are we as a nation guilty of cutting down anyone who dares to win and stick their heads above the masses
Tall Poppy Syndrome
As a nation we like our winners to be self effacing and putting themselves down. It endears us to them. To be too self confident is somehow a bit too, well, American.
No, i think we understand that we are entitled to have opinions and favourites in competitions.
Has Kelly Holmes been 'cut down' for being successful at the Olympics? No, because she was running for herself and for the country as a whole, so everybody gets behind her.
Do Man Utd get slated by non-Man Utd fans for being successful? Yes, because they have fans who support them, and then those who support other teams and, as such, rightly or wrongly, automatically critcise them, regardless of their quality or ability.
When someone choses to 'compete', be it in sport, music or the like, there should be people who 'big them up', like them and support them. There will also be followers of their 'rivals', some of whom can accept 'losing', others who cannot - to say, for example, that every G4 fan is bitter towards Steve is wrong - yes there are those who are but the majority are not.
I think, also, it is a trait of people that when their 'favourite' wins, they are blinkered to the bad things about them and only see the good - i find it hard, for example, to critisice my favourite football team, even they play awful (which at the moment is often) - and i can get into a debate with someone about it, and whether i agree or not, will still 'stick up' for them.
I think there are those who like to 'bash' people who are successful, but i wouldn't say it is a 'National Trait'.
God, that was my longest post yet i think!!
Has Kelly Holmes been 'cut down' for being successful at the Olympics? No, because she was running for herself and for the country as a whole, so everybody gets behind her.
Do Man Utd get slated by non-Man Utd fans for being successful? Yes, because they have fans who support them, and then those who support other teams and, as such, rightly or wrongly, automatically critcise them, regardless of their quality or ability.
When someone choses to 'compete', be it in sport, music or the like, there should be people who 'big them up', like them and support them. There will also be followers of their 'rivals', some of whom can accept 'losing', others who cannot - to say, for example, that every G4 fan is bitter towards Steve is wrong - yes there are those who are but the majority are not.
I think, also, it is a trait of people that when their 'favourite' wins, they are blinkered to the bad things about them and only see the good - i find it hard, for example, to critisice my favourite football team, even they play awful (which at the moment is often) - and i can get into a debate with someone about it, and whether i agree or not, will still 'stick up' for them.
I think there are those who like to 'bash' people who are successful, but i wouldn't say it is a 'National Trait'.
God, that was my longest post yet i think!!
No, you're right. The national trait is being behind someone and building them up until we decide they have got too big for their boots and then knocking them down again. It doesn't happen so much in athletics although there were some very unkind things said about Paul Radcliffe this summer (and continue to be said) about how she let her country and fans down.
i dont think it happens in sport as much, but i do think in showbiz, politics and buisiness any one who is a "winner" only has to make one small mistake and the papers and such like, jump straight in saying "is this the end", ...look at robbie williams and george micheal both did not get to no 1 with their last singles, so the cry goes out that they are finished, that they are now the losers,.. well if they are losers i want to be on their side 
Yes, but you're talking tabloids there - they live in a little world of own, creating and inventing stories. What they say is not the general consensus - they feel they have to be controversial to sell their papers. They like to see people do less well than previously - Robbie's big 8 album deal caused such a big storm at the time and he himself really bigged it up - they have now pounced on that because of his failure to get to No 1 and dragged it all up again.
It is a real shame that people's lives are constantly ruined because of the press - would David Blunkett have had to resign if his story hadn't have been blown out of all proportion by the press - what % of the public actually cares?
I hope to goodness that tabloid behvaiour does not mirror society - it certainyl doesn't mirror my opinion....
It is a real shame that people's lives are constantly ruined because of the press - would David Blunkett have had to resign if his story hadn't have been blown out of all proportion by the press - what % of the public actually cares?
I hope to goodness that tabloid behvaiour does not mirror society - it certainyl doesn't mirror my opinion....
so is it the tabloids and T.V. who start off the bad feeling towards "winners" ?, ....and people being people, belive what is printed and just go along with it, ..bit like a snowball effect,...or could we honestly be credited with making our own minds up.
