October is Dwarfism Awareness Month, but that did not stop some people from mocking two little people recently at a concert.
One of those harassed spoke to Eyewitness News about what it's like to be in that position, and what was supposed to be a good night, spoiled.
After 25 years living as a little person, Rebecca Salois is used to the stares, the double takes and even the comments people make to each other about her in the grocery store.
"I went to the grocery store and there's these two, I could tell they were older, like, they weren't young kids. They were probably over the age of 18. And one of 'em goes, 'Look behind you, It's a midget,'" she said.
So Rebecca is really not surprised by what she says happened last week at a Luke Bryan Concert in Fort Wayne, which she attended with a friend who is also a little person. She wrote about the experience in a blog post.
"She's a huge country fan and so am I and I was like, 'We're going. We definitely have to go to this,'" said Rebecca.
Moments after getting there, though, Rebecca says it started.
"The first thing I hear is, 'Oh my God, it's two midgets.' I was like, 'It's okay. It's okay. That's it. If that's the worst, I'm fine. I'm fine.' The worse that's going to happen is we're going to be stared at, I get it," she said.
But that wasn't the worst - not by a long shot.
"It was like everything in someone's nightmare," said Rebecca.
Rebecca says people started taking pictures of her and her friend, with some coming up demanding a hug.
"Santa came to town three months early. They were in line. They were in line to hug us," she said.
At one point, Rebecca says she tried to accommodate one man.
"I was hoping, 'Okay, if I give him a hug, maybe he'll realize that I'm a human. Maybe he'll realize that I do have feelings and maybe he can possibly feel my heartbeat as well'," she said.
Not a chance. People just kept taking pictures and laughing.
"It's as if, we're a freak show. As if we can't be treated normal," she said.
That's when enough was enough and Rebecca and her friend left before Luke Bryan even took the stage.
"You don't pay almost $300 to go to, to get made fun of. We weren't his side show. I promise you," she said.
But that's what Rebecca often feels like despite efforts to raise awareness about dwarfism with advocacy groups like Little People of America.
"I've said it on numerous occasions to a number of people. I don't want kids. I don't want them to go through what I go through," she said.
A daily reality that Rebecca says could change if more people followed one rule: "Just treat people the way you want to be treated. I feel like we learn that at such a young age," she said.
Learn more about dwarfism awareness at Little People of America's website.
