Short cops policing a short people, corrupt politicians governing a corrupt people. Like Coffeemate in coffee, it all makes sense to me. So then what’s the big deal about Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III’s “veto” of a bill proposing a removal of minimum height requirements for Filipino police personnel? Funny thing, the way a nation of generally short people presume to “debate” the height requirement of their cops.
As the venerable Jedi Master Yoda once said in admonishment of young Luke Skywalker’s exasperation over his inability to get things done with The Force, “Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size , do you? Hmm? Hmm.”
Then again, as the old Star Margarine ad goes Iba na ang matangkad (“size does matter”) — in Philippine society, that is. In a nation where brand, skin colour, and regional accents (or the lack of these) matter a lot, height indeed commands respect. Wise words do come out of Malacañang every now and then as presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte reportedly demonstrates…
| SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY! Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider! Learn more |
“If you need to rescue someone from a burning house … or secure detainees, then you would need certain physical attributes. That is the nature of these jobs and it is not discrimination,” she told reporters.
Mr Aquino’s minimum height of 1.63 metres for men and 1.57 metres for women applying for these jobs, would still apply, Valte said.
More important than these practical aspects, height rules the average schmoe’s mind. When someone towers above you, you tend to feel subservient. And when one is a cop, it is all about quickly establishing dominance and authority in potentially life-threatening often chaotic situations. Religion and showbiz have long applied — and cashed in on — this simple reality. This is why altars and pulpits tend to be situated above the lines of sight of the congregation, and why the average actor is taller than the average fan.
Apparently, the bigger the difference in physical appearance, the stronger the perception of authority of the advantaged party, and the more pronounced the deference to the other of the disadvantaged party. Perhaps this is the reason why Filipinos are renowned for being so easily starstruck into a stupor by their celebrities and their politicians. Perhaps it is because Filipinos’ celebrities and politicians exhibit a more enormous appearance and height advantage to their fans and constituents. Studies may already be confirming this as this one shows…
Much has been written about the extent to which beautiful and tall people succeed in life. But what happens when everybody is beautiful (more or less), or everyone grows taller?
In a new paper, Daniel S. Hamermesh, an economist at the University of Texas and the author of “Beauty Pays,†argues that just being better looking than others in a given competitive situation does not give much of an advantage. What matters, he said, is how much better looking an individual is than others in a competition. In other words, the more extreme the difference between the best and the worst looking, the more the “best†will have an advantage.
Considering how chronically chaotic and crime-infested the Philippines is all year round (perhaps with the exception of “Holy” Week), security officers need all the advantage they could muster to keep Filipinos in line, out of trouble, and obedient. When you have a police force perceived to be of superior stature, you are more likely to get compliant rather than restless natives. You can’t really deny the emerging science behind all this….
Tall people on average enjoy higher IQs, fatter paychecks, more successful careers, and longer lives. We have a better chance of becoming an Army general or chief executive of a Fortune 500 company, and height appears to confer an advantage in everything from climbing the academic ladder to winning an Oscar. “In the last thirty-one presidential elections,’’ the author reports, “the tall candidate has won the popular vote twenty-six times.’’
Taller males are especially lucky; on top of all the other advantages, we’re way more popular with women. “Tall men are the most romantically successful group on earth, bar none: more successful than rich people, accomplished people, and educated people.’’
The simple reality is, the world is a tall person’s oyster.
You need to understand the psychology of a people whose asses are famously in desperate need of a good kicking. And in the Philippines, it really is all about showbiz. Visual cues, and old evolutionary primal impulses to defer to the physically imposing remain stunningly effective, if politically-incorrect, tools by which governments and security forces implement order in society.
Drop the ball in the perceptions game and we get the situation the Philippines finds itself in today — a society where clownish costumed “activists” performing publicity stunts in between cocaine snorts rule the minds of their starstruck ignoramus mobs.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
You are being a racist for criticizing height. Every Filipino knows that majority of us are short.
Nope, read the article first you stupid troll.
Or are you too stupid to read it?
TROLL HARDER
So does Mr. Lacierda who never believes in the truth that there is no such as race. Catch my drift?
