The Tall Poppy Down Under

Australia has always been a relatively easy place to understand.

In our sunburnt country, we have always made things simple so that all who grace our shores can obtain an idea of what we are on about. This was highlighted by the Fosters advertising campaign during the Sydney 2000 Olympics, referring to Australia's icons and their simple names (our largest reef, the Great Barrier Reef, our largest desert, The Great Sandy Desert, our snow-capped mountains, The Snowy Mountains etc).

One thing I never really understood was the concept of the "Tall Poppy Syndrome". This term is a familiar Australian phrase that I can remember hearing about so early in my life that I think Trisha and Big Ted may have taught me on Playschool before she became a self-confessed ecstasy addict (I knew the new-age Ritalin fad had deeper, more subliminal roots).

My understanding was that this was just an excuse to turn our best entrepreneurs into criminals thus paving the way for younger entrepreneurs to do the same thing to, continuing the cycle of life and almost rites of passage for some.

However, I have now realised that this is not the case. It took 3 weeks away in South Africa (of all places), to realise the true definition of the "Tall Poppy", so here it is, explained for you in simple terms....

In Australia, we are all bastards to one another.

Sound straightforward?
Sound familiar?

Why do we all continue to attack each other from the workplace, to our closest groups of friends, to random John and Janette's walking down the streets? It is simple, because that is the Australian way (for further Australiana references, see Shtine's Blog).

That is what the “Tall Poppy” is all about, we feel the need to chop others down, in order to promote ourselves, have a laugh or cover up insecurities that we may have.

I have only come to realise this recently, and I am no angelic figure on this one (but it has been established that I can look good in white (or at least resemble my former UK cheeky-monkey-self).



So now that I have finally figured out the true meaning of the Tall Poppy, what should I do about it?

Well, for starters, I am certainly not going to apologise to all of those people I have attacked in recent years. I still have those same insecurities, and if I hurt you psychologically, well then take comfort from knowing that I did it to make me feel better about myself or look cooler to new people.

On top of that, I sure as hell shouldn’t be nicer to anyone than I currently am, trust me folks, it takes a lot of effort to be this nice.
So, while I sit here and scratch my head, removing pieces of Biltong from my scalp, a fitting legacy from 3 of the most relaxing weeks of my life, I come to a simple conclusion.

If it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it…