Comments on: King of America: Short Man Syndrome

By: anonymous

anonymous — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:43:19 +0000

What you all are engaging in here is a non-productive form of colloquial, uninformed, laymen’s psychology. Go get a copy of the DSM or a psychology 101 textbook. As for your argument, Napolean was actually of average height for his time period, and there have been plenty of murderous tall men in history – Hitler, Robespierre, Idi Amin Dada, Vlad the Impailer; and what about Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr. – they were short; and Bin Laden is over 6′3″… I rest my case. But the point is moot and impervious to proper analysis, as most political leaders are of average height or above anyway. You mentioned jealousy, but failed to relate this to the feigned ‘SMS’, or even define ‘SMS’ for that matter. The rest of your argument is anecdotal. As for the body builder, how tall was Arnold? Ferrigno? Human aggression is a natural facet of human nature, and any one claiming that temperament is directly correlated to height is an uninformed charlatan. I noticed a woman here was concerned that her husband has ‘SMS’. Again, this is not a real-world diagnosis. The person who started this blog is a quack, a Jerry Springer. If you want to help your husband, tell him to get a new hobby or practice controlled breathing. Telling him he has SMS would be like telling a pregnant woman she has an infection. Your husband may have anger management issues, but so does every Italian depicted in the movies. Is there and ‘IMS’? No.

By: chloe

chloe — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:40:26 +0000

My husband has “small man syndrome”. He is 5′8″ but he only weighs about l40 lbs. It is very hard to live with him because of his competitivness. Every thing he does, he has to be the “winner” or he goes into a fit of rage. Everything he does has to go his way. If sa problem arises, he loses his temper and starts throwing things(tools if he’s fixing cars). To me this is such an immature personality. But a friend pointed small man syndrome out to me and it fits him to a tee. Anybody know of any therapy for this syndrome? HELP PLEASE

By: George Mansell

George Mansell — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:30:58 +0000

I’m a short man living in the UK (just under 5ft 3). I have an adult son who is shorter than me. I find that society in general will expect a short person to behave in a certain way (because of stereotypes0 and in doing so they will find that behaviour even when it isn’t there, or at least see it in exaggerated forms if it is mildly present.

Look, it’s hard enough just being short and gettin jobs girls clothes friends etc without being seen as some Gollum like incubus. Give us the breathing space to shake off the bad Karma man!!!

By: small paul

small paul — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 10:14:59 +0000

It took me a while to get used to being short as a child i hated it.I used to always say to friends at school that boys take longer to grow than girls.What i didnt know was that having a mum who was 5′0 and my dad being 5′5 would determine my height.I am now 21 and my height is 4′10 worse for me is having a 15 year old sister Janine who is 5′5 already.For some reason she loves being taller than me and always points out this fact to everyone.I also have a brother James who is 17 and he is like me pretty short.Lucky for him though he has the edge on me he stands at 5′0 just like mum.Our youngest is Sian and she is 13 and she is also 5′3.I always thought that the oldest child would be the tallest it wasnt for me.I remember when my mum or dad took us to school when we were younger and i noticed then that alot of the parents were quite tall, and when we were collected from school i used to always say to them to stand near the front so i could see them.When i used to do the washing up or drying up with Janine she used to always rush and do the washing up thus leaving me to do the drying up and putting away.She knew that i couldnt reach the high cupboards and when i used to ask her to put the things away she used to laugh and say just get a stool you midget.I can see that my sisters have gotten their height from dad and me and James have gotten it from mum.At high school i was forever having Janines friends coming up saying NAW you aint older than Janine are you.Having family pics done she is the one who is always saying to me and James i think you 2 need to be in the front so people can see you.Usually i am like a floating head in pics with loads of people.Sian is very sensitive to me and James and says all the time that if she could she would give us some of her height as she knows we get very frustrated being short.I did however have to learn martial arts as i was picked on abit but now everything is fine and dandy for me and James did the same.So we only use it on idiots tall guys who think they can pick on the short guys.There is no animosity on our part with having a s.m.s has we live everyday being shorter than the male population where we live.

By: louis ramsden

louis ramsden — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:09:19 +0000

I am short and never let it get in my way.I am 22 and 5′0 tall,i also run a ju-jitsui club where i am a black belt the same with karate i am a black belt.I decided to learn them when some guys used to take pot shots at me.Now the shoes is on the other foot.I have a wonderful partner who adores me for what i am.Okay she may think she set the rules but we do so together.I am lucky enough to have found her as she is pleasantly surprised by what i can do with my lack of height.She stands tall at 5′7 and she reassures me about there being no problems.

By: Joel

Joel — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 05:39:00 +0000

Short Man Syndrome… still a very entertaining blog post!

By: OP

OP — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:16:15 +0000

Maybe short guys are better then tall guys, shot guys have to be better at everything to be equal so they learn more and try harder and are more understanding, unless society screws them up so bad they actually think of themselves as worthless and just give up and become total dicks!

By: OP

OP — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:02:14 +0000

You show a picture of a guy that is a short bodybuilder and say he is a bodybuilder because he is short, to make up for being short. So in your mind a shot man only builds to compensate for being small, not because he likes the benefits of the sport. So in your small mind, short men build to prove themselves. If a short man is into bodybuilding he has been driving to it because he is short, but if a regular size man is into bodybuilding it’s because he likes it. You are the one who thinks short men are inferior. Can’t a short man enjoy it for the same benefits as a tall man, without being labeled as a nut case! You are the short one, maybe not in size but in mind!!!

By: Doc Johan

Doc Johan — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 09:02:37 +0000

Two more things. . .

1. Napoleon has a F.U.P.A. in that picture. Anyone else catching that?

2. Is SMS a self-perpetuating disease? Example: A good friend of mine in grammar school was shorter than even the females and was always a dick. We’re talking 7th grade here. By 9th grade he could kick anyone’s ass because he had lifted weights twice a day, did insane amounts of cardio, and was studying MMA. To date he’s still 5′1, the same height he was in 7th grade.

He could chew and, subsequently, spit out anyone twice his size today.

I’ve read some articles over the years about weight training at an early age stunting growth. Is this true? If it it is then it would tie in nicely to the whole SMS.

The cure is simply waiting for a growth spurt to hit, vice hitting the weights when you’re 9 years old and not ten feet tall yet.

You have to wonder if the guy in the article picture would have held off on weight training for 3 or 4 years would he be that height?

By: Doc Johan

Doc Johan — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 08:56:18 +0000

Ricky,

I completely agree with the “Tall Guy Syndrome.”

I hit 6′0″ when I was 17 and have stayed the same height since (smoking a pack and a half a day since that time probably hasn’t helped.)

As said, I was 6′0″ at 17, but it was progressive so I didn’t suddenly wake up with 8″ extra height. Even so, I noticed a lot of really tall bastards with this all-too-self-important attitude. They’d be looking down on people figuratively because they were also doing so literally.

Looking back, thankfully I never did the same thing. I’ve always been a stoner without smoking weed (ok, I’ve done it but damnit I’m NOT a stoner! *stamp*)

Something I’ve noticed is small/tall girl syndrome as well. I’m 23 and have noticed for at least 5 years if a woman is 5′3 or shorter, or 5′7 or taller, they have this super competitive attitude. Perhaps it’s because women, no matter the height, are inferior and feel they have to prove something?

Seriously, to all humans of female gender that was just a joke. Can’t wait to see the kind of hate-responses I get.