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Even people I respect use 'short' as some kind of slur against people they don't like. For example against Putin. (Doesn't matter what you think of Putin - sl

Even people I respect use 'short' as some kind of slur against people they don't like. For example against Putin. (Doesn't matter what you think of Putin - slurs based on personal appearance are always wrong against anyone full stop.)

ss108 5y ago
I think in the case of Putin, there may be some justification on the basis that he and his supporters (including in the West) portray him as super macho, etc. On balance though, I think I agree with you.
izzydata 5y ago
This is the one aspect of the show "Last Week Tonight" that always irked me. He makes fun of peoples appearances too much. It's just not good comedy or even a good insult in my opinion.
- tsol 5y ago
  Yeah it's soured me on him over time. Jon Stewart held against people their behavior, but John goes all over the map and sometimes it just makes him less convincing IMO
  - jrgoff 5y ago
    I like them both but disappointingly, they both insult people based on superficial traits. Seems like every time Stewart talked about Mitch McConnell he would do the turtle thing where he made fun of the way McConnell looks and speaks.
- Zenbit_UX 5y ago
  The one person whose appearance John Oliver has made fun of more than any other is, John Oliver. Aside from that, he punches up, politicians, celebreties and sometimes just random people, but always in playful manner. Hes quite fond of absurdist rants and comments, I find it thoroughly entertaining.
tonguez 5y ago
- johnny22 5y ago
  as a "libturd" like you say, I don't like to call trump fat or talk about how he was "gay for putin" or any of that. It's not cool at all. Got plenty of other actual criticism. The only reason I'd even consider talking about trump and his apperance in a denigrating fashion is because he's so damn vain. Even so, i try to avoid it.
  - KerrAvon 5y ago
    But we can talk about objective facts: Trump is a tiny, short-fingered vulgarian; a mentally-ill real estate huckster. Nothing shameful about mental illness, but he should get treatment. Can't help him with the fingers, though.
    - chrisseaton 5y ago
      It may be a fact that he has short fingers, but it's not something in his control, or something relevant to anything he does, or something that we should judge him on, or something that we want to associate with being a problem, since there are other short-fingered people who are good people.
    - rsynnott 5y ago
      I'm sure that, somewhere, there's some weird orthopaedic surgeon who does finger-lengthening. Trump, perhaps sensibly, went with photoshop instead, tho.
KerrAvon 5y ago
What's your moral/ethical basis for that? Sure, don't do this to others in your personal life (or strangers). It's arbitrary cruelty and simply abusive. But I'm not convinced punching upward in this manner to the obscenely rich and powerful should be considered universally wrong. If Putin did not want to be so judged, he wouldn't put out all those pictures of himself shirtless posing with horses and dolphins. I think he in particular is fair game.
- asib 5y ago
  Putin is evil for reasons completely unrelated to his height.
- leereeves 5y ago
  When you insult someone powerful and evil for some immutable characteristic, everyone else who shares that characteristic also feels it.
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  I think it's just fundamentally wrong to abuse human beings, whoever they are, whatever they've done, for things that they can't control. Full stop. No exceptions. But more than that - if for example you abuse Lindsay Graham by calling him 'gay' - 'punching up' in your mind - then that does that say about what you think about other gay people that you think it's a criticism to call him gay?
  - johnny22 5y ago
    plenty of legit things to say about lindsay graham without bringing any of that up indeed.
- pessimizer 5y ago
  > But I'm not convinced punching upward in this manner to the obscenely rich and powerful should be considered universally wrong. What if you used racial slurs, but exclusively on brown multimillionaires?
brandall10 5y ago
Which is kind of a fascinating thing if you note that Zelensky is clearly shorter than him by about an inch (~5'5"), and I have yet to see anyone make a comment about his height.
- stickfigure 5y ago
  Courage makes you taller.
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    But that's still a fucked-up thing to say - as if being taller is some kind of better thing and his courage makes him taller?
    - stickfigure 5y ago
      Would it be better if I said: Courage makes you bigger (admittedly it's phrased better that way because it's more indirect, but now we're analyzing glib four-word jokes)
      - chrisseaton 5y ago
        That's just referring to another physical property that people can't control and may be sensitive about. How about just don't comment on anyone's physical appearance, and stick to their actions and personality?
        stickfigure 5y ago
        To be honest... no, we can't. You're asking too much. I mean if we're going to take this to its logical extreme, why should personality be fair judgement? Some people have grating personalities and are annoying to be around, maybe they were born that way. Actions? Maybe Putin genuinely believes that Nazis are oppressing Russians in Ukraine. If he did, would that make it excusable? How about we just be nice to each other? That doesn't seem a tall ask. Don't make mean jokes about short people! But that doesn't mean we can't acknowledge that this social phenomenon in language or make jokes that aren't mean.
erosenbe0 5y ago
But isn't it okay to make fun of Trump's penchance for the orange makeup appearance? So long as it is firmly in the realm of choice and not hiding a medical skin condition or other immutable characteristic, isn't it fair game? (To be clear, this question applies to certain kinds of public figures and not the shy kid in the schoolyard)
- johnny22 5y ago
  > So long as it is firmly in the realm of choice I don't think most folks are against that.

