For the last couple of weeks I have wanted to dissect an article about Australia's tall poppy syndrome that I read online at The International Herald Tribune. The tall poppy syndrome refers to the distaste that Australians have for the rich and famous, so much so that Australians want to chop the poppy down to size. The tall poppy syndrome is linked to the other Australian tradition of 'taking the piss.' The International Herald Tribune article was written by Philip Bowring, a name that seems very familiar to me, probably because he used to work at the ABC or some other Australian media organisation. Two days ago, I discovered that Bowring is the editor of an online publication called the Asia Sentinel. It recently published an interesting article about corruption in the Chinese Communist Party, an article that I found through the Haohao Report.
I am actually not sure about the existence of the tall poppy syndrome or other traditional Australian viewpoints. I recently read an interesting article by an English sports journalist, who was sceptical of the long-held image of Australians being laidback. During the English cricket team's tour of Australia, the journalist actually found that Australia was full of rules that were enforced to the point of ridiculousness. For example, the Mexican wave was banned and fans from the Barmy Army were separated at the Gabba test match. The existence of 'mateship', a viewpoint that is often touted by the Prime Minister, is also questionable, probably because it can only be applied to beer-sculling football players. I would like the Prime Minister to publicly declare the identity of his mates (I don't think Peter Costello will be on the list).
Does the tall poppy syndrome really exist? Judging by the amount of celebrity crap written in newspapers and magazines, it seems that Australians are actually quite interested in the rich and famous. Or maybe the tall poppy syndrome has a different meaning altogether. Australians are a self-conscious lot who don't like to stand out. Rather than the rich and famous, the tall poppy syndrome is instead directed at peers and relatives, so that people who are different tend to be cut down fairly quickly. Whether this is a uniquely Australian phenomenon is highly debatable. As everyone knows, people who are different in China also tend to be cut down very quickly.
As to Bowring's main example of a Sydney harbour being taken over by the tall poppies, money has always been the most influential factor. Last Christmas, I visited Sydney with my wife and we done the tourist thing, taking the harbour cruise. Those huge mansions that populate the coastline haven't suddenly popped up over the last few years. Some of those houses must have been there since the 19th century. The tall poppy syndrome obviously wasn't able to keep the Sydney coastline as a public asset back then and it certainly won't be able to now. Believers in the tall poppy syndrome need to take their hands off their eyes and realize that Australians are as prone to human nature as any other nation on earth. The people chopping away at the tall poppies are often preventing themselves from dealing with the rich and famous on an equal footing.
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