Reply #17: I think they mean to ask is it the last acceptable form of bigotry? [View All]

[Turn CO Blue]

And to that, I say NO.

There are other forms of acceptable bigotry alive and well and just as sinister and even more overt.

Bigotry against obese people.
Bigotry against very short men.

I have witnessed both of these to the extreme.

I work for an airline, and you would just not believe what very thin or average-sized people call in to say about having to sit next to large, overweight people. They are rabid, mean and nasty with the names and derision they use for "fat people". These people are filled with INTENSE HATRED for obese people. And quite often they say many of these things outloud to the flight attendants, directly in front of the large person they are insulting. They have no qualms about saying these insults in public.

And for the other category -- I am married to a short man (5'5") and my god, we have had people come up and insult him to his face for daring to exist. I have had other women tell me to my face that they don't know what I find attractive about a man who is so short (aren't his legs too short? Doesn't that mean his thing wouldn't be very big?) I've never been in a physical fight in my life, but I can see how that would make me want to tear some woman's hair out. It's pretty ridiculous, because he has a very handsome face and a very fit, defined body. And he's four inches taller than me. Not good enough, apparently.

There are women and men everywhere who feel the need to demean short men (and women) every chance they get. Every romance novel and chick-flick talks about "tall men" and the women snicker about mean not over six feet tall having "short-comings". Ugh. And, even on DU, recall all the "elf" comments about Dennis Kucinich, and all the comments about how a short man could never be president.

I myself am only 5'1" and often hear comments about being a "midget" (I thought we killed that word!) or making jokes about how short people have "no reason to live" and "how's the weather down there?" It's not that these bother me; I have heard them all my whole life. But because I'm a woman, it is sort of "okay" if I'm petite. Not the ideal, certainly, but it is allowed.

But don't expect to be seen on your merits or abilities if you're a short man in this culture. And we can only imagine how painful life must be for any very short, very obese men out there.

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tcb