6. Bullies Got Older

“My pain may be the reason for somebody’s laugh. But my laugh must never be the reason for somebody’s pain.” – Anon

I’ve had quite a few jobs over the years from being a master parts advisor for Toyota to bar work, but one thing is always the same no matter where you go, the people.  

Telling the same 5 or 6 jokes…

There comes a time when you’ve pretty much heard it all, the jokes are variations of the same joke, they’re predictable and childish. When I started my first real job at Toyota, I was only 17, but I honestly expected all the bullying would be behind me at this point. That wasn’t to be the case unfortunately, as the short new guy I was subjected to a constant barrage of short jokes.

One thing was different though, the jokes didn’t feel as malicious or threatening, this was a new type of bullying for me. I took the jokes as best I could by just shrugging them off, I think what bothered me most was just the sheer amount of them. I could barely get through a conversation with someone before that person, or a passer-by would crack a short joke, it became quite tiresome.

As I moved jobs nothing really changed, the jokes were still the same, and people always seemed to think that they were the first to say it, so let me bring you into a short person secret, you’re not. It didn’t matter the job or my position it was just an ever-present situation.

Time to be social…

Throughout my adult life I’ve tried to be social, I’ve joined various groups such as astronomy, American football, football and archery and each had its own benefits to my life, but each also came with new people. The more I interacted with people, and the more I socialised, the more I wanted to be by myself.

Social anxiety…

This is why I now have social anxiety;  I don’t like people staring at me and I can spend a week locked away in a room without speaking to anyone. Even the thought of meeting new people or having to make conversation can make me feel anxious and irritable, I often find ways to avoid these situations. My anxiety will get its own article where I would like to go into more detail about how it affects me personally and emotionally.

My Emotions

I suppose the main feelings I have with all this are irritation and frustration, but only because it just seems so unnecessary. You honestly end up feeling like you’re surrounded by children sometimes, and I have to wonder what they get out of it, if anything.  

Any Advice?

With this situation the best advice I could give is to own the jokes. What I mean by this is to get in there first, when you see a short joke coming, you should be the one to say it, in what would seem a self-deprecating way. This achieves a couple of things. Firstly, it can show everyone that you’re a funny person and it also takes whatever gratification they would get away from them, this way they don’t get the reward and you get to take the power back.

Short jokes are sad, petty and completely unintelligent and should be treated as such in adult life.