Politics And Current Events

[Troy Loney]

I think for this specific target demo, the democratic ethos needs to just be "do no harm".

I don't think they should be actively courted, just frequent allusions to conservatives being weird about things like the NFL, light beer, Taylor Swift, and movies/TV. Like, you aren't going to win the people singing along to "Target is Targeting Kids". But I think you might help keep folks that just want to "watch the damn game" from pulling the lever for Trump and the GOP.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

the concept of privilege is highly complex because it's multidimensional (and those dimensions are multi-dimensional as well in a way). Like, racial privilege (specifically white privilege) is a very apparent thing in the US in particular because of the racial diversity but also there exists class privilege, sexual privilege (hetero people are generally more privileged), gender privilege (both men and women have privileges depending on the specific context), "pretty" privilege (more attractive people will be more positively treated than less attractive people) and a bunch of others and also it's so dependent on particular contexts like geographic location, personal experiences, etc. While I think white privilege is probably the most obvious example of a privilege, a white person being in a predominantly non-white geographic location will probably have severely different ideas of how "real" white privilege is. An easy example I can point to is more on the gender side where both genders can deal with discrimination or obstacles depending on what career field they're trying to get into: women face a ton of sexism when trying to get into male-dominated fields like STEM or sports but I've read many accounts of men facing sexism when trying to get into female-dominated fields like nursing or childcare

the multi-dimensionality makes these conversations difficult to navigate if someone doesn't know how to consider nuance nor empathize, even with someone who might be privileged in some areas but not others. like, for example, I know I've brought up the frustration at how, as a short guy, I feel like it's publicly acceptable to disparage short men in a way that it's not generally acceptable to with other groups. As a very recent example, I came across this reel in IG this morning (just by looking through my feed)

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4_cWjay_va/

tl;dw - two women are having a conversation

"I'm gonna text him"

"he cheated on you"

"he apologized"

"he's shorter than you" (which apparently is implied to convince the other woman that she shouldn't text the guy)


I know the video is a joke but I cannot stress enough how hurtful this is; kind of implying that short guys are just inherently less attractive and how a guy being short is somehow worse than him cheating on her. Seeing this video isn't the end of the world for me...I've had to deal with these kinds of jokes my whole life so I've learned how to "deal" with them, but if your first reaction to me saying this is "MIMH grow a pair! it's just a joke!" then I would really ask that you take a step back and try to empathize with how hurtful this kind of a joke can be.


does this type of a joke justify becoming an incel, hating women, etc? absolutely not. but this is a pretty good example of a type of prevailing hypocrisy that I see semi-often by people who would otherwise talk about privilege; and that just gives hateful people on the right more ammo. I'm not saying they're right to be hateful, but more...it's not like we got to this place for no reason. As stupid as the "Little Mermaid being played by a black actress" thing is, the MAGA crowd feeds off of it because of how double-standard-y it is. Are leftists "as bad" as rightists in the current political climate? Absolutely not. But from my perspective I see stupid people being unempathetic and ignorant on the left side as well and it's disappointing


this is a pretty passionate topic for me and I know a lot of yalls reaction is going to be "MIMH your life isn't that bad" or whatever but I would really encourage you to try to approach reading my post with an open mind because it's something that I've been frustrated on here by previously (being judged and not empathized with)

[Troy Loney]

Are there support groups or anything you can look into?

1. You aren't going to get taller
2. You aren't going to change the way other people perceive short people.

Solution - acceptance.

[AuthorTony]

What is the modern day Democratic Party offering to that marginal white guy living in Charleroi?

I'm a marginal white guy living in Somerset, and I can't see anything that the Republican Party is offering me. The Dems aren't vastly better, but they have a few platforms that I can at least pretend benefit my life/my friends.

Opposition to banning books
ACA health insurance and the potential (carrot on a stick, sure) of universal health care
Equality for my non straight/white friends
A safety net for my poor friends
Criminal justice reform and opposition to the death penalty
Admitting that climate change, vaccines, etc. are real
The potential for marijuana legalization (I've never tried it, but think it's ridiculous that people are in prison and have criminal records due to its illegality)

As for what the Rs are offering me... I don't know. Easy access to guns I suppose. What else?

