Haters gonna hate. It's just what they do. Detractors abound whenever greatness rears it's ugly (threatening?) head. But why this tendency? What is it about success that gets our hackles up?
During my Sunday morning doughnut run today I tuned in to sports talk radio because they were discussing recipes on NPR and the "rock" station was again exploring an alternate definition of rock music. The comentater was in mid-rant about the possibility of Phil Jackson becoming the next coach of the hot mess also known as the New York Knicks. The next couple minutes of air time were filled with emphatic commentary like "When he fails with the Knicks, people will finally realize he was never as great as his record" and "Anyone could have coached Jordan and Pippen to a title" For the record, I'll insert just a couple facts about Phil Jackson's basketball career. He has been a part of thirteen NBA titles (a record), eleven as head coach (a record), two as a player. He has an overall winning percentage which is , wait for it....(a record) over .700 But many talking heads and NBA fans hold fast the idea that they could have coached Kobe and Shaq to titles. Yes, because pro athletes are such a cohesive, inherently coachable, respectful lot. . .
I've noticed though, that this despisal of the accomplished among us is not limited to the sporting arena. Scorn for success is often directed in other areas as well. Take popular music as an example. Why is it when a group or solo artist becomes widely popular and buys a big house on the ocean, they are criticized for becoming commercial, and or "selling out"? Memo to fanboy - this is their job! It's what they do for money. The whole point of "paying your dues" in dive bars and the drummers garage is to become more widely known as a talented group who's fans can no longer all fit into a dive bar. And seriously, if that "sell-out, commercial" third album had actually been the debut offering that fanboy discovered before everyone else, then that would be the sound that "they totally need to get back to".
Maybe one reason this negative tendency is so pervasive is the example our government sets with regard to a tax code that resembles a punishment for business success. And no, I'm not just talking about big corporations who's tax payments or lack of are so often in the news. Ask a small business owner sometime how they think the government feels about a small business turning a profit. It's as if success in business is a scourge which must be stamped out using any of a variety of means.
Another contributing factor to this disfavor with success and those who rise above the rest, is the "everyone's a winner" approach that's been promoted for over a generation now with everything from youth sports to the arts. The adult world where we spend the majority of our lives is competitive. Three people don't get hired for one job opening just because they all made the effort to apply. But if all three people were brought up in an "everyone gets a trophy" environment, then two of the three people will resent the success of the third.
There will always be people who are better than me at every single thing I do. But if I am doing my best it gives me a level of appreciation for their talent and effort. And maybe if we directed more accolades and fewer jeers toward those who achieve true greatness, then over time the bar would be raised to levels we can't even dream are possible. And as the bar goes up, we benefit as a society, or even just as a screaming fan in a cavernous concert hall.
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