Form an orderly queue to back stab Bradley Wiggins.

[Ben@Forest]

The "English Way" shows again. Build up someone as a hero then stab them as hard as possible.

Pleased to see the rest of Britain not included

Ironic to see that on a thread about''taking people down' the first poster can't wait to make some comment about the English compared to the rest of Great Britain. Of course this type of sentiment is by no means restricted to the English, Scots or any other home nation. 'Tall poppy syndrome' is said to to be of Australian or NZ usage and there are similar expressions in both Russian and Japanese. And of course Schadenfreude though it does not mean quite the same thing has come from German into regular English language usage.

[Mike Sales]

A visitor to the Isle of Man was watching some children crabbing.
He drew the crabber's attention to the crab which looked about to clamber out of the bucket and escape.
"No, that's alright, mister. Them's Manx crabs. Soon as one looks like getting away the others will gang up and pull 'im back down."

[landsurfer]

I first read the phrase "The English Way" in Private Eye some years ago. It was referring to the practice of building players and managers in the world of soccer up to be demi-gods , then quickly seeking to find ways of ruining their reputations.
Rooney being a case in point ( mature prosititutes ), and the England manager is a very recent example.
Personally i always support England in sport, even though not born here, and could not imagine living anywhere else.

[meic]

Yawn.

[Ben@Forest]

Sometimes there is an inevitability of people who are 'cut down to size'. One that really stands out in my mind is Gillian McKeith (or Dr Gillian McKeith) - remember her (You Are What You Eat etc). It was found that some of her advice was questionable, she had no proper nutritional qualification (her doctorate had been bought) and she had to stop using the title 'Doctor'. I really don't think that's 'tall poppy syndrome' - it's asking legitimate questions about an important subject.

I don't know what McKeith does now but I'm sure her five years or so of fame; TV shows, books, lecture circuit bought her a very nice house and pension. Good for her - but people would have been better off getting a fact sheet from their GP's surgery for free (at the point-of-delivery!).

[Psamathe]

... One that really stands out in my mind is Gillian McKeith (or Dr Gillian McKeith) - remember her (You Are What You Eat etc). It was found that some of her advice was questionable, she had no proper nutritional qualification (her doctorate had been bought) and she had to stop using the title 'Doctor'. I really don't think that's 'tall poppy syndrome' - it's asking legitimate questions about an important subject.

I don't know what McKeith does now but I'm sure her five years or so of fame; TV shows, books, lecture circuit bought her a very nice house and pension. Good for her - but people would have been better off getting a fact sheet from their GP's surgery for free (at the point-of-delivery!).

Interestingly,

McKeith has threatened legal action against a number of critics, including nutrition professor John Garrow, who questioned her credentials in 2004.

Reminds me of one particular cyclist ...

Ian

[Ben@Forest]

Interestingly,

McKeith has threatened legal action against a number of critics, including nutrition professor John Garrow, who questioned her credentials in 2004.

I think that's probably pretty old - did it happen or not? And it is without doubt that she agreed to stop using the title 'Doctor' when promoting nutritional advice and that some journalist bought the same qualification she has on behalf of his dead cat.

[Tangled Metal]

That journo was Ben Goldacre IIRC, he of bad pharma and bad science book fame. He's devoted a section of one of his books into Gillian McKeith's questionable advice and qualifications. Linguistics is a good training for nutrition consultant? It was whilst researching for that book he applied for and got the same qualification she has.

BTW Goldacre was and is a respected scientist with awards for among other things statistics. It's his speciality I believe and the reason why he's employed by one of the world's leading universities in their centre for evidence based medicine. I think if he cut any poppy down it's because that poppy deserved to for their bad practise or advice.

That's a lot different to media activities to find and dish the dirt on anyone successful. BTW John Q. Public are the customers of these media outlets. Without us buying into their witch hunts there would probably not be this tall poppy syndrome.

[pjclinch]

That journo was Ben Goldacre <snip> It was whilst researching for that book he applied for and got the same qualification she has.

Almost... the actual application was made on behalf of BG's late cat Hettie. Who subsequently received said qualifications IIRC.

Hettie has a Twitter account: https://twitter.com/catnutritionist

Pete.

[Tangled Metal]

That journo was Ben Goldacre <snip> It was whilst researching for that book he applied for and got the same qualification she has.

Almost... the actual application was made on behalf of BG's late cat Hettie. Who subsequently received said qualifications IIRC.

Hettie has a Twitter account: https://twitter.com/catnutritionist

Pete.

To be fair she got her masters and PhD from a correspondence college. This dead cat thing is not a qualification but a certified membership of an American association of nutritional consultants (not exact name).

There's a lot of that in all works of life. Trades of all sorts join and advertise membership of a trade body "certifying quality" for a fee from the trades person. Not all of them do any checking other than whether that year's fee has been paid. It's always up to the client to do their own due diligence not just accept a fancy bit of paper or logo on a van door.