tall poppy syndrome
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The tall poppy syndrome is a cultural phenomenon in which people hold back, criticise or sabotage those who have or are believed to have achieved notable success in one or more aspects of life, particularly intellectual or cultural wealth; "cutting down the tall
poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, ''Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug opi ...
". Commonly, in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, "cutting down the tall poppy" is used to describe those who deliberately put down another for their success and achievements. In
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, a similar common expression is "the nail that sticks up gets hammered down". In the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, this expression is "don't put your head above ground level" (''boven het maaiveld uitsteken''), with the cultural phenomenon being named '' Maaiveldcultuur''. In
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, this expression is known as "''chaquetear''" ('pull the jacket'). In
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, this expression is known as
Law of Jante The Law of Jante (, da, Janteloven )Norwegian nb, Janteloven , nn, Jantelova; is, Jantelögin; fo, Jantelógin; sv, Jantelagen ; fi, Janten laki . is a code of conduct created in fiction by the Danish-Norwegian author Aksel Sandemose and h ...
. The Law of Jante comes with "rules" such as "you're not to think you are anything special".


Etymology

The concept originates from accounts in
Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
' '' Histories'' (Book 5, 92f),
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
's ''
Politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
'' (1284a) and
Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...
's ''
Ab urbe condita libri The work called ( en, From the Founding of the City), sometimes referred to as (''Books from the Founding of the City''), is a monumental history of ancient Rome, written in Latin between 27 and 9 BC by Livy, a Roman historian. The work ...
'' (Book I, ch.54), with reversed roles, referring to
Periander Periander (; el, Περίανδρος; died c. 585 BC) was the Second Tyrant of the Cypselid dynasty that ruled over ancient Corinth. Periander's rule brought about a prosperous time in Corinth's history, as his administrative skill made Corinth o ...
's advice to Thrasybulus of Miletus via a herald. The specific reference to poppies occurs in Livy's account of the tyrannical
Roman king The king of Rome ( la, rex Romae) was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 ...
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (died 495 BC) was the legendary seventh and final king of Rome, reigning 25 years until the popular uprising that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic.Livy, ''ab urbe condita libri'', I He is commonly known ...
. He is said to have received a messenger from his son
Sextus Tarquinius Sextus Tarquinius was the third and youngest son of the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, according to Livy, but by Dionysius of Halicarnassus he was the oldest of the three.Roman Antiquities Book 4.69 According to Roman tradition, ...
asking what he should do next in
Gabii Gabii was an ancient city of Latium, located due east of Rome along the Via Praenestina, which was in early times known as the ''Via Gabina''. It was on the south-eastern perimeter of an extinct volcanic crater lake, approximately circular ...
, since he had become all-powerful there. Rather than answering the messenger verbally, Tarquin went into his garden, took a stick and symbolically swept it across his garden, thus cutting off the heads of the tallest
poppies Poppies can refer to: *Poppy, a flowering plant *The Poppies (disambiguation) - multiple uses *''Poppies (film)'' - Children's BBC remembrance animation *"Poppies", a song by Patti Smith Group from their 1976 album ''Radio Ethiopia'' *"Poppies", th ...
that were growing there. The messenger, tired of waiting for an answer, returned to Gabii and told Sextus what he had seen. Sextus realised that his father wished him to put to death all of the most eminent people of Gabii, which he then did.


See also

*
Crab mentality Crab mentality, also known as crab theory, crabs in a bucket mentality, or the crab-bucket effect, is a way of thinking best described by the phrase "if I can't have it, neither can you". The metaphor is derived from anecdotal claims about th ...
*
Law of Jante The Law of Jante (, da, Janteloven )Norwegian nb, Janteloven , nn, Jantelova; is, Jantelögin; fo, Jantelógin; sv, Jantelagen ; fi, Janten laki . is a code of conduct created in fiction by the Danish-Norwegian author Aksel Sandemose and h ...
*
Leveling mechanism In cultural anthropology, a leveling mechanism is a practice that acts to ensure social equality, usually by shaming or humbling members of a group that attempt to put themselves above other members. One commonly given example of a leveling mech ...
*
Taking the piss ''Taking the piss'' is a colloquial term meaning to mock at the expense of others, or to be joking, without the element of offence. (Compare with the American "fuck with.") It is a shortening of the idiom taking the piss out of, which is an expr ...
* ''
The Moral Basis of a Backward Society The ''Moral Basis of a Backward Society'' is a book by Edward C. Banfield, an American political scientist who visited Montegrano, Italy (Montegrano is the fictitious name used by Banfield to protect the original town of Chiaromonte, in the South ...
'' * Negative selection (politics)


References


Further reading

* * *


External links

* {{wiktionary-inline, tall poppy
Flogging the tall-poppy syndrome
Australian culture Canadian culture New Zealand culture Political terminology Sociological terminology Social status Lucius Tarquinius Superbus