‘Heard of Napoleon complex?’ Telegraph columnist scorched for saying Priti Patel isn’t a bully because she’s ‘barely 5ft tall’
Telegraph writer Allison Pearson has raised eyebrows online after bizarrely arguing in a column that allegations of bullying against UK Home Secretary Priti Patel are unlikely to be true because she is too short to be a bully.
“It does beggar belief that a woman who is barely more than 5ft tall managed to terrorise all those 6ft 3in public school mandarins,” Pearson oddly wrote in an article published on Tuesday about the complaints from the cabinet minister’s office.
According to Allison Pearson, it's impossible to be a bully if you're not very tall... pic.twitter.com/3dRhjezZoU
— Edwin Hayward 🦄 🗡 (@uk_domain_names) November 25, 2020
Patel’s critics were quick to point out that bullying doesn’t “only consist of a larger person bullying a smaller person,” and such a take made it seem that Pearson had “never really left the school playground.”
Allison Pearson seems to think that bullying can only consist of a larger person bullying a smaller person, confirming that she has never really left the school playground. #PritiPatelBullyinghttps://t.co/JrIxNCpnXl
— Simon Bye 🎪🔶 (@UB5simon) November 25, 2020
IT'S. ABOUT. ABUSE. OF. POWER.They're not in a position to answer back to a Secretary of State or they could easily face misconduct proceedings, with a serious prospect of losing their jobs.Unlike her, clearly.It's almost as if you're just pretending you don't get it...
— ShreddedReTweet (@ShreddedReTweet) November 25, 2020
What a ridiculous argument , she was using her political power not her physical power. Laughable journalism.
— NickSS (@BlokeinEngland) November 25, 2020
Some cynics speculated that the pundit was intentionally obfuscating the issue to shield Patel from criticism or that she was “pretending” to believe height had something to do with the ability to bully “for money.”
Allison Pearson there pretending she thinks bullying is done in height order (for money) https://t.co/gnBM36OKN3
— James Felton (@JimMFelton) November 25, 2020
The controversy surrounding the article even had ‘Napoleon’ trending on Twitter as many reminded Pearson of the ‘Napoleon complex’ theory, which suggests people of a shorter stature overcompensate with domineering behavior – a theory that’s been applied to historic authoritarian rulers from from Adolf Hitler to Benito Mussolini.
“Allison Pearson has never heard of a Napoleon complex…” tweeted one person.
“So according to Allison Pearson, all we really needed to help defeat Hitler was a civil servant who was 6ft 3in?” quipped another.
It beggars belief that people still imagine that bullying is about size. Stalin was 5 foot six. Napoleon notoriously short. https://t.co/WkaCbdiccj
— Paul Bernal (@PaulbernalUK) November 25, 2020
Ah, so according to Allison Pearson, all we really needed to help defeat Hitler was a civil servant who was 6ft 3in?Hindsight is such a wonderful thing!
— Black Vendetta (@BVDBABY) November 25, 2020
Allison Pearson has never heard of a Napoleon complex....... https://t.co/lAyoKmyk3s
— Rhona Whiffen (@glesga_gal) November 25, 2020
Exactly! Apparently some people say Mussolini was a horrible fascist dictator but how could he have been when he wasn't even that tall? Such a good point.
— Matt Haig (@matthaig1) November 25, 2020
Some slammed Pearson’s take as inappropriate given the severity of some of the allegations against her, namely claims that one of her staffers allegedly attempted suicide and later reportedly received a £25,000 payout from the government over the incident.
Bullying is not determined by the size of a person, it is determined by how unpleasant and amoral they are & it wasn’t a male Whitehall mandarin who was bullied so badly by Patel that she attempted suicide.
— Yrotitna 🤜#PritiTheBully 🤛 (@yrotitna) November 25, 2020
A woderfully insidious snipe at the civil service - similar to Vile's piece in the Mail - casting the bully Patel as a force for change. I somehow doubt that the girl who attempted suicide after Patel verbally abused her was a 6ft 3in public school mandarin. https://t.co/axH8JY1px5
— Dan McCarthy 🈷️🈂️🈴🈳🈺 (@RealSmokingGnu) November 25, 2020
Allison Pearson writing for Telegraph states Priti Patel cannot be a bully because she’s only 5ft tall 🤦🏽♀️. This is meant to pass for journalism? Patel who drove a staffer to attempt suicide and settled out of court with £25,000 comp. Apparently Johnson thinking of demoting her 🙄
— Teri ⚫️ #ReinstateJeremyCorbyn 🏳️🌈🤘🏻 (@MettlesomeTeri) November 25, 2020
A report by the government’s adviser on ministerial standards, Alex Allan, found that Patel broke ministerial code by “shouting and swearing” at her staff and engaging in “behaviour that can be described as bullying.” However, PM Boris Johnson stood by his minister, leading to Allan’s resignation. Patel denied allegations of bullying, but said she was “sorry” that her behaviour “upset people,” while some of her colleagues defended her as “courteous and kind.”
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