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Title: John McCain and The Napoleonic Complex Factor
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URL Source: http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=36987
Published: Nov 2, 2008
Author: Salon
Post Date: 2008-11-02 10:50:39 by Jethro Tull
Keywords: None
Views: 58
Comments: 2
Goddammit "That One" don't stand so close to me! John McCain, the nominee of the United States Republican Party in the United States presidential election, 2008, is 5 ft 6 in (1.70 meters).[3] Were McCain elected to the presidency, he would be the shortest president in 120 years and tied for the second-shortest president of all time. The Napoleon complex is named after French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. The conventional wisdom is that Napoleon overcompensated for his short height by seeking power, war and conquest. However, Napoleon was actually average height for his time period. The perception that Napoleon was short may be related to his often being seen with his Imperial Guard, who were above average height. In 2007, research by the University of Central Lancashire suggested that the Napoleon complex (described in terms of the theory that shorter men are more aggressive to dominate those who are taller than they) may be a myth. The study discovered that short men (below 5 foot 5 inches) were less likely to lose their temper than men of average height. The experiment involved subjects dueling each other with sticks, with one subject deliberately rapping the other's knuckles. Heart monitors revealed that the taller men were more likely to lose their tempers and hit back.[2] The Wessex Growth Study is a community-based longitudinal study conducted in the UK that monitored the psychological development of children from school entry to adulthood. The study was controlled for potential effects of gender and socioeconomic status, and found that "no significant differences in personality functioning or aspects of daily living were found which could be attributable to height";[3] this functioning included generalizations associated with the Napoleon complex, such as risk-taking behaviors.[4] In psychology, the Napoleon complex is regarded as a derogatory social stereotype.[5] There are many examples of larger organisms acting aggressively towards smaller organisms in the animal kingdom, but some studies of aggressive behavior in organisms have detected cases where smaller individuals initiate aggression.[6] A 1995 study of contests between males in the swordtail fish species Xiphophorus nigrensis and Xiphophorus multilineatus found that 78% of observed fights were initiated by the smaller fish, and in 70% of fights the fish that delivered the first bite lost the conflict.[7] From an evolutionary perspective, this "Napoleon complex" behavior seems irrational.[6] Posited explanations include an asymmetry in the value of the contested resource to the two combatants (the individual with lower resource holding potential may attack first if the value of the resource is greater for him), a misconception on the part of the weaker organism about his own strength, and the "Desperado Effect", where omega males attack because they have no other opportunities to gain resources.[8] Another posited explanation is that the stronger contestant benefits from delaying escalating a display to a fight, "leaving the initiative to the opponent and hoping for him to retreat, either because of realistic perception of his chances to win the fight or by mistake. [...] our proposed explanation for what is commonly considered the 'Napoleon Complex' might be appropriately identified as the 'Gentle Giant Syndrome.'"[9] A Napoleon complex evolutionarily stable strategy, where smaller individuals are more aggressive than larger opponents, is possible when smaller individuals display and larger individuals retreat; this may occur when the smaller individual has some chance to win a fight and resources are abundant and of relatively low value.[6] Abraham Lincoln - 6'4 Known for his calm demeanor. Lyndon Johnson - 6'4 Laid back Texan John F. Kennedy - 6'0 Supremely self-confident Ronald Reagain - 6'1 The Republican god Thomas Jefferson - 6'3 One of the father's of our country Franklin Roosevelt - 6'2 One of the most respected Barack Obama - 6'2 Calm, cool, collected under fire John McCain - 5'6 Angry, short tempered and self conscious Napoleon Bonaparte - 5'5 Well, need I say more? Adolf Hitler - 5'6 Aggressive and insane
Poster Comment: But Napoleonic Complex is real. It often makes men short tempered, easy to anger, and antagonistic toward taller men and women.
Most estimates put the height of Barack Obama, the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, between 6 ft 1 in and 6 ft 2 in (approximately 1.87 meters)
I know a little bit about the Napoleonic Complex. As a tall man, at 6'5, I put up with the attitudes from men suffering Napoleonic Complex often. I can no more help my height than they can help their lack of height. But Napoleonic Complex is real. It often makes men short tempered, easy to anger, and antagonistic toward taller men and women. John McCain, I can tell you from experience, suffers from PTSD, aging, and Napoleonic Complex. He's 5'6. That's not very tall for a man. Now is this particular point McCain's fault? NO. But is it anyone else's? NO. But his short fuse and anger toward Obama can indirectly be attributed to Napoleonic Complex, as Barack Obama is around 6'2 or more in heeled shoes.
I don't understand why more people don't realize this. Below is a definition of Napoleonic Complex. Read it and see if you don't see many of John McCain's short-comings (and do pardon the pun). Napoleon complex
Napoleon complex is a colloquial term describing an alleged type of inferiority complex which is said to affect some people who are physically short. The term is also used more generally to describe people who are driven by a perceived handicap to overcompensate in other aspects of their lives. This term is also known as Napoleon syndrome,[1] Short Man syndrome,[2] and Small Man syndrome. Overview
In evolutionary theory
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#1. To: Jethro Tull (#0)
Similar with women too. A rule I use is that "attitude is inversely proportional to height". Unless, of course, you're a hacked-off kernel engineer, at which point at 6'6", you end up in jail for trying to throttle a manager....
"A leader, for a change." - Jimmy Carter, 1976 campaign slogan. Sound familiar? Here it comes again!
The author completely blew it on LBJ.
#2. To: Jethro Tull (#0)
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