It's hard to be a black man in America. On this fact, there can be little if any educated debate. But I wonder how the trials of an average African American compares to those of the unually short man--whatever color. I don't ask this to stir racial animosity, or to turn up the heat on the already simmering melting pot of racial diversity. I have to ask because, regardless of a plethora of evidence that demands such a comparison, the question is seldom if ever asked. Are we allowing ourselves to ignore the difficult realities of a disenfranchized group simply because--as a relult of that disenfranchizement--that group is given no voice?

I'm not African American, nor am I terribly short. I'm on the short side of average, but well short enough to winess the striking difference between the treatment of men of even slightly different heights. (I'm guessing this is, to a lesser extent, true among women. But I'm not familiar enough with those dynamics to comment in an informed way.) And like most Americans, when I think of politically, professionally, and socially disenfranchized people, my mind natually turned to the accepted, one might say "sanctioned," group of minorities: African Americans, Hispanics, and so on. Of course, we are inculcated with the habit of thinking of race first, as it serves to keep racial tension high and socio-economic awareness at an historic low. When we think of the downtrodden, we're not supposed to think first of paralizing poverty, or of MS sufferers struggling to button a shirt, or of a short fellow trying to make it in a world that considers him less than a human being.

But that's an overstatement, right? I don't think so. Just take a quick gander at some commonly heard phrases in our language: He's the big man on campus. That's big of you. Don't look down on people. He's someone you can really look up to. So-and-so's got some big shoes to fill. He stands head and shoulders above the rest. Stand tall! Don't be small-minded! Be a giant among men! The list goes on and on and on. Needless to say, the racial correlatives of these cliche's wouldn't fly in our politically correct climate: "The white man on campus! That's mighty white of you!"

In newspaper singles ads, it's fairly rare to find an add which says, "White