Yep, grasping of straws is very cool. 🙂
Neither Filipinos nor height measurements are considered a race.
I don’t know about short. But I am certain everyone in the world knows Filipinos can be small minded. Like eduardo.
BTW,
“You are being a racist for criticizing height.”
Shouldn’t that be “heightist?” You couldn’t even get that right.
What? There’s nothing wrong with criticizing our obsession with height.
Though height has obvious advantages, a smaller stature also has some advantages that only the tall people can appreciate
This one’s too easy 😉
Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
To live
They got little hands
Little eyes
They walk around
Tellin’ great big lies
They got little noses
And tiny little teeth
They wear platform shoes
On their nasty little feet
Well, I don’t want no short people
Don’t want no short people
Don’t want no short people
`Round here
SHORT PEOPLE
Randy Newman
Tall Cops are better to have but just being TALL, and not being a cop doesn’t really matter. For example, I don’t give a shit how TALL or BIG a guy is, NO, it doesn’t make a bit of difference! Except maybe to the person he falls on when he is heading towards the ground.
Idiot. There is big chance that criminals will
underestimate the law enforcers if height requirement will be removed.
Resorting to insults again hmm eduardo? You really are a one trick pony or in this case, a one trick retard.
TROLL HARDER
you can never underestimate the stupidity of a yellow troll
And yet they overestimate themselves and their pathetic excuse for a president that can’t even pass one single bill in the senate and congress. It will definitely bite them in the ass once their “leader” is outed as a FRAUD.
Care to elaborate? Oh, you can’t explain since you are all ONE-LINERS. 😛
Height is an advantage if you are a policeman as cited by Sec. Valte.But it doesn’t follow that with good height you will be successful in life.Take the case for example of our great hero, Dr. Jose Rizal who was said to be below five feet only. Then we have our great statesman,Mr. Romulo who had once been elected to head the UN. Then we have Napoleon Bonaparte, a diminutive leader who had conquered most of the lands in Europe.
Napoleon was 5’6″ or 5’7″, slightly taller than the average height of a French man of his time.
Stateman, police. Not the same.
And your point is? What does that have to do with the topic?
TROLL HARDER
The article must also discuss the height of Filipino intelligence and usage of common sense. How I wish, but you must not read that kind of article anymore. Take a look at Mr. Lacierda’s comment. It’s just pretty obvious HE DON’T READ ARTICLES because he is just a lame retard. His height of intelligence is lower than an amoeba, if I must say.
in a survey regarding the veto on height restrictions,
only 1 in 7 said he was happy.
the other 6 were grumpy, dopey, sneezy, sleepy,……
tall cops, short cops!
what about some cops which prevent criminals fleeing the country, escaping from jail, or undertaking massacres
“…which prevent criminals
fleeing the country,…”
Are you referring to the detainee at Veterans?
no
about p-noy’s cronies who he and de lima ‘let escape’!
you really must try to read the news and think for yourself and not be a paid parrot.
Palibhasang may phobia si Panot sa mga bansot na tao kaya ayaw niya ng mga bansot.
A short story and a tall tale.
Kris aquino meets a dwarf at a bar.
Not being Bashful she asks him back to her place.
She makes him Happy, but then gets Grumpy when he says he is Sleepy, and leaves.
Next day he feels Sneezy and goes to the Doc. “Bad news! Its not the cold you need to worry about, but the sores!”
Morale. Don’t be Dozey. You won’t get sick if you cover your d!ck.
So height is the only thing that matters? what about a person’s character? That’s a very shallow way of determining an individual’s worth.
Eduardo clearly doesn’t know that a person’s character is more important than his or her height.
Eduardo’s logic fails yet again.
It is also important that the person is COMPETENT.
TROLL HARDER EDUARDO
The Philippines is not the only place that places a premium on height and girth for police. When I lived in Indiana, I noticed that most of the state police officers were over 6 feet tall and about 3 feet wide. It seems they hire out of the NFL. These supersize troopers are more effective in controlling people. It is a psychological ploy, and it works. The big officers have an easier time dealing with and controlling the public. In short (no pun intended), they are more intimidating.
It is the same reason that police departments use officers on horseback. One officer on a horse is effective as 20 officers on foot.