In response to your earlier post re Robbie and George Michael, yes that is tabloid stuff. Would anybody seriously consider they had failed as one song didn't get to the top? And if they did, as you mentioned also, i wish i was that kind of failure.
Originally Posted by angelac:
“In response to your earlier post re Robbie and George Michael, yes that is tabloid stuff. Would anybody seriously consider they had failed as one song didn't get to the top? And if they did, as you mentioned also, i wish i was that kind of failure.”
“In response to your earlier post re Robbie and George Michael, yes that is tabloid stuff. Would anybody seriously consider they had failed as one song didn't get to the top? And if they did, as you mentioned also, i wish i was that kind of failure.”
but dont you think if the tabloids run the story over and over and pick up on any minor mishap that there will be some people who belive every word wether it be right or wrong, ..it could lead to a drop in sales or tour tickets, therefore making someone a loser, i think thats what may have happened with heresay, although i dont really know much about them its my best guess
I think Hearsay demise came with the departure of the 'lead' one (Kym),although again i didn't pay much attention.
I suppose there will be those who are affected by stories - by the same token (and not wanting to get into this, but a close-to-home example) there are those who have admitted voting for Steve becasue of Sharon's outburst - one post i read even said he preferred G4 but wanted to vote against Sharon so much he voted for Steve 100 TIMES!!! I find that so ludicrous i can't even get into it!
I can't comprehend people who base buying music/concert tickets etc on tabloid opinions - to me, if i am a fan, i am a fan and will buy stuff regardless of general consensus. I went to see NKOTB (can't believe i'm admitting that) when they were on the decline and got absolutely slated at school for it- but i stuck up for them and went along regardless.
I agree though that there are those who can be swayed by reports - not real fans to me and would rather stay with what is 'in' than form opinions of their own...
I suppose there will be those who are affected by stories - by the same token (and not wanting to get into this, but a close-to-home example) there are those who have admitted voting for Steve becasue of Sharon's outburst - one post i read even said he preferred G4 but wanted to vote against Sharon so much he voted for Steve 100 TIMES!!! I find that so ludicrous i can't even get into it!
I can't comprehend people who base buying music/concert tickets etc on tabloid opinions - to me, if i am a fan, i am a fan and will buy stuff regardless of general consensus. I went to see NKOTB (can't believe i'm admitting that) when they were on the decline and got absolutely slated at school for it- but i stuck up for them and went along regardless.
I agree though that there are those who can be swayed by reports - not real fans to me and would rather stay with what is 'in' than form opinions of their own...
i could talk about this for a long time but someone has just taken the side of my car off in the street, so i have got to see about getting it repaired now,...hubby wont let me go go incase i kill the kid who was learning to reverse, with no insureance or instructor in the car with them 
i wouldnt care its new 
i wouldnt care its new
What's the old saying ? Tabloid stories are only true if you WANT them to be true.
I felt really sorry for that here'say guy, I mean, having a gun pointed at you cos someone doesnt like your music?. screwed up people indeed.
I felt really sorry for that here'say guy, I mean, having a gun pointed at you cos someone doesnt like your music?. screwed up people indeed.
Originally Posted by angelac:
“Oh god, that's sounds horrendous - good luck in getting it fixed and at least injuring the kid!!”
“Oh god, that's sounds horrendous - good luck in getting it fixed and at least injuring the kid!!”
just back from garage looks like his mum and dad have a nice big bill to pay, they are mortifide
Originally Posted by baileybots:
“just back from garage looks like his mum and dad have a nice big bill to pay, they are mortifide”
“just back from garage looks like his mum and dad have a nice big bill to pay, they are mortifide”
I should hope so too if he was uninsured. Who was he driving with to be so irresponsible to not make sure he was fully insured?
Originally Posted by metafis:
“What's the old saying ? Tabloid stories are only true if you WANT them to be true.
I felt really sorry for that here'say guy, I mean, having a gun pointed at you cos someone doesnt like your music?. screwed up people indeed.”
“What's the old saying ? Tabloid stories are only true if you WANT them to be true.
I felt really sorry for that here'say guy, I mean, having a gun pointed at you cos someone doesnt like your music?. screwed up people indeed.”
its true though, there are people who dislike some others just because they may have been succesful
I find the tabloid press, and public emotion on/of ‘celebrity’, one of particular venomous peculiarity.
