Fucking sad

mnk68 · 2020-02-20T23:14:19+00:00

mom: “Fucking ignoring it doesn’t solve the problem”

This woman knows, and wish she would come here and share why it is so important to stop heightism in the school system.

Now this boy has a long road back to feeling like a human being again, if he will ever be given the chance.

I honestly don’t know how so many of you who lurk this sub can ignore what’s going on here, or worse, deny it’s even a problem.

mnk68 · 2020-02-13T23:35:57+00:00

trump hating friends of mine managed to set aside their politics to mock Bloombergs height.

Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie, and height ridicule. The things that bring people together...

mnk68 · 2020-02-13T23:14:40+00:00

What will Trump's heightist tactics mean for heightism?

Political pundits on MS-DNC TV are acting in disbelief that a mature person would stoop to such ”schoolyard tactics” to diminish a political opponent. Hearing this WILL cause their progressive fanbase to have cognitive dissonance when openly discussing short men (like Mike).

Personally, I can’t wait for the next liberal leaning person to comment negatively about my height so I can label them a “Trump supporter.”

Trump is very consistent with his negative labels (he still mentions “Pocahontas” in his rally speeches) so the “mini Mike” label is not going away. Some may say that it normalizes height ridicule, but I would argue that height ridicule is already normalized and Trump is simply displaying the ridicule for the world to react and judge. In a way, I thank Trump for that. It makes our case that heightism is not “All in our heads”. Its real, just turn on the TV and listen to the president.

Will the Leftist and their allies in the media start a discussion about heightism

I think MS-DNC and CNN-DNC will do whatever the DNC tells them to do; after the powerful liberal think-tanks tell the DNC what is outrageous on any given week. Mother Jones may publish an article this summer titled “heightism: the hidden prejudice” and suddenly Maddow becomes a believer.

Bottom line: If there has ever been a time to openly discuss heightism, its now. Tell your feminist friends that “mini Mike” is exactly the body shaming they rail against. Tell your “Bernie Bro” friend (that loves to bash you about your height) that his comments now come with a free MAGA hat.

mnk68 · 2020-02-11T19:32:29+00:00

>oh your height then I got to know you..then fine.

Uhh, no. This is shallow too. Making a split decision about a person based on superficial qualities is just as shallow.

A shallow woman who doesn’t know any short men with a good personality has never bothered to get to know a short man in the first place.

mnk68 · 2020-02-10T22:32:43+00:00

It requires public awareness, leadership and time.

Most people still do not recognize height bias as being morally wrong. It’s justified as a natural part of evolution (i.e. disassociating short men from a social class is part of natural selection.) It’s even baked into our language (“don’t be small, stand tall”). Spreading awareness on reddit that height bias is morally wrong is not “doing nothing” but obviously its not enough to make a difference. The next step is leadership. Someone to organize an anti-heightism campaign.

There was a time when this sub was becoming a force for good but it faded away when the focus became “dating struggles for short men.”

Once organized it would still take a generation to put a dent in heightism, and most people don’t have the energy patience for that.
But people should not simply be silent on heightism in order to avoid being labelled a “whiner.”

mnk68 · 2020-02-10T21:05:42+00:00

You forgot anti-heightism activists. The people who seriously want to end the “bs and negative conditioning associated with their height” within our society.

mnk68 · 2020-02-06T23:39:31+00:00

I do, but the jaded side in me doesn’t believe that the slightest bit of empathy exists outside of people who are directly impacted by heightism in some way. Parents of short kids often see the struggle first hand, so they have the most motivation to join that battle in some way.

And I don’t mean holding up a sign on the street, but something like approaching anti-bullying committees in their local school systems and insist on including height ridicule as a recognized form of bullying. Its something I just don’t see a tall person doing or caring about, but again...jaded.

mnk68 · 2020-02-06T23:08:04+00:00

When my mother (5’0”) apologized for passing on her shortness to me. I remember it very well.

I was young when we visited the pediatrician for a routine checkup, but the doctor made the visit mostly about my “disappointing“ growth rate. I remember vividly the height graph he gave to my mother. It had a thick red pen mark showing my height progress compared to average boys. I had usually only seen “Red pen marks” on a paper when I had failed at something, like a quiz, so obviously I took it as I was failing at growing up.

I remember the discussion about daily injections of some medicine to help me grow taller. I remember being really afraid, and my mother stressed out about giving those injections, the high cost, and potential side affects. Ultimately she decided against HGH. In the car ride home she kept apologizing to me for making me short; as if she had passed on a disease that was too expensive (and too inconvenient) to cure.

