# He is not a CHILD, dumbass. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 6, 2002, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-is-not-a-child-dumbass/140907 "2002-12-06T13:53:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NotWithoutRage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotWithoutRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotWithoutRage)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2002, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-is-not-a-child-dumbass/140907/1 "2002-12-06T13:53:26Z")
Dear Interviewer woman on WB11 morning news, I thought it was lovely that you had Verne Troyer (Mini Me, Austin Powers) on your show today to promote “Goldmember” coming to DVD. However, the manner in which you spoke to him was disgusting. Mr. Troyer is a grown man, and you dealt with him as if he were a child, speaking loudly and slowly, showing a _bit_ too much enthusiasm, etc. Fuck you. Just because someone is different doesn’t make them subject to your prejudiced nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2002, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-is-not-a-child-dumbass/140907/2 "2002-12-06T14:32:11Z")
Agreed. But the fact that Dr. Evil carried him around in a Baby Bjorn was pretty damn funny. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-is-not-a-child-dumbass/140907/3 "2002-12-07T07:01:57Z")
Just curious, but is there any chance the woman is just a sucky interviewer? Maybe she talks the same way to everyone. Which, now that I think about it, is even worse. ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-is-not-a-child-dumbass/140907/4 "2002-12-07T12:26:43Z")
What makes it okay to speak that way even to children? It’s condescending no matter who you’re talking to. Children are intelligent people and should be respected. ---
**Author:** ![Obvious\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Obvious\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obvious_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-is-not-a-child-dumbass/140907/5 "2002-12-07T13:34:29Z")
I bet she probably didn’t even relize what she was doing. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-is-not-a-child-dumbass/140907/6 "2002-12-07T15:44:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DAVEW0071 \* > \*\*What makes it okay to speak that way even to children? > \*\* Absolutely. I’ve never understood people that feel the need to talk like that to any child (well, ok, under five I can sort of see it). Anyway, everyone knows you should only speak to the elderly and handicapped in that manner. ---
**Author:** ![japatlgt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@japatlgt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/japatlgt)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-is-not-a-child-dumbass/140907/7 "2002-12-07T17:29:32Z")
Oh, and when speaking to foreigners, DON’T FORGET TO SHOUT! ---
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-is-not-a-child-dumbass/140907/8 "2002-12-07T21:04:43Z")
CORRECT! WHEN YOU SHOUT, you will automatically be UNDERSTOOD. Especially if you also P-R-O-N-O-U-N-C-E R-E-A-L-L-Y C-L-E-A-R-L-Y. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-is-not-a-child-dumbass/140907/9 "2002-12-07T21:12:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by auRa \* > \*\*CORRECT! WHEN YOU SHOUT, you will automatically be UNDERSTOOD. > > Especially if you also P-R-O-N-O-U-N-C-E R-E-A-L-L-Y C-L-E-A-R-L-Y. \*\* And wave your arms around in wild gestures. Wait, what was the OP?.. Oh, yeah. The interviewer was an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-is-not-a-child-dumbass/140907/10 "2002-12-07T21:16:39Z")
Worst interview I’ve ever seen: Local southern California station in the mid 80s (Palm Springs or LA), the interviewer is speaking with Lou Ferigno (who is deaf). She asks him, “Where are you from, that’s an unusual accent you have…” By far the most embarrasing interview I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-is-not-a-child-dumbass/140907/11 "2002-12-07T22:04:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DAVEW0071 \* > \*\*What makes it okay to speak that way even to children? > > It’s condescending no matter who you’re talking to. Children are intelligent people and should be respected. \*\* Children are intelligent, agreed. But a child develops its understanding of a language as it grows. An elder child will comprehend much more complex speech constructs than a younger one. In this sense I think you do need to moderate the way you speak to a child, but I suppose this is just a matter of opinion. In answer to the OP, maybe she was acting that way without even knowing it. I would think Verne Troyer is well used to people speaking to him like that, and just accepts it. ---
**Author:** ![owlofcreamcheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@owlofcreamcheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlofcreamcheese)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-is-not-a-child-dumbass/140907/12 "2002-12-08T00:03:16Z")
everything he has been in is him actting like a tiny feral human of some sort… I think even knowing it intelectually that its just actting… I’d do the same… just like I’d subconciously expect jack nicolus to be scary… and kelsy grammer to be a pretencious dork… ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-is-not-a-child-dumbass/140907/13 "2002-12-08T05:52:05Z")
There aren’t a lot of “normal” roles available for little people, especially since they figured out how to cast average-height people as hobbits and dwarves and such. For what it’s worth, I heard Verne Troyer interviewed on the radio here in SoCal a few years back, I believe it was for the first Austin Powers movie, and he certainly seemed like an intelligent, witty person. I can’t imagine talking down to someone like that. But, sadly, he’s probably used to it. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-is-not-a-child-dumbass/140907/14 "2002-12-08T10:56:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samarm \* > In answer to the OP, maybe she was acting that way without even knowing it. I would think Verne Troyer is well used to people speaking to him like that, and just accepts it. He’s probably used to it… but I can NOT imagine that he “accepts” it. It’s stupidity on the tall person’s part to make assumptions about intellect based on the short person’s height. I saw Mr. Troyer interviewed on one of those morning shows when the second Austin Powers came out. He’s a witty, intelligent, fully adult human being. It is disgraceful if what the OP describes happened to him (and I wouldn’t be surprised if it did.)