We have some of the most infamous tabloid papers in the world, notorious for stretching the truth, who fuel the public’s obsession with celebrity. The 'build ‘em up, and knock ‘em down' ethos is a key instrument in selling papers. Egged on by the tabloids, the public have grown an insatiable appetite for seeing public figures toppled from their thrones, and will readily jump on to any journalistic hate/scapegoat bandwagon going along – without questioning it’s motion.
Clark Gable once remarked, when it came to the contract between a star and his public, the public had read the small print and the star hadn't. All it took was one tiny violation and the adoring crowds turned into a baying mob - "Contained within fan worship is the potential for hatred and disdain." Celebrity is a fickle world to be in, and indeed to survive in.
We have some of the most infamous tabloid papers in the world, notorious for stretching the truth, who fuel the public’s obsession with celebrity. The 'build ‘em up, and knock ‘em down' ethos is a key instrument in selling papers. Egged on by the tabloids, the public have grown an insatiable appetite for seeing public figures toppled from their thrones, and will readily jump on to any journalistic hate/scapegoat bandwagon going along – without questioning it’s motion.
Clark Gable once remarked, when it came to the contract between a star and his public, the public had read the small print and the star hadn't. All it took was one tiny violation and the adoring crowds turned into a baying mob - "Contained within fan worship is the potential for hatred and disdain." Celebrity is a fickle world to be in, and indeed to survive in.
Not everyone in the country does it, but as a nation we are worse than many. If we ourselves are a fan of the person who has become successful we normally don't mind, but we are not very tolerant towards the success of those who we ourselves don't support. We resent that they've had success without our direct approval or involvement.
It makes a good news story too, to suggest that someone who wsn't famous, and is now very famous after a short space of time has let it go to their head. They'll go out of their way to find 'evidence' that they've become arrogant or cocky. It's up to us whether or not be want to believe it as they tell it. I can understand that some people won't believe how bad the press can be, until it happens to someone they follow. What never fails to amaze me is that people can complain so much that X has been badly treated by the press, yet join in with the scoffing and tutting when similar things are said of their peers.
It makes a good news story too, to suggest that someone who wsn't famous, and is now very famous after a short space of time has let it go to their head. They'll go out of their way to find 'evidence' that they've become arrogant or cocky. It's up to us whether or not be want to believe it as they tell it. I can understand that some people won't believe how bad the press can be, until it happens to someone they follow. What never fails to amaze me is that people can complain so much that X has been badly treated by the press, yet join in with the scoffing and tutting when similar things are said of their peers.
what about those celebs that court the press for publicity, then cry foul when something they may not like is reported, if they dont like what is written about them, the media seems to think they need pulling down a peg or two
Former darling bud of May, Catherine Zeta Jones springs to mind. Her list of sins is so long I can't possibly list them all here but includes talking with a half Welsh/half American accent, marrying a rich older man, suing Hello, saying oggy-oggy-oggy when she won an Oscar ....
And Charlotte Church could do no wrong when she was a child but she had the audacity to get older and go out with boys so what did she expect.
Carole Vorderman (unless you like Countdown) because she refuses to grow old gracefully and looks younger now than she did 20 years ago.
Any female star who says she hasn't had cosmetic surgery when she must obviously be lying through her teeth.
Any footballer who is 18 and suddenly goes from £75 per week to £75,000 a week and doesn't know how to cope with the money, women, drink, drugs etc. (UNLESS they continue to score goals)
Victoria Beckham for being too thin and too rich.
The only people exempt from criticism are June Whitfield and Joanna Lumley.
And Charlotte Church could do no wrong when she was a child but she had the audacity to get older and go out with boys so what did she expect.
Carole Vorderman (unless you like Countdown) because she refuses to grow old gracefully and looks younger now than she did 20 years ago.
Any female star who says she hasn't had cosmetic surgery when she must obviously be lying through her teeth.
Any footballer who is 18 and suddenly goes from £75 per week to £75,000 a week and doesn't know how to cope with the money, women, drink, drugs etc. (UNLESS they continue to score goals)
Victoria Beckham for being too thin and too rich.
The only people exempt from criticism are June Whitfield and Joanna Lumley.
