Flash Forward To Tonight:
I was at the location where the one manager refers to me as "Big Man" as though it's my name. That particular manager wasn't there tonight, so he's not part of the story, but there was a short guy who is an assistant manager working. I have a really good rapport with that guy. So, as I'm doing my work, I hear the following from about twenty feet away.
"It was just a little joke. Get it? Little? I guess it came-up short." So, I looked over where the assistant manager was and there's this tall biker looking guy, holding his hand down toward the ground(You guys know exactly what I'm talking about. They do the thing where when they mock us, they hold their hand really low to the ground to exaggerate how short we are.) I didn't hear the "little joke" that started the whole thing off, and I'm kind of glad I didn't. I'm sure it was something I've heard a billion times. It's the same tired puns over-and-over, and every tall doofus thinks they're revolutionary for using these recycled puns. I think the most offensive thing about these puns is not only that people don't recognize that they are standard-issue jokes that are played-out; The most offensive thing is if we don't laugh at them, we're accused of being "sensitive about our height" all so the taller can protect his precious ego from the pain of not getting the reaction he thinks he deserves. FYI- The assistant manager who was the recipient of the height joke is probably around 5'5, and the guy who was mocking him was definitely six foot at least.
I have something else to add this story. This occurred two nights ago, and is in regard to the assistant manager who I speak of in the quoted portion of the related post. At the particular location where this assistant manager works, when I arrive, I have to knock loudly on the door to get them to let me inside. A lot of the independent contractors who are signed-on with that company hang-out just outside the door so that they can enter as soon as the door is unlocked. So, as I knock on the door, it's taking a while for anyone to answer, and the following conversations occurs
Independent Contractor 1: "Who is the manager tonight anyway?"
Independent Contractor 2: "Joe is here tonight."(Yes, his name is Joe)
Independent Contractor 3: "Don't you mean....Little Joe?"
Independent Contractor 2: "Yes, Little Joe."
Independent Contractor 3: "I hate that kid."
Now, that "kid" they speak of is probably 30-35 years old, carries himself with an element of decorum and class, has a friendly demeanor, appears to take care of himself, and also works a respectable day job. He is nothing but friendly and helpful to all of the contractors, and he and I have always helped one another out as much as possible. The other night though, when we were the only two people near the loading dock, he tells me about how this job is making him work on his some of his days off, so he's only getting a few hours of sleep after working his main job. Then, he says
"I'm going to have to start giving some of these independent contractors beatdowns. I'm getting sick of them always starting trouble with me, and trying to gang up on me."
So, after that, we had a conversation about how a lot of the contractors are the types of people who can't(or won't) hold jobs that have more responsibilities, and how many of them just look for someone to lash out at. At this point, I told him that I go through the same stuff that he does, and that a lot of it is because people think short guys won't defend themselves, and then I told him, if he ever lost it on one of those fools, not to be surprised if I jumped in and inflicted some damage as well. He didn't seem hostile to the notion that I took the mask off by telling him that height was the catalyst, but he was kind of distant because he was rightfully exhausted from lack of sleep and an over-hostile working environment.
The point is though, I only go there twice a week tops, but look how much evidence there is of heightism against Joe in the brief time that I spend there. They mock him with puns, they don't like him, they refer to him as "Little Joe," they give him a constant ration of shit for no reasom(well, we know the reason) and they don't care about how professional he presents himself, they just want a punching bag to take target practice on. It pisses me off because Joe is one of the few people I get enthusiastic about seeing when I'm traveling to our different locations and people treat the man like absolute shit.
Part Two Of This SagaAt my office, there's this guy in upper-management named "Lee." I've never met him because he works the day shift, and the only time he deals with anyone from my shift is when a major incident of some sort occurs that is beyond the scope of what our night managers can handle. You should hear the way people talk about him though.
"You don't want to have to talk to Lee."
"Lee does not play around."
"I think I'd just quit if I had to go talk to Lee."
"I was working one night, and Lee walked in. I was doing shit that I don't even normally do like sweeping behind the stairs because I damn sure want to be on Lee's good side."
It's remarkable that I can't think of anyone making even one comment about Lee that didn't sound like some sort of homage to the way he commands respect. So, one time, after someone made one of those comments, I decided to stir the Kool Aid a little bit and said "Screw Lee. He needs a dose of humility." Now, like I said, I've never even seen Lee, but I was just saying that to add some levity to the situation, but the response I got was. "Don't play like that. You, definitely don't want to have to go see Lee." The person who said it added emphasis on the "You" when he said it too as if it would be especially terrifying for someone like me to experience the peril that was Lee.
Now, given everything I've said, what do you think Lee looks like? I have no doubt in my mind that he's "remarkably" tall. I'm going to ask what he looks like the next time I'm at that job, but I've dealt with society's tallboner for my entire life and I know exactly what it sounds like, even if I don't know who the person is referring to. There's no chance that Lee is a short guy or people would be speaking of him in the same way as they do Joe at the other location. Also, notice how Joe isn't even a hardass, but Lee apparently is, yet, Lee's behavior gets him treated with a reverent fear that benefits him greatly, yet, Joe's professionalism doesn't serve for any reason other than to get him mocked, disrespected, classified as a "kid," and to be used as a prop for cheap laughs. In addition to all of that, when I jokingly state that I'm going to humble Lee, I get scolded for daring to pierce the aura of an obviously "superior" man. People who pull the "heightism is only an issue online" card, really need to pull the wool from over their eyes because these stories I'm telling are blatant examples of both the Halo Effect enjoyed by the tall man, and the no-win situation of the short man. I'll verify Lee's height next weekend, but that's more of a formality because...come on...the heightists I work with aren't going to view any short man with that amount of reverence.
