of their fear. Anything from normal fears like spiders to things like balloons, clowns, and even tin foil. And in the end, after being with the hypnotist, they all faced their fears and were fine.My DD said Montel did a show. The woman afraid of mushrooms he apparently had her take one right outta his mouth with her mouth. I wonder if the thought of being that close to him is why she overcame her fear. (at least for that moment).My mom works with a lady whos *slightly*..............erm...........off.
WONDERFUL teacher, great person, hilarous, sweet, etc etc. But still lives a bit "out there"
Anyway, she's terrified of Balloons and................ready?.................................Bananas.
No idea why, she just IS. Mom teases her, but only cause they're friends. Hehe
I totally believe it!
I'm terrified of clowns and horses. Ok, not the entire horse, mainly the teeth. *hangs head in shame*
Awww Mel :(
Did Mr Ed hurt you? Mwauahahaha
I'm not a fan of clowns either, they creep me out. But I don't run away screaming when I see one. I just think, ewww.
I saw an Oprah once where a man was afraid that anytime he sealed an envelope for mailing he thought his daughter was inside the envelope, so he always had to tear it open and was unable to mail anything. On the same show their was a women who was so afraid of choking she could only eat baby food.
Wait, WHAT?
His daughter inside the envelope? How the hell did he come up with that one?
I swear if AI tells me one more time "you cant post that you spamming WENCH" I'm gonna scream.....
ok is it really calling you a wench Katie???? LOL Yes
Yes it is. its so hard.
a phobia is a phobia, its how you behave about it is the crux of the issue.
my older daughter had an extreme phobia of people with missing appendages. someone missing an arm or leg would set her off in hysterics.
we helped her by using pictures, and role playing. she was allowed to turn her head, on look at the ground but if she started to run in place or make any noise, she would be escorted out of the area and put in her room for the rest of the day.. she eventually learned how to handle it very discreetly.
she also was very affraid on manequins.. until about age 12 then actually found one and brought it homwe, after seeing the movie manequin.. sheeesh.
I am mortally afraid on worms. especially after rain when they are all over parking lots... omg I want to die.
My MIL is terrified of birds, and even afraid of their feathers. Her mother used to use that fear - if she didn't want her to go near something, she would put a feather on it. Reinforced the fear - how awful for a mom to do.
My MIL is now in her eighties, and still suffers from the fear. She has a hard time attending out door functions like concerts, picnics, graduations, because birds fly over and the flapping of their wings really gets to her. She never liked the beach because of the seagulls. It's so sad, that she has carried this fear her whole life. She works very hard at coping with it, and does well, but it is still a great burden for her, and I have to blame her mother for not helping her get over it when she was younger.
My husband is legally blind. It's amazing how badly people treat him. We have place we no longer shop at or go to because of this. I figure I don't need to give my money to them for poor service of any kind.
Are you saying you get poor service because people are afraid of a blind person?yeah I'm lost on that one too Karen. ????
Kathy that's so sad, but so awesome that you helped her with her fear. A lot of people don't know what to do with fears, so they do nothing. I wonder if that's what happened with this woman?
I also wondered, if she was the food "hander outer" - if the person taking the money at window #1, was new. Perhaps all the other people knew about her fear, and would warn her so she could walk away and take a break. But on this day, sadly, the new guy didn't know.
Avoidance is a HUGE thing with phobias, a lot of times its our first and only reaction.
Like I said, I still feel bad for both of them, but I do wish he'd cut her a little slack (if her phobia is legit)
This is so sad. I believe the woman had a phobia because the human mind is so complex and can be so messed up that there's no limit to what can happen within it. But that poor guy. What an insult. His life is difficult enough without having to endure that treatment. I'm really not faulting the employee. If she has a phobia, she has a phobia. It is what it is. It's just so sad that people that are different in any way have to endure different kinds of discrimination, cruelty, harrassment, the list goes on and on. The saddest thing is, there's nothing we can do about it. Education only goes so far. There will always be people who fear difference and others who have a sick need to punish that difference. This is one of those situations where it is painful for both parties. I'm sure it was very difficult to have someone look at you and run screaming from the room, especially when you have a condition that has most likely caused you a lifetime of pain, and embarrassment, and nasty comments.
