Double Standard

I was walking to my car today after work, climbing up the 4 levels of stairs in the parking structure. In front of me there was an older lady, by which I just mean she was somewhat older than me. She left the stairs on the third floor as I proceeded up one more level, and looking back at me she said something like, "Thank goodness I was able to get up fast because I saw how tall you were and thought you'd be taking two stairs at a time with those long legs!" Now, granted, this is usually true. I do like to climb two steps at a time and I do happen to have long legs. hehe So I wasn't really insulted or anything. I just found it funny that she'd actually say this to a total stranger.

Now, let's pretend I was way shorter, and had really short legs, and this lady was actually behind me. If she then had to slow her pace a bit so that I can get up the stairs in front of her, would she have then said to me something like, "Thank goodness I was able to slow down because I saw how short you are and thought you'd take forever to climg the stairs with those short legs!" Of course she wouldn't! (Unless she was just some evil person!)

It's funny how people...random absolute strangers...will often point out to me that I'm "soooo tall" or have "long legs" or "long arms". But what if I was super short. I'm sure nobody would say a word, right? So is it ok to point out the obvious to others, often at their expense or maybe even slight humiliation, as long as you yourself think you're not really insulting them? If that person seems to have the better end of the stick, is it ok to comment on it?

Another scenario: a really petite thin woman sitting at a restaurant orders a huge meal and eats it all. An onlooker comments, "Wow! How can you eat all that!" The woman probably feels a bit embarrassed by the comment. But what if it where an overweight woman who ordered the same meal. People may be thinking stuff but I doubt anyone will say anything.

So is it really ok to comment on stuff about complete strangers as long as YOU feel it's not a bad thing? Cuz honestly...sometimes I think people should just keep things to themselves. Like our mommas always said..."If you can't say something nice...don't say anything at all."