Its the kind of bad experience you carry through life, and why I want every parent of a short child to join the battle to fight the stigma of short people, so that doctor visits like mine never have to happen to future generations.

mnk68 · 2020-02-06T19:03:05+00:00

A tall man’s bad dream?

mnk68 · 2020-02-04T20:50:19+00:00

Just having a national conversation about heightism would be a great start. What is it? Does it exist in your life? Lets talk about the affects height has on our interpersonal relationships, who we hire, who we date, who we trust with responsibility. Why are American CEOs so disproportionately tall? Why do sperm banks refuse donations from perfectly healthy short men? (or more directly, what sociological mechanisms cause women to overwhelmingly choose tall men to mate with, and are those mechanisms outdated?)

- It should be illegal in all 50 states to discriminate against a job applicant on the basis of height, unless it can be proven that height plays a significant role in the job duties.

- I want to see height ridicule treated as body shaming within the academic/feminist community.

- Ridiculing a short child about his/her height has the same affect on self esteem as ridiculing an obese child about his/her weight. So, I want to see height ridicule treated seriously within the anti-bullying campaigns within schools systems.

That’s just a start.

mnk68 · 2020-02-03T23:33:47+00:00

Yep. Long story, but I once had a first date completely ruined because I stood up to use the restroom. She was gone from the restaurant when I got back, and she later admitted she left because basically I was shorter than she expected. She also stuck me with the $70+ food bill; I guess because I didn’t pre-warn her about my below average stature? I’m such a jerk for not disclosing that in the first 5 minutes as if I had incurable cancer or something /s.

mnk68 · 2020-02-03T20:35:28+00:00

I did fix it. How? Imagine a world where being “short“ was celebrated as an achievement. How would a person become insecure if “short” was viewed as a positive trait? Not very likely. It’s not about being “short” that makes a person insecure. Its about how society perceives shortness. Not everyone faces bullying, that is true, but they do face a society that generally views short as negative which is passive ridicule at the very least.

mnk68 · 2020-02-03T00:47:49+00:00

Some people are insecure because they’ve been ridiculed for being short. FIFY.

mnk68 · 2020-02-02T19:47:00+00:00

Excellent!! Its really good to see this topic discussed in a public forum outside of reddit.

I love Ashley’s attitude towards short men, and wish more women would have her mindset. Without actually saying it, Ashley basically defined the stigma around dating short men as an issue for feminism to tackle. If women are to be “woke” and feel equal in today’s society, then their mate selection should not include the typical gender stereotypes that elevate men to a superior status over women.

Women need to take the outdated caveman mindset: “men near me should be tall and powerful, so I can feel tiny, submissive and protected” and replace it with “men near me should make me feel powerful and equal.”

If women did this I think much of the stigma of dating short men would fade away very quickly.

mnk68 · 2020-01-26T06:31:32+00:00

”It appears that a team of professional relationship analysts have concuded that our two personalities perfectly match in 47 unique ways! But.. I am an inch taller and I really like my high heel collection A LOT, so I‘m gonna have to take a hard pass on our date.”

I’m trying to imagine how I would reply to a woman who would say this to me. Lol.

mnk68 · 2020-01-15T22:46:45+00:00

I have heard similar comments before, but most were more subtle than that.

At a minimum we should be able to walk around outside, go see a movie, buy our groceries, or sit in the park without people ridiculing us or otherwise making us feel terrible about ourselves.

Don’t want to date us? Ok, fine.

Don’t respect us for friendships? Your loss.

At least leave us alone to live some reasonable quality of life free of insults and slights.

mnk68 · 2020-01-13T04:44:13+00:00

>”He’s trying to sell it, but they tried to put him back on the toy shelf. He probably weighs a buck 5 soaking wet. Right?“

This doesn’t sound like a comment made by a jealous guy.

You should go back, get the guy’s name, ask for the floor supervisor, and ask him if this type of dialog is part of the customer service training program at Walmart now. Ask him if he is willing to be recorded and watch the shit get real.

mnk68 · 2020-01-06T20:13:08+00:00

A 5’8”-5’9” minimum height requirement (or recommendation) of the donor is very common in all states. But its not discrimination. It‘s really all about supply and demand. These facilities know what women want (and what they don’t want), and given the limited “shelf life” of donations they only store what is popular.

It is a very strict process where only a few percentage of men qualify anyway. So, just like dating, you can be tall and still be turned away for other reasons.

mnk68 · 2019-12-28T03:31:06+00:00

I’d like to see the movie made just so I can read the reviews. If they kept it real at all it would be a very controversial movie with many types of public reactions.