Wouldn't it be nice if the two parties could get together in a friendly, non-confrontational way and he could help her work through her fear?
Karen that would be awesome!
I have a feeling she's pretty embarassed herself. I would be.
I believe if you worked in a McDonald's in SC everyday, you would see things that were a lot scarier than dwarfs....but that is my opinion based on having been to SC.
I freak out over snakes, but that is why I will never work in a zoo or pet store! If she can't control herself, she shouldn't work with the public. He should be compensated in some way, but let's face it, we will probably just be seeing a lot of both of them on the "15 Mintues of Fame" circuit - Inside Edition, etc.
For those with a fear of little people, avoid Macon, GA. I worked there for two days once, and we saw three little people. Separately, not like they were related or had met and married, etc. There must be a gene pool for it there, or something. By the time we left, we are all wondering about it. I mean, Macon only had like one cab at the time (we took it; the air conditioner did not work, either). They had more little people than taxis.[QUOTE=Suzanne] If she can't control herself, she shouldn't work with the public. [/QUOTE]
I agree w/ that Suzanne...Its one thing to have a phobia but there are better ways to handle them then how she did...
Heres an article I found that made me think of this thread
My physc 101 prof said that you could tell if it's a phobia like this (he used a spider phobia as an example) if your house is on fire and in the only exit there is a spider that you'd have to pass in order to get out, it's a phobia if you stay in the house and burn.Yeah, Link you're right. There's actually a big difference between a "fear" and a "phobia"
The people on Tyra's show, had PHOBIAS. The girl who was afraid of the pennies, ran screaming off stage when they brought out a SINGLE penny. *that's* a phobia!
My neighbor is afraid of knomes and won't come to my front door because I love them and have a bunch of them outside. I babysat her son after school and he told me one day that is why his mom goes to another door on the side of my house.
I am afraid of heights. Tall buidings freak me out and I don't want to take the elevator up anywhere but I can control it and tell myself that I need to chill. I also won't go on rides on amusement parks that take you up high and freak when we have to drive through the mountains.
I AM AFRAID but I do not go running and screaming. I try to keep it to myself and take deep breathes.
I would say I have a phobia of death. Sounds weird, but I have the full on panic attack when it's talked about, or if there's the "idea" of me dying because of something. That really and truly terrifies me.
There's one other phobia I have that I don't have a name for, I can't even really explain it. It's to do with machines not being running, or not being in a proper working state. The best example I have, is when my mom and I went to a water park one year.
We used to go ALL the time, so I was used to seeing all the water slides running, all the time. We went one weekend, and one of the slides was out of service, it was dry. It freaked the hell out of me. We couldn't even walk past it. I couldn't tell my mom either, because I knew she'd think I was being silly. But I couldn't breathe when I looked at it, and my head would spin. I just wanted to run away SO bad.
I can't stand to look at a hot water heater, or an A/C unit, or anything like that. Nothing like those, ones that click on and off by themselves. And if there's a broken one? OMG You can REALLY forget it! That's like 100 times worse!!!
I have no idea what that fear would be called though.
OH also, the water pipes in the stair wells at work scare the hell out of me. I've only taken the stairs a couple of times, and I hold my breath almost the whole way, while running. I have no idea what it is that I'm *actually* afraid of.
Sure wish I knew!
[QUOTE=arriscolwell]
(my mind is not PC, sorry!)
[/QUOTE]
Man! I have been having some real confusion and misunderstanding a lot of things lately. Why I am afraid to reply to peoples posts.
Anyways....
When I read that above I thought she said "my mind is on PCP, sorry!"
I was like... that would EXPLAIN a lot
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