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[bbtopp]

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bbtopp

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Heightism

It's Time To Become a Protected Class

post #1

06-18-2017 at 04:49 pm

As much as we'd rather not play the victim because most of us probably have no issue with our height, other than the consequences of the fact that everyone else seems to care about it. In the hiring process and workplace, dating life, etc. we are not receiving the respect and rewards that someone else would who is an exact replica of us in every way, except a taller version.

Today, I was walking through the department store quickly after I picked up what I needed, since I needed to get somewhere as shortly as possible. Just as I passed by a lady pushing her young son in the shopping cart, sitting in the cart seat, she raised her voice and said to him "When you grow up, remember you want to be TALL!" I kept walking even though I felt like turning around, punching her in the face, and telling the kid, "When you grow up, remember, all that matters are the actions you take, because YOU HAVE NO CONTROL over your height". A frustrating thing I don't understand and seems to be a running thought in the mind of women as if it is a possible thing. Women think men whose heads don't measure up to a certain level turn out that way because they lack the ABILITY or WILL... like wtf is this? Other than environmental factors/diet/exercise contributing possibly an inch or so height difference, your ultimate height is determined by your genes. Why would you ever focus on HEIGHT as a QUALITY TO STRIVE FOR?

Anyone?

We really deserve all the extra help we can get, because although we are more than capable of doing everything ourselves and know that height doesn't matter, the world has socially, and therefore politically, stigmatized the plight of short men. This hurts our chances of equality without an added legal basis as a protection class so that we can better defend ourselves SOCIALLY from being, excuse me, "looked over".

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[ThatFlyShortGuy]

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ThatFlyShortGuy

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Re: It's Time To Become a Protected Class

post #2

06-19-2017 at 08:34 am

I disagree with this wholeheartedly. Let me explain why.

What exactly would this accomplish?

   
• This would turn people from talking about us to our faces to behind our backs.
   
• Employers could still cite other reasons for why we weren't hired
   
• It won't make us more attractive to women
   
• Employers could use other methods to screen "only apply if you can lift...."
   
• Shorter people with lesser skills may get ahead causing resentment

Where else would lines be drawn? Will there be height quotas in sports? This would give the government one more massive program to oversee. I am against big government.

What you can do instead of legislation:

   
• Challenge people who insult you for your height
   
• Push people to feel shitty for insinuating you are less able because of your height
   
• Don't let women off the hook for height degrading comments
   
• Challenge businesses who mock short men for profit
   
• Challenge production companies who cast taller actors to play short men in biopics

Short men need to take a page from the Plus Size movement and add a stigma to body shaming. Attitudes would change. 

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[newtonsghost]

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Re: It's Time To Become a Protected Class

post #3

06-22-2017 at 05:50 am

A class action lawsuit against the American Psychological Association would be a great place to start. They carry a large portion of the responsibility for some of the more damning stereotypes against us. For example they blame us for a perfectly healthy reaction against a taught prejudice rather than blaming the prejudice itself. When a prejudice is taught to generation after generation and the scientific community rather than recognizing the prejudice blames the victim they validate the prejudice. While ThatFlyShortGuy brings up some good points, the prejudice that is taught through the media and reenforced by the scientific community is not going to go a way until we start drawing some blood, otherwise people will just continue to laugh at us and we will never be taken seriously.

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[bbtopp]

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bbtopp

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Re: It's Time To Become a Protected Class

post #4

07-08-2017 at 05:29 am Thread Starter

Thanks for the responses guys.
 

For ThatFlyShortGuy:

The reasons you listed against my suggestion I have considered myself some time ago, but have decided these reasons do not match up to the strength of legal protection on moral and practical grounds.

Here's your list and my counter-points, I'd like to know your thoughts:
 

   
• This would turn people from talking about us to our faces to behind our backs.    
         
  • COUNTERPOINT: I agree with you here more than some other points, but sometimes what someone says behind your back doesn't matter as much as what they say to your face. If they are not criticizing you in front of you, then it starts to give you real power. People will not take as seriously a criticism made by someone who is not strong enough to say it to your face.
     
     
   
• Employers could still cite other reasons for why we weren't hired    
         
  • COUNTERPOINT: They can already do that now, but adding legal protection will give us more leverage and power over a neglectful hiring decision.
     
     
   
• It won't make us more attractive to women    
         
  • COUNTERPOINT: It won't make us less attractive to women. And I'm thinking it might actually make us more attractive to women in a sense that they know we have legal protection... protection means security, and women are attracted to security. Think about other protections from history--before interracial marriage was made legal, or even when slavery existed, there was NO WAY a white women would think about interacting with a black man. Now, speaking with someone of another race is more common.
     
     
   
• Employers could use other methods to screen "only apply if you can lift...."    
         
  • COUNTERPOINT: Using other methods to screen is totally fine. If the screening method has nothing to do with what's required of the job, then it is illegal.
     
     
   
• Shorter people with lesser skills may get ahead causing resentment    
         
  • COUNTERPOINT: Currently, shorter people with GREATER skills are falling behind, while taller people with lesser skills are getting ahead. I think that is causing resentment among shorter people like us, so instead of worrying about resentment from other people, we should take action on the resentment that WE currently have. I don't think it makes much sense to worry about the resentment of other people who are putting their own needs first RIGHT NOW when we have our own needs to take care of. We are people with needs, not empty soulless elf creatures who exist to serve the superior tall race
     
     

 

 

For newtonsghost:

That sounds like a good plan to me as well. We need to fight back however we can, and gain freedom however we can. I wonder what dollar value we could place, the height brackets we would come up with, but maybe we can continue to discuss this and go into specifics. What we can't do is absolutely nothing and sit on the sidelines or hope that we can solve this systemic prejudism on an individual basis.

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