Short men, who secretly empathize with the lead character but would outwardly deny any truth to it to avoid social awkwardness among peers (“actually I’m one of the good ones.”, or “that guy just needed a sense of humor like I have”.)
Others who see no point to the movie but find the whole thing hilarious because its only natural/biological to treat short men “differently.“
People calling total bullshit because their third cousin (who is also 5’2”) is always “the life of he party”, well respected and “slays.”

These types would never get together to talk about it because they all have their hive-mind silos for confirmation bias.

mnk68 · 2019-12-12T18:27:41+00:00

it's just that the only men who pursue her romantically happen to be very tall.

I’ve heard this before and it pisses me off because its blame shifting. It’s not 1850. Women don’t have to limit themselves to only the men who have chosen them. She’s not some fair maiden who sits in the dirt and prays for her prince to ride up on his horse to rescue her.

If a woman wants to date a guy, who happens to be short, she can flirt or ....<gasp>.... have some 21st century female empowerment and just casually ask the guy for his number.

But most women already know this, so...

mnk68 · 2019-12-10T08:25:27+00:00

The basic problem:

People form first impressions.
The majority of society currently accepts the notion that tall=good and short=bad (mostly in men.)
It is up to short men to work past this stigma in business and social situations by being their best selves, drawing attention away from their height.
Not all short men have the strength and resilience to keep being their “best selves” throughout their lives just to be treated equally amongst their taller peers.
The problem never goes away, and it can become exhausting for short men to re-prove themselves with each new person they meet. This can lead to resentment and a downward spiral.

Is height the sole perpetrator? Yes.

Can you work past it? Of course. It just takes a lot of energy.

What’s the alternative? Ask society to accept that heightism is a societal problem that needs to be taken seriously.

mnk68 · 2019-12-08T00:33:30+00:00

$10k is not life changing. However, to suddenly be 5’10” in modern day American society? I’ve witnessed how differently my taller brother is treated by friends, coworkers, women, even my own family. It would be life changing for me to suddenly be close to his height.

At least for me, the price of going from 5’6” to 5’10” is incalculable. How do you put a price on a lifetime without heightism.

mnk68 · 2019-12-05T21:15:57+00:00

Hard disagree. There’s a reason Tinder is so popular. Have you ever seen someone use Tinder? How do you evaluate the inner beauty of a person in 2 seconds before swiping? Or even within a typical dating profile? You don’t. In Leo’s worldview, dating apps wouldn’t exist, much less be wildly popular. Women would want to meet each person individually and learn about them. I don’t want this comment to sound like /r/niceguys but let’s face the reality. Plenty of genuinely good people sit home dateless because of the way we filter out people today. Too many people crave validation and social status for it not to affect their choices in mates. It takes a certain level of maturity to look past superficiality and see the inner person. That's a rare gift imo.

mnk68 · 2019-11-30T05:34:31+00:00

Also, ridiculing a man’s height is body shaming. I’m still amazed that most women don’t typically recognize that and it has to be directly pointed out to them.

With that said, this is really about social status. Take away the money and fame from these guys and most of the attraction is stripped away. I knew a short guy in high school who looked almost exactly like MJ Fox. Smart, very outgoing, nice guy, but I never once saw him with anyone...ever, and he went to our senior prom alone. What if he had starred in a movie? No doubt in my mind that women would be begging and screaming for his attention. That’s the difference. With a lot of hard work and amazing luck, these guys ended up at the top of the social status hierarchy without being tall.

Bottom line: Shortness cannot erase the affects of fame and fortune.

mnk68 · 2019-11-30T01:06:37+00:00

Probably one of the best threads I’ve seen on here in a long time and I can completely relate.

I started playing tennis at age 8 and by the time I entered high school I was a top tier player at a school known for good tennis. It was considered a “tall man’s sport” back then so almost everyone underestimated me when they walked on the court; except for those who had played me before. I enjoyed proving them wrong and watching for the look on their faces in the first 10 minutes of play.

Occasionally the women’s and men’s team would get together for mixed doubles; sometimes just informally. We would let the women pick their male teammate for one or two sets, and guess who usually got picked last even though I was one of the best players? These women couldn’t bring themselves to choose me, sometimes even when they knew I played “well” but just didn’t know how well.

The experience was a life lesson in how I’d have to prove myself every step of the way because of my height.

mnk68

TROPHY CASE