[Troy Loney]

As for what the Rs are offering me... I don't know. Easy access to guns I suppose. What else?

Boogeymen

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

Are there support groups or anything you can look into?

1. You aren't going to get taller
2. You aren't going to change the way other people perceive short people.

Solution - acceptance.

lol come on, this is what I mean


"hey black people, have you tried finding a support group? you're not gonna get whiter and you're not gonna change how people perceive black people. sorry!"

of course you'd never say taht to someone that's talking about racial discrimination, but why is this case any different? discrimination, regardless of if its race, gender, sexual, height, etc is bad and should not be treated differently. but short people for some reason exist in a category where it's both ok to disparage them and then also invalidate their emotions

sorry, its just intellectually insulting. I make a vulnerable post and I get told to just "deal with it".

[Rylan]

because of history. short peeps havent been owned recently because they short?

[Troy Loney]

Are there support groups or anything you can look into?

1. You aren't going to get taller
2. You aren't going to change the way other people perceive short people.

Solution - acceptance.

lol come on, this is what I mean


"hey black people, have you tried finding a support group? you're not gonna get whiter and you're not gonna change how people perceive black people. sorry!"

of course you'd never say taht to someone that's talking about racial discrimination, but why is this case any different? discrimination, regardless of if its race, gender, sexual, height, etc is bad and should not be treated differently. but short people for some reason exist in a category where it's both ok to disparage them and then also invalidate their emotions

sorry, its just intellectually insulting. I make a vulnerable post and I get told to just "deal with it".

I am short, probably shorter than you. It’s just so confusing to me that you feel this way about an objective reality.

And you can’t compare your mostly perceived examples of “discrimination” to what racial minorities face.

[dodint]

Can confirm. TL is short.

He outdrives me anyway.

[count2infinity]

Alright... let's hear numbers, fellas. Dodint is a monster, so "short" to him is relative. We talking 5'8"? 5'6"? 5'3"?

[Troy Loney]

Alright... let's hear numbers, fellas. Dodint is a monster, so "short" to him is relative. We talking 5'8"? 5'6"? 5'3"?

5’6

[AuthorTony]

Alright... let's hear numbers, fellas. Dodint is a monster, so "short" to him is relative. We talking 5'8"? 5'6"? 5'3"?

5’6

My man.

[dodint]

For what it's worth when I met him the first time my impression was that he's fit, not that he's short. I told my wife he's someone that probably would've played lacrosse in college. I didn't think of him as 'short' until he brought it up today.

[Troy Loney]

For what it's worth when I met him the first time my impression was that he's fit, not that he's short. I told my wife he's someone that probably would've played lacrosse in college. I didn't think of him as 'short' until he brought it up today.

That's why I go back to just MIMH fixing his perception of things. No one is thinking about your height, if you think people are as consumed about your personal measurements, then you are absolutely wrong.

[MR25]

For what it's worth when I met him the first time my impression was that he's fit, not that he's short. I told my wife he's someone that probably would've played lacrosse in college. I didn't think of him as 'short' until he brought it up today.

You and I are both tall, so almost everyone is comparatively shorter than us anyway lol. It's not even noticeable unless it's pointed out or they're taller than us.

[dodint]

Yeah, I notice tall people more than I do short people. Every so often someone that's like 6'8" comes by my part-time side gig and it amazes me. I wonder if this is how average-height people feel when they're around us.

[nocera]

I’m 6’2” which isn’t all that spectacularly tall but I agree. I never notice people shorter than me because it seems most people are shorter or at least eye level. I definitely notice taller folks though.

[NTP66]

Buncha tallists up in here.

[skullman80]

My DL says I'm 6'1"... I'm more like 5' 11 3/4... haha.

[NTP66]

I'm 6'1" and my wife is like 5'2". My daughter has a personal goal to be taller than her, and she's probably a year or so away from meeting that goal.

[Pavel Bure]

6’3 (and 3/4) but my DL has 6’3”. The wife is always annoyed that I don’t just say or put 6’4” instead I just say 6’3”.

/CSB

[Rylan]

I am a contented 5'10". Most of the team I manage is 6'3"+.

[blackjack68]

Used to be 5’ 10” but weight and age has shrunk me to 5’ 9”

[NAN]

6’4”. But I’m fattish

[dodint]

I am NAN.