Post by Heightism Report on Sept 6, 2015 22:40:58 GMT
I've decided that from now on when I post a personal story, for the title, I'm just going to put quotes around a comment that a typical heightism-denier would say if I told one of them the story in question.
Last night, I was at a local establishment where a friend works as a bartender. I saw another friend(more like drinking buddy) sitting at the bar, and he kicked a chair out for me to sit next to him. I did, and he obviously had a pretty decent buzz going already, although, he wasn't full-on drunk or anything.
He recently got a new job and works with someone I have known for years.(For the sake of conversation, we'll call her Mary.) About a month ago, when he first told me that he had the new job, I asked him if he had met Mary. He was shocked because Mary is training him. Anyway, last night, we were discussing Mary, and he says that he told her I was like a
"Little Ninja" because I always pop up out of nowhere. To clarify, I live a little more than an hour from this particular social circle, and I have a habit of not notifying anyone when I'm about to show up, so me "popping up out of nowhere" is in reference to that, and not merely being "hard to see because I'm short." Still though, I'm a "Little Ninja," so we have to start asking questions about his comments, and by the end of this story, it will be pretty easy to blur the lines between me showing up unexpected, and me being a "sneaky little shrimp."
As the conversation continued, we were talking about other people in our social circle. One of the girls in our circle is around five feet tall. He told me that he has nicknamed her "The Sexy Hobbit."
So, of course, a heightism-denier would froth-at-the-mouth to say
"It was just some jokes among friends."
Is it though? This guy is apparently hyperaware of people being short, if not only am I a "little ninja," but he's also discussing my height with Mary immediately after meeting her. He doesn't stop there though because the short girl in our social circle is a "Sexy Hobbit."
My point in posting this isn't merely to declare this guy a heightist, I just want people to notice how our height is used to nickname us, is used as icebreaker conversation with other people(Mary) even when we're not present, and how flippant people are about labeling us in ways that remind us that we're different.
However though, even though this isn't merely a thing about declaring him a heightist, I think that once it seems like there is a pattern of someone nicknaming or finding some way to point out the height of numerous short people, even if it is done within the confines of a friendly group, it's well within reason to start questioning this person's point of view about short people. One of the hallmarks of heightism, is the "Friendly Joke" smokescreen that they use to get away with being disrespectful. Whether or not the current story reflects a smokescreen, or just some jokes among friends, is anyone really definitively convinced that if push came to shove, and this guy could socially benefit off of criticizing my height, or the "Sexy Hobbit's" height, that he would pass on the opportunity? I think considering that everyone has a heightist mindset(even short people) until they learn to take a step back and think objectively, at the least, this guy, even though I consider him a friend, was revealing the bias of the masses to some degree.
EDIT: I feel like I need to give a little more background info to be completely fair. This particular guy, is certainly friendly toward me. I don't recall him degrading me for my height to make himself look better. He's also black and enjoys laughing at himself for not being "stereotypically black" so he can take it, as well as dish it out. However, with that considered, it just concerns me that he seems to be developing a pattern of behavior where every short person he meets has to be nicknamed, and their height has to be discussed with third parties(Mary.) Ok, now, you should have enough context to understand the spirit of the situation.
Last night, I was at a local establishment where a friend works as a bartender. I saw another friend(more like drinking buddy) sitting at the bar, and he kicked a chair out for me to sit next to him. I did, and he obviously had a pretty decent buzz going already, although, he wasn't full-on drunk or anything.
He recently got a new job and works with someone I have known for years.(For the sake of conversation, we'll call her Mary.) About a month ago, when he first told me that he had the new job, I asked him if he had met Mary. He was shocked because Mary is training him. Anyway, last night, we were discussing Mary, and he says that he told her I was like a
"Little Ninja" because I always pop up out of nowhere. To clarify, I live a little more than an hour from this particular social circle, and I have a habit of not notifying anyone when I'm about to show up, so me "popping up out of nowhere" is in reference to that, and not merely being "hard to see because I'm short." Still though, I'm a "Little Ninja," so we have to start asking questions about his comments, and by the end of this story, it will be pretty easy to blur the lines between me showing up unexpected, and me being a "sneaky little shrimp."
As the conversation continued, we were talking about other people in our social circle. One of the girls in our circle is around five feet tall. He told me that he has nicknamed her "The Sexy Hobbit."
So, of course, a heightism-denier would froth-at-the-mouth to say
"It was just some jokes among friends."
Is it though? This guy is apparently hyperaware of people being short, if not only am I a "little ninja," but he's also discussing my height with Mary immediately after meeting her. He doesn't stop there though because the short girl in our social circle is a "Sexy Hobbit."
My point in posting this isn't merely to declare this guy a heightist, I just want people to notice how our height is used to nickname us, is used as icebreaker conversation with other people(Mary) even when we're not present, and how flippant people are about labeling us in ways that remind us that we're different.
However though, even though this isn't merely a thing about declaring him a heightist, I think that once it seems like there is a pattern of someone nicknaming or finding some way to point out the height of numerous short people, even if it is done within the confines of a friendly group, it's well within reason to start questioning this person's point of view about short people. One of the hallmarks of heightism, is the "Friendly Joke" smokescreen that they use to get away with being disrespectful. Whether or not the current story reflects a smokescreen, or just some jokes among friends, is anyone really definitively convinced that if push came to shove, and this guy could socially benefit off of criticizing my height, or the "Sexy Hobbit's" height, that he would pass on the opportunity? I think considering that everyone has a heightist mindset(even short people) until they learn to take a step back and think objectively, at the least, this guy, even though I consider him a friend, was revealing the bias of the masses to some degree.
EDIT: I feel like I need to give a little more background info to be completely fair. This particular guy, is certainly friendly toward me. I don't recall him degrading me for my height to make himself look better. He's also black and enjoys laughing at himself for not being "stereotypically black" so he can take it, as well as dish it out. However, with that considered, it just concerns me that he seems to be developing a pattern of behavior where every short person he meets has to be nicknamed, and their height has to be discussed with third parties(Mary.) Ok, now, you should have enough context to understand the spirit of the situation.