Post by Heightism Report on Jun 2, 2019 23:11:58 GMT
For those who have never read the AITA(Am I The Asshole) subreddit, it is a place to post various incidents and to ask for opinions on whether you were the asshole in the scenario. This is a recent thread
www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/bvftzs/wibta_if_i_told_people_off_for_touching_me/?utm_source=reddit-android
"I don't understand why, but people have this horrendous habit of touching me. Either to get me to stop talking, or to get me to move. Just today I was at the gas station and the attendant needed to get by, instead of asking like a sane normal human being would, she just grabbed my shoulders and moved me herself.
Multiple times, I've had people try to move me by outstreatching their arms at their sides like the police do at riots do until i back up before I get hit by a rogue arm.Also, sometimes I'll be speaking, and I'll be in the middle of a word and I'll get poked by someone I know, on purpose to shut me up.
I HATE this wordless "communication" they all have going on. We are all adults, please open your mouth and use your words instead of touching me or using physical signs to control what I do. I'm not positive on this but I suspect that since I'm a young female who looks even younger than they are due to vertical impairment, they just do that because they see me as a petulant child.
Next time it happens, I plan to loudly yell "DO NOT TOUCH ME". WIBTA if I did this? I don't want to cause embarassment, but I also think that getting touched without consent, sometimes on the hips, is not appropriate.
EDIT: I NEVER ADDED THIS IN BUT THIS IS AFTER REPEATED REQUESTS TO JUST SPEAK TO ME, AND ASK ME TO MOVE, SHUT UP, ETC. IT IS THE SAME OFFENDERS ALL THE TIME
editX2: this isn't a pat on the shoulder, or a poke in the back. They will physically take hold of me by the shoulders, or hips, sometimes in front of me, sometimes behind, and wordlessly move me, shoving, pushing, in any direction, without speaking or warning me they need me gone"
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Before she even mentions her "vertical impairment," I was already convinced that she was short. When it comes to using physical force to move someone out of the way or to shut them up, people feel the most comfortable doing this with short people. Notice how many people in the thread said that "YTA"(You're the asshole) because she was considering defending herself against people who are essentially assaulting her. There are many people who were tone policing her by saying she needs to be as nice as possible to these people who are shoving her out of the way. As we all know though, this accomplishes nothing other than causing people to laugh at you. What other group is expected to be extra nice to people who are shoving them out of the way? Then, the first comment in the thread flat-out denies that this type of thing happens to OP.
"I really doubt random people are shoving you. Exaggerating won't win you points. If something kept happening to me from random people i wouldn't think the world's gone mad but what am I doing to cause this."
What's causing this is a complete disregard for short people in society, and when short people speak-out about these issues, they get hit with flat-out denials and the blame is shifted back onto the short person. Also, people were explaining this away by the fact that OP is somewhat hearing impaired. You're telling me that if OP were 6'1, people would still be as willing to shove her out of the way as they are now? OP says that her hearing aids aren't even visible, thus, people aren't always aware of the fact that she's hearing impaired. Also, look at this comment
"Are you considered short or skinny because the literal moving thing is something my robotics team does with one member who is really skinny and kinda short"
Well, that would seem to contradict all of the claims that this stuff never happens and that this issue is 100% related to being hearing impaired. Yet, here's another comment that blames everything on OP
"I'm really suspecting that, if so many strangers are doing this to you, the issue isn't them."
What type of logic is this? These folks are saying that any time people gang up on you for any reason, it must be your fault. OP isn't doing anything verbal or physical toward these people, yet, the fact that she's getting poked, prodded, and shoved out of the way is supposedly her fault? This is the type of idiocy people want us to believe. You can sense the absolute disgust dripping off these smug comments because it's the same snide dismissal and scolding that these hate-filled creatures spew every time a short person dares to speak of the mistreatment they receive. The sad thing is, I don't even think OP understands that her height is why this is happening. She merely mentions her height as a passing characteristic that makes her different. However, only one person mentions the possibility that her height is the catalyst, which is the guy who says his robotics team targets a short teammate in the same manner. In addition to this, even though he brings it up, he doesn'tt classify the behavior as wrong, he just states it as being something that happens. With this being said, the delusional society we live in finds it easier to believe that her hearing impairment is the cause of this, but why would a hearing impairment make people want to cut her off mid-sentence and pick her up and move her out of the way? At most, that scenario would cause people to get her attention visually, or, at the absolute worst, lightly tap her on the shoulder. Also, why does her experience mirror that of so many other short people who aren't hearing impaired? All of these arguments and excuses that let people off the hook for heightism fall apart once you dig a bit deeper.
