Where Do The Mermaids Stand?

For those of us who always feel like we don't quite fit...
Giants, Dwarfs, & Wizards was the game to play. Being left in charge of about 80 children, I mustered my troops and explained the game. It's a large scale version of rock, paper, scissors and involves some intellectual decision making. But the real purpose of the game is to make a lot of noise and run around chasing peopleuntil nobody knows which side you are on or who won.
The excitement of the game had reached a critical mass. I yelled out:" You have to decide now which you are - a GIANT, a DWARF, or a Wizard!"
While the groups huddled in frenzied, whispered conversation, a tug came at my pant leg. A small child stands there looking up , and asks in a small concerned voice, " Where do the Mermaids stand?"
A long pause " Where do the Mermaids stand?" Says I.
"Yes, you see, I am a Mermaid."
"There are no such things as Mermaids."
"Oh yes there is I am one."
She did not relate to being a giant, wizard, or dwarf. She knew her category, Mermaid, and was not about to leave the game and go over and stand against the wall where a loser would stand. She intended to particiapte, wherever Mermaids fit ino the scheme of things, without giving up dignity or identity. She took it for granted that there was a place for Mermaids and that I would know just where.
Well. where do the mermaids stand? All the Mermaids - all those who are different, who do not fit the norm, and who do not accept the available boxes and pigeonholes?
Answer that question and you can build a school, a nation, or a world on it. Robert Fulghum