NOSSA Response to Mangano comments

Statement regarding the Nebraska child molestation case:

"Mr. Joe Mangano's statements are disgusting. We at NOSSA disagree with Mr. Joe Mangano 100% and he has been removed from his position as Secretary with the National Organization of Short Statured Adults. Our organization is appalled by the judge's decision in this case. We apologize for the pain that Joe Mangano has caused. Many people have already formed a negative opinion of our group because of Mr. Joe Mangano. The media has made harsh accusations before getting all the facts. Please be aware the remaining Trustees of our organization have taken the following actions in response to this matter:

1 - Joe Mangano no longer serves as Secretary of NOSSA.
2 - An official apology has been sent on behalf of the organization to various individuals and organizations affected by Mr. Joe Mangano's comments.
3 - A letter has been sent to Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning in support of the maximum penalty for Mr. Thompson.
4 - A donation will be made on behalf of the organization to Nebraska Children and Families Foundation.

Please let us know if we can do more to help. We are so very sorry for Mr. Joe Mangano comments. We hope that this negative incident will not overshadow the good work that we do in support of short statured people. Thank you.

Official Statement

Mr. Joe Mangano's statements are disgusting. We at NOSSA disagree with Mr. Joe Mangano 100% and he has been removed from his position as Secretary with the National Organization of Short Statured Adults. We apologize for the pain he has caused. The future of our organization is uncertain. But you can rest assured that the good people who came together to help short statured adults will never be silenced. We will continue to speak out against heightism regardless of the final outcome of this situation.

The position of NOSSA

Some people mistakenly believe that we are promoting a 'victim mentality'. These people are misunderstanding the position of the National Organization of Short Statured Adults. We encourage our members to take responsibility for their own lives, and we remind them that although we can not always control our circumstances in life, we can always control our response. Our mission is not to promote hostility or anger against those who discriminate against us. Rather, our mission is to educate them; to empower short statured people; to give short statured people assistance wherever and whenever it is needed.

Podcast - Standing Tall Against Discrimination

NOSSA will release it's new podcast program, "Standing Tall Against Discrimination" in July of 2006. Series host Matt C. will launch the new podcast with an episode entitled, "New Beginnings." Matt will discuss the road ahead for the National Organization of Short Statured Adults, and also speculations on the heightism debate in society with guests Chris Hamre and Joe Mangano. The program will air at www.nossaonline.org and also on the official NOSSA blog at http://heightism.blogspot.com