alta versus brevis (Latin: tall versus short)
“He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two-dimensional thinking.” ~ Spock, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, 1982 – In reference, to Khan’s military strategy in ship to ship combat. A man of the 1990s, hyper intelligent, but doesn’t understand that one can fight ship to ship combat on a plain with 3 and 4 dimensions, as Khan’s inexperience in ship to ship combat looks as if he is playing an RPG on a flat surface, like a board game.
Spock says; “two dimensional thinking,” which translates to; Two dimensional thinking implies concepts that are flat or only partially representative of the whole. Three dimensional thinking implies the first part of 2d thinking conjoined with intersecting dimensions rendering a deeper field of meaning.
Kirk proves this when the Enterprise drops below Reliant, then rises up, to be behind her, as the Enterprise unloads a barrage of phaser shots and completely renders the ship powerless and a drift after a direct torpedo strike to one of her warp nacelles. Tearing it away from the ship.
…AND this is exactly how humans look down at short people all through history since this shitstorm started. Almost on automatic, short people are judged as limited. They cannot do this, that, at a high level of competency due their short nature of not being able to do things taller humans can do easily or without help.
Taller people tendencies: (not all); reality is a flat board. They can do/think/expand in left and right but up and down is oblivious to the group. The concept of depth when compared to a shorter person is, different…
Shorter people tendencies: (not all); look at limitations as only barriers to be broken, challenges to be overcome. They are natural problem solvers because they understand the stigma of how reality and the people within it tend to see, treat, judge shorter people.
Now this isn’t all the time and it isn’t from all people, or even about all people, but from where I stand this is what I have experienced, this is what I have seen and witnessed and judged for myself.
I stand back and just watch, and that is all the evidence I need to see/speak on this subject. Like everyone else, will have their own reservations about this. Some may react badly due to their own individual treatment of taller people putting shorter people in the “you can’t do this” box, right out of the gates. I understand the frustration, which ends up being labeled, “short man’s syndrome…”
Not every triggered shorter person is triggered because they are short or how the taller world treats them. People get frustrated all the time, about all sorts of things, in most cases they cannot control, but if it’s a shorter person, they must have “short man’s syndrome…” Now if it is a joke, fine. All good, but if the joke is at a person’s expense and/or if it is a constant theme, yeah, I’d be pissed too.
That is just one instance…
What about dating? When you are short, that isn’t easy either. Granted dating in general, since the swipe left/right age begun was already difficult and complicated and now add this to the mix.
When you are short like me, 5 feet and 2 inches, most women are taller than you, even by a little. Sure there are a lot of women out there shorter than 5’2 but not as many as you think walking around, single and looking.
Most women, since the 6th grade were taller than me and trying to secure dates with women growing up was tough. I got the runaround a lot. Sure, it upset me. Not as deep as one would think and after High School I was pretty much done looking at dating as leading to more serious relationships and marriage. By 22 I was done with all that. I played the field for 20 years after that, not dating anyone for longer than a few weeks that whole time and ran through women at a rate or about 1 a month for about 20 years, do the math.
Those numbers are not credible as I have had been with less and more than those numbers would suggest. As an adult, attracting women wasn’t hard, getting them to commit to more than a one night stand, or friends with benefits for longer than a month was the new challenge, but I didn’t make much headway there. You cannot force people to feel what you feel or think how you think. People either grow closer or they don’t. Some may look at growth as experience and then distancing themselves from those people after the fact. So, I just went with the flow during that whole time.
If a woman was gonna give me A, B, C. I’d take A and B and C her next Tuesday after that by the trash can. Call me a player, a dick, whatever. I tried… I get judged, or told things of a limiting nature. I would still hold out for more, but with my disabilities I have no more expectations when it comes to dating.
…AND it is different for women to be short and date either short men and/or tall men. Society looks at shorter women as normal. Like, oh she is short, that is fine. If it’s a guy, he comes with all these instruction manuals and bright warning stickers. Its acceptable but not with putting labels on these attributes.
The point of this is society puts labels on all sorts of things with the intention of keeping those people in a box, with big ass warning label that says, “they can’t” on it. Not, “they won’t,” no, “they can’t.”
Like, we, shorter peoples lack the ability to do these things. Not true. We can go back in past writings and discuss what truth or a fact actually is but we won’t here. I do not believe it is necessary.
Do not get me wrong here. I get it. I was picked last in almost every pick-up basketball game on dem mean streets of North Port, FL in dem mid-90s. I am not offended. I get it. I can’t dunk, duhhhhhhhh… But I can play some rough defense, or could back then. I made it a point if you wanna play with me like I can’t, I will make ya remember it. I will make ya work for it. It won’t be easy but you can try to treat it as if it were easy. I was usually more athletic than most on the court. I had advantages, but my disadvantages tended to be obvious and stand out way more than the latter. I’d use this to my advantage and I always did that. I still do that. Not just in silly games like this but all lifehack shit.
I know people will look at me as a nonthreat in most things. Good… Keep doing that. I run circles around those people, to this day still. I know I am a target. If I get a lot of attention from the lady bar help, there is always some dude, taller dude, there to attempt to put me back in my cage (box). They think I am an easy target, or that I won’t defend myself or can’t defend myself when compared to the bully. Again, please keep thinking that. In the end, I prevail, almost always throughout the course of my life.
When we were younger and fist fights were more common, I got called to back up people all the time. Almost always I was the first one to be contacted when someone needed help that way.
People who know me, well, know not to push my buttons. They know I can fight. I still have the “mini-Tyson” label around my town. Even, now disabled, blind in one eye, neuropathy in all my extremities. I can still go, pretty hard. Granted, I’d be feeling it, badly, in the AM, but I can still go. I can still defend myself at a pretty high level.
My bark isn’t as loud anymore but I can still bite, hard as fuck. What is more embarrassing seeing a little short shit lose his cool on someone, verbally, ranting and raving or a taller person, bullying up on a shorter person because they are not getting the attention they seek and think I am an easy target, only to get brought down to my level, literally?
I don’t know… If I were a 6 feet 2 inches and someone that is a whole foot shorter than me beat the fuck out of me, and I started it, I’d feel pretty embarrassed and that is exactly how that always goes down.
Whenever I have to get ready for something like this I tend to do what Samuel L. Jackson did in “Pulp Fiction.” I say some dark, clever shit that sounds funny but has serious consequences to it. “You might be looking down at me, but in about 3 seconds you’ll be looking up at me, with debilitating fear…”
Short people have to have their head on a swivel. They cannot be overly comfortable because we never know which douche in the setting is going to fuck with us just for shits and giggles. Sometimes, it’s alright. Hey, I like a good joke. If the joke is intended to not be funny accept to the idiot or has ill willed intention, then it’s time to say/do something about it.
The short people that walk around and demand inflated respect, this/that, right out of the gates. The ones that have to over compensate because they cannot keep up with the demand. Those people need a little more help. Perhaps therapy, or some soul searching. I am not saying my way is the right way for all shorter people out there. I am saying this way is the right way for me. I can accept being short, portrayed as limited, or being emasculated by women because of their own insecurities. I am fine with all of it. Those types of people no longer phase me.
I do not need them. I leave them where I found them by the trash. Trashy people tend to hang out with other trashy people. They are easy to spot, even this day and age of fake boobs, asses and lips. I mean, seriously, who is more insecure about their reality self-image here? Me or people like me or them?
“That is wise. Were I to invoke logic, however, logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” ~ Spock, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, 1982…