John Bercow needs to rise above the jokes about his height

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/08/john-bercow-height-jokes-discrimination

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I had been looking forward to meeting John Bercow. Tales of his height – or rather lack of it – are legendary in Westminster. This is the politician who is literally looked down on by his colleagues because of his diminutive stature. Ribbing Bercow for being 5ft 6in tall has become almost as much a part of the political scene as claiming David Cameron is a toff, or Ed Miliband is weird. Indeed, Bercow was once referred to as a "sanctimonious dwarf" during a parliamentary debate.

So when it came to visiting Speaker's House for an assignment, I was relishing the prospect of finding out for myself just how tiny he really was – after all, I don't meet many men smaller than me. I can't tell you exactly how tall I am, because I don't know. Certainly I'm no taller than 5ft 4in, but I may be as short as 5ft 2in. To be measured would be to know for sure, and I'm quite happy not putting an exact figure on it. The only person I've ever "towered over" is the former Labour minister Hazel Blears – a petite 4ft 11in.

I had planned to add Bercow to my "shortlist" of fellow little 'uns. Imagine my horror, then, when I quietly positioned myself next to him during the event only to discover he was, it pains me to say, taller than me. Where to turn when you are smaller than one of the country's most famous "shorties"? Well certainly not to a Disability Living Allowance application form. Once I had accepted my stature I just got on with my life. So I was surprised when Bercow suggested that picking on someone because of their height was akin to mocking the disabled, or spitting racist abuse. He told the Sunday Times Magazine: "Whereas nobody these days would regard it as acceptable to criticise someone on grounds of race or creed or disability or sexual orientation, somehow it seems to be acceptable to comment on someone's height, or lack of it."

If that sounds like poppycock, it's probably because it is. Let's be clear: we're not talking about those for whom genetic or developmental conditions severely limit their height. Rather, people like me and the Speaker who are simply shorter than average. Bercow hinted that he realised it was a ridiculous point to make himself when he added: "Does it affect me, personally? Not at all. It's just low grade, intellectually substandard and schoolboyish." So why bring it up again?

Being vertically challenged does not pose many difficulties. Day-to-day it does not affect me in the slightest. So-called short man syndrome may occasionally flicker on my radar, but not to the extent that it seems to afflict Bercow. Many social events leave me with a crick in the neck from gazing up at the ceiling to talk to lofty friends. Reaching to open windows or to pick something off a high shelf may be a bit of a stretch, but a disability? Hardly.

Rob Burrow doesn't let being 5ft 4in affect him either. He became a professional rugby league player and one of my greatest role models. Burrow's shortness inevitably made him the butt of a thousand jokes. But it hasn't stopped him representing Great Britain, playing more than 400 games for Leeds Rhinos, or winning man-of-the-match in the 2011 grand final. If anything, he has used his small frame as a clear advantage to prosper in his sport.

Bercow's comments are insulting to those who live with real disabilities or are faced with racism, homophobia and other hatred. Despite his claims, all too often wheelchair-users, black people, gay people and many others are still targeted – far more so than those who happen to be a mere six inches shorter than the national average height. The politician's physical stature has been of no disadvantage to him. It has not stopped him becoming an MP or taking on one of Westminster's most prestigious jobs. He might be aggrieved by the jibes, but he has not been held back.

Those who target Bercow are more likely to do so because of his foolish comments and insufferable, pompous interventions at Prime Minister's Questions. Bercow's obsession with his height says far more about his own feelings on the subject than it does about any substantive discrimination felt by people a little shorter than the average.