Tall people jokes

The e-book Theo Mallier: Growing Pains, by Andrew Culyer, is a story about a man who comes from a council estate to try and become prime minister, though his friend in the story is the one which interested me.

His friend is six feet nine, and as one of the tall people in this world, I truly identified with what the author said. When he’s talking about prejudice in the book, I first wondered if the author had a burned face, however when I read about his friend Joey’s experiences, I could not help but wonder if the author is actually tall.

There is a scene where Joey is in a pub, and is subject to a torrent of tall people jokes. As a tall person, it resonated with me immediately. Joey doesn’t respond to it, and gives ‘a smile that said he’d heard it all before’, however when a malicious comment comes flying at him, all the prejudice he’s had in his life, namely sizeism, tips him over the edge. I truly identified with the way he highlights the physical deficiencies in the people that are abusing him, and I have often wanted to react in the same manner.

We tall people are constantly being reacted to, stared at, and called names, and we all accept it. But sometimes, there's malice in tall people’s insults from people. I understand there is a large element of jealousy involved, but when you’re on the other end of the abuse, sometimes it’s not so nice.

The author makes comments throughout the novel about height. They're usually funny comments, and there are so many that I recognised myself, that I am convinced the author is a tall person as well.

It is said that literature is more about what people brings to a book rather than what the author writes, and the book is about a lot of other things, but the sizeism is something I recognised as part of my life. It’s an excellent book, though, and I urge you to give it a try: Theo Mallier: Growing Pains. { Set in North Shields and Tynemouth, Growing Pains is the story of one man’s challenge - to run for prime minister as the leader of the Union Party.

Join Theo Mallier as he raises himself up from the Meadowell Estate to set the country alight with his unorthodox campaign and policies!