"
www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/bvftzs/wibta_if_i_told_people_off_for_touching_me/?utm_source=reddit-android
"I don't understand why, but people have this horrendous habit of touching me. Either to get me to stop talking, or to get me to move. Just today I was at the gas station and the attendant needed to get by, instead of asking like a sane normal human being would, she just grabbed my shoulders and moved me herself.
Multiple times, I've had people try to move me by outstreatching their arms at their sides like the police do at riots do until i back up before I get hit by a rogue arm.Also, sometimes I'll be speaking, and I'll be in the middle of a word and I'll get poked by someone I know, on purpose to shut me up.
I HATE this wordless "communication" they all have going on. We are all adults, please open your mouth and use your words instead of touching me or using physical signs to control what I do. I'm not positive on this but I suspect that since I'm a young female who looks even younger than they are due to vertical impairment, they just do that because they see me as a petulant child.
Next time it happens, I plan to loudly yell "DO NOT TOUCH ME". WIBTA if I did this? I don't want to cause embarassment, but I also think that getting touched without consent, sometimes on the hips, is not appropriate.
EDIT: I NEVER ADDED THIS IN BUT THIS IS AFTER REPEATED REQUESTS TO JUST SPEAK TO ME, AND ASK ME TO MOVE, SHUT UP, ETC. IT IS THE SAME OFFENDERS ALL THE TIME
editX2: this isn't a pat on the shoulder, or a poke in the back. They will physically take hold of me by the shoulders, or hips, sometimes in front of me, sometimes behind, and wordlessly move me, shoving, pushing, in any direction, without speaking or warning me they need me gone"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before she even mentions her "vertical impairment," I was already convinced that she was short. When it comes to using physical force to move someone out of the way or to shut them up, people feel the most comfortable doing this with short people. Notice how many people in the thread said that "YTA"(You're the asshole) because she was considering defending herself against people who are essentially assaulting her. There are many people who were tone policing her by saying she needs to be as nice as possible to these people who are shoving her out of the way. As we all know though, this accomplishes nothing other than causing people to laugh at you. What other group is expected to be extra nice to people who are shoving them out of the way? Then, the first comment in the thread flat-out denies that this type of thing happens to OP.
"I really doubt random people are shoving you. Exaggerating won't win you points. If something kept happening to me from random people i wouldn't think the world's gone mad but what am I doing to cause this."
What's causing this is a complete disregard for short people in society, and when short people speak-out about these issues, they get hit with flat-out denials and the blame is shifted back onto the short person. Also, people were explaining this away by the fact that OP is somewhat hearing impaired. You're telling me that if OP were 6'1, people would still be as willing to shove her out of the way as they are now? OP says that her hearing aids aren't even visible, thus, people aren't always aware of the fact that she's hearing impaired. Also, look at this comment
"Are you considered short or skinny because the literal moving thing is something my robotics team does with one member who is really skinny and kinda short"
Well, that would seem to contradict all of the claims that this stuff never happens and that this issue is 100% related to being hearing impaired. Yet, here's another comment that blames everything on OP
"I'm really suspecting that, if so many strangers are doing this to you, the issue isn't them."
What type of logic is this? These folks are saying that any time people gang up on you for any reason, it must be your fault. OP isn't doing anything verbal or physical toward these people, yet, the fact that she's getting poked, prodded, and shoved out of the way is supposedly her fault? This is the type of idiocy people want us to believe. You can sense the absolute disgust dripping off these smug comments because it's the same snide dismissal and scolding that these hate-filled creatures spew every time a short person dares to speak of the mistreatment they receive. The sad thing is, I don't even think OP understands that her height is why this is happening. She merely mentions her height as a passing characteristic that makes her different. However, only one person mentions the possibility that her height is the catalyst, which is the guy who says his robotics team targets a short teammate in the same manner. In addition to this, even though he brings it up, he doesn'tt classify the behavior as wrong, he just states it as being something that happens. With this being said, the delusional society we live in finds it easier to believe that her hearing impairment is the cause of this, but why would a hearing impairment make people want to cut her off mid-sentence and pick her up and move her out of the way? At most, that scenario would cause people to get her attention visually, or, at the absolute worst, lightly tap her on the shoulder. Also, why does her experience mirror that of so many other short people who aren't hearing impaired? All of these arguments and excuses that let people off the hook for heightism fall apart once you dig a bit deeper.
"
