Warwick Davis to attend charity event, speaks out about the word “midget”
According to the Liverpool Echo, Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick) will be attending a charity event, which will be presented in the style of It’s a Knockout. The fundraiser will be run by the Walking with Giants Foundation, a charity that focuses on raising money to help children with primordial dwarfism.
The event takes place this Sunday (May 4) at Aintree Racecourse from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. BST. It will consist of “10 teams of friends and colleagues battling it out in a series of games.” Around 60 stalls will be available to look around during the day, along with a fun fair and people dressed as Star Wars characters – the series of films that Davis is of course famous for. Entry and parking at the racecourse will be free of charge.
Walking with Giants was founded by the family of Alex Connerty, a little boy from Maghull, Liverpool, who has primordial dwarfism. It helps and supports those who have the condition and gives them the opportunity to meet others like themselves, especially during events like the one being held this weekend and the annual convention in the city of Liverpool. Sue, Alex’s mother, said,
They get to meet others like them and [get] to be able to interact and play on the same level. It is also for parents to be able to share experiences and support each other and siblings to meet other siblings.
Money raised during the event on Sunday will help pay for the charity’s convention and other work they take part in.
Davis has also recently spoke up about the use of the word “midget.” Little People UK, another charity that aids people with dwarfism, is now running a campaign “to raise awareness about the offensive nature of the word ‘midget’ and its misuse in society today.”
Davis, who is a patron of this charity, said,
Stand-up comedians who resort to use of the word in their acts in pursuit of a cheap laugh are popularising the word and inadvertently giving the go-ahead to easily influenced young people who then think it’s OK to use when they see someone with dwarfism. Many little people have suffered bullying and ridicule in their lives, which causes them to lose confidence, and they can become isolated, and it is for these individuals that I am speaking out about this important issue.”
Little People of America has already been successful in campaigning about the word’s misuse, “so much so that it is now referred to as ‘the M word'” in North America.