ss108 5y ago

I think in the case of Putin, there may be some justification on the basis that he and his supporters (including in the West) portray him as super macho, etc. On balance though, I think I agree with you.

izzydata 5y ago

This is the one aspect of the show "Last Week Tonight" that always irked me. He makes fun of peoples appearances too much. It's just not good comedy or even a good insult in my opinion.

tsol 5y ago
Yeah it's soured me on him over time. Jon Stewart held against people their behavior, but John goes all over the map and sometimes it just makes him less convincing IMO
- jrgoff 5y ago
  I like them both but disappointingly, they both insult people based on superficial traits. Seems like every time Stewart talked about Mitch McConnell he would do the turtle thing where he made fun of the way McConnell looks and speaks.
Zenbit_UX 5y ago
The one person whose appearance John Oliver has made fun of more than any other is, John Oliver. Aside from that, he punches up, politicians, celebreties and sometimes just random people, but always in playful manner. Hes quite fond of absurdist rants and comments, I find it thoroughly entertaining.

tonguez 5y ago

johnny22 5y ago
as a "libturd" like you say, I don't like to call trump fat or talk about how he was "gay for putin" or any of that. It's not cool at all. Got plenty of other actual criticism. The only reason I'd even consider talking about trump and his apperance in a denigrating fashion is because he's so damn vain. Even so, i try to avoid it.
- KerrAvon 5y ago
  But we can talk about objective facts: Trump is a tiny, short-fingered vulgarian; a mentally-ill real estate huckster. Nothing shameful about mental illness, but he should get treatment. Can't help him with the fingers, though.
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    It may be a fact that he has short fingers, but it's not something in his control, or something relevant to anything he does, or something that we should judge him on, or something that we want to associate with being a problem, since there are other short-fingered people who are good people.
  - rsynnott 5y ago
    I'm sure that, somewhere, there's some weird orthopaedic surgeon who does finger-lengthening. Trump, perhaps sensibly, went with photoshop instead, tho.

KerrAvon 5y ago

What's your moral/ethical basis for that? Sure, don't do this to others in your personal life (or strangers). It's arbitrary cruelty and simply abusive. But I'm not convinced punching upward in this manner to the obscenely rich and powerful should be considered universally wrong. If Putin did not want to be so judged, he wouldn't put out all those pictures of himself shirtless posing with horses and dolphins. I think he in particular is fair game.

asib 5y ago
Putin is evil for reasons completely unrelated to his height.
leereeves 5y ago
When you insult someone powerful and evil for some immutable characteristic, everyone else who shares that characteristic also feels it.
chrisseaton 5y ago
I think it's just fundamentally wrong to abuse human beings, whoever they are, whatever they've done, for things that they can't control. Full stop. No exceptions. But more than that - if for example you abuse Lindsay Graham by calling him 'gay' - 'punching up' in your mind - then that does that say about what you think about other gay people that you think it's a criticism to call him gay?
- johnny22 5y ago
  plenty of legit things to say about lindsay graham without bringing any of that up indeed.
pessimizer 5y ago
> But I'm not convinced punching upward in this manner to the obscenely rich and powerful should be considered universally wrong. What if you used racial slurs, but exclusively on brown multimillionaires?

brandall10 5y ago

Which is kind of a fascinating thing if you note that Zelensky is clearly shorter than him by about an inch (~5'5"), and I have yet to see anyone make a comment about his height.

stickfigure 5y ago
Courage makes you taller.
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  But that's still a fucked-up thing to say - as if being taller is some kind of better thing and his courage makes him taller?
  - stickfigure 5y ago
    Would it be better if I said: Courage makes you bigger (admittedly it's phrased better that way because it's more indirect, but now we're analyzing glib four-word jokes)
    - chrisseaton 5y ago
      That's just referring to another physical property that people can't control and may be sensitive about. How about just don't comment on anyone's physical appearance, and stick to their actions and personality?
      - stickfigure 5y ago
        To be honest... no, we can't. You're asking too much. I mean if we're going to take this to its logical extreme, why should personality be fair judgement? Some people have grating personalities and are annoying to be around, maybe they were born that way. Actions? Maybe Putin genuinely believes that Nazis are oppressing Russians in Ukraine. If he did, would that make it excusable? How about we just be nice to each other? That doesn't seem a tall ask. Don't make mean jokes about short people! But that doesn't mean we can't acknowledge that this social phenomenon in language or make jokes that aren't mean.

erosenbe0 5y ago

But isn't it okay to make fun of Trump's penchance for the orange makeup appearance? So long as it is firmly in the realm of choice and not hiding a medical skin condition or other immutable characteristic, isn't it fair game? (To be clear, this question applies to certain kinds of public figures and not the shy kid in the schoolyard)

johnny22 5y ago
> So long as it is firmly in the realm of choice I don't think most folks are against that.