The very fact that you feel compelled to attack her shows that you know she is a force to be reckoned with. And that you are jealous. And that you want to put her back in her place/cut her down to size/make her go away. I think SP has a bright political career ahead of her.
Tall poppy syndrome - encyclopedia article about Tall poppy syndrome.
Tall poppy syndrome (
TPS) is a
pejorative term used in Australia and New Zealand to describe what is seen as a levelling
social attitude. Someone is said to be suffering from tall poppy syndrome when his or her assumption of a higher economic, social or political position attracts criticism, being perceived as presumptuous, attention seeking or without merit.
The term originates from accounts in
Aristotle's
Politics (Book 5, Chapter 10) and
Livy's
History of Rome, Book I. Aristotle wrote: "
Periander advised
Thrasybulus by cutting the tops of the tallest ears of corn, meaning that he must always put out of the way the citizens who overtop the rest." In Livy's account, the tyrannical
Roman King,
Lucius Tarquinius the Arrogant, received a messenger from his son Sextus asking what he should do next in
Gabii, since he had become all-powerful there. Rather than answering the messenger, Tarquinius went into his garden, took a stick, and symbolically swept it across his garden, thus cutting off the heads of the tallest poppies that were growing there. The messenger, tired of waiting for an answer, returned to Gabii and told Sextus what happened, who realised that his father wished him to put to death all the most eminent people of Gabii, which he then did.
This phenomenon is often interpreted by foreign observers as a resentment of others' success. Those who subscribe, however, see themselves as attacking targets which take themselves too seriously or flaunt their success without due humility. Apparent cases of tall poppy syndrome can often be explained as resentment not of
success but of
snobbery and ; many Australasians have achieved success and wealth without attracting such hostility, such as Dick Smith and
Stephen Tindall.
In modern Australasia, tall poppy syndrome is frequently invoked as an explanation when a public figure is on the receiving end of negative publicity — even if such publicity can be seen as a result of that person's own misconduct.
Belief in the strength of this cultural phenomenon, and the degree to which it represents a negative trait, is to some extent influenced by
politics.
Conservative commentators, particularly city-based ones, often criticise Australians for their alleged desire to punish the successful. Sometimes, tall poppy syndrome is claimed to be linked to the concept of
'The Politics of Envy'. Critics of the tall poppy syndrome sometimes compare Australia unfavourably to the
United States in this respect, in the belief that Americans generally appreciate the successful as an example to admire and attempt to emulate, whereas Australians resent success of fellow 'paisans'. Some critics argue that jealousy is a notable factor in tall poppy syndrome among Australians.
Some commentators have argued that tall poppy syndrome may well be a universal phenomenon, accentuated in some cultures. The concepts of
janteloven, or "Jante law", in
Scandinavia, and
A kent yer faither (
English:
I knew your father) in
Scotland, are very similar. Similar phenomena are said to exist in
Canada the
Netherlands, and the American South. The
Japanese proverb "The nail that sticks out gets hammered down" is particularly well known, although this proverbial phrase applies more to conforming to social conventions than to high achievement and the accumulation of wealth.
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