Talk:Tall poppy syndrome

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I feel that while the content of this page is reasonable, it misses completely the entire raison d'etre of the phrase. TPS is invariably invoked as a defence, an excuse or a dismissal by those with wealth or power; or their defenders. To talk about it-- as this page does-- as some social characteristic of Australians is to completely misconstrue its social function.

That is exactly why TPS is so often used: its users invoke some supposed national characteristic to explain away criticism of themselves. The authors of this page (very naively, in my opinion) construe TPS as just such a characteristic, in which the poor envy the rich. A much more meaningful description, I contend, is that TPS is a rhetorical device used by the powerful members of society to answer criticism of their behaviour. --Dr Garry 10:04, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Err...I know of no Australasian reputation for being resentful of success. I live in New Zealand, so I may be out of the international loop. Is Norway whispering behind our backs when we're not paying attention or something? I mean, I have frequently heard celebreties remarking on television about how nice Australians are, and in New Zealand, you're not jealous of celebrities, since everybody is friends with a celebrity. I know Tall Poppy Syndrome exists, but it's not usually applied to sports-people. Usually it's just a general dislike of rich people - for example, recently, when a TV news presenter's new contract paid her $800,000 a year, for 15 minutes a day, 5 days a week on the screen, and mayber an hour or two off-screen, a lot of people were angry. That's an example of Tall poppy Syndrome, the Michael Campbell one is not. Hell, the Campbell example is the opposite of Tall Poppy Syndrome. --Superiority 02:11, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

TPS as I've known it has never been upwards envy. In my experience, it's directed at arrogance, usually that of prominent people. A person needn't be rich to be the target of TPS. Indeed, rich people can be admired in that American way, so long as they're not arrogant.--Cyberjunkie | Talk 03:19, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

IME, 'tall poppy syndrome' always *used* to mean hostility directed at the successful because of their success. Unfortunately, the term has been devalued lately because the successful plead TPS as the reason for *any* hostility directed towards them, rather than acknowledge that their own behaviour might have provoked it.

I think genuine TPS did exist, and still does - just ask the kid who always knows the answer in class whether that makes him popular. But I think 90% of what's *called* TPS these days is nothing of the sort - egalitarian hostility towards arrogant behaviour being a good example. --Calair 04:25, 17 October 2005 (UTC)

As far as I'm aware this phrase is in common use in the UK, so I would question it as being uniquely Australasian. andrewcrosby 24 April 2006 (BST)

While the phrase is in commom use in many countries, it is a very Australasian trait. Kripcat 11:24, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

I suggest that the following sentence be looked at:

Many Australasians have achieved success and wealth without attracting such hostility (e.g. Dick Smith, Ian Thorpe, Stephen Tindall); they can only do so by remaining falsely humble about their achievements and avoiding "lording" their success over others. Thus, Australians and New Zealanders feel the need to appear self-deprecating, especially when in the public eye.

The 'thus' seems to imply a logical conclusion that does not follow. The claim itself could also use some qualification since it seems to convey a prejudice that would be better described than asserted.Camerontaylor 16:35, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] In Canada too

Hey, just wanted to let you know that this phrase gets bandied about in Canada as well, and not necessarily among folks of NZ or Australian descent. Maybe it's a commonwealth thing? In any case, thanks for the enjoyable page :)

[edit] Sources

This article is in dire need of sources. The article describes a phenomenon that no two people can agree on, so we need to insist on sources for all statements. We would be better to just include quotes of other notable people who have commented on TPS, rather than try to include our own opinion on what it is, who uses the term and why. Ashmoo 03:52, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

I dunno, seems some agreement.. nominally it's a resentment of success, but in reality a device to minimise or deflect criticism. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 202.161.11.199 (talk) 15:11, 29 December 2006 (UTC).