The 50th Law (with 50 Cent)

The Leveler:
When you first meet them, levelers can seem rather
entertaining and interesting. They tend to have a wicked sense of
humor. They are good at putting down those who are powerful and
deflating the pretentious. They also seem to have a keen nose for
injustice and unfairness in this world. But where they differ from
people with genuine empathy for underdogs is that levelers cannot
recognize or appreciate excellence in almost anyone, except those who
are dead. They have fragile egos. Those who have achieved things in
life make them feel insecure. They are highly sensitive to feelings of
inferiority. The envy they initially feel for those who are successful is
quickly covered up by indignation. They rail at high achievers for
gaming the system, for being far too ambitious, or simply for being
lucky and not really deserving praise. They have come to associate
excellence with unfairness, as a way to soothe their insecurities.
You will notice that though they can put others down, they do not
take easily to any jokes at their expense. They often celebrate low
culture and trash, because mediocre work does not stir their
insecurities. Besides their cynical humor, you can recognize this type
by how they talk about their own life: they love to tell stories of the
many injustices inflicted on them; they are always blameless. These
types make excellent professional critics—they can use this medium to
tear down those they secretly envy and be rewarded for it.
Their main goal is to bring everyone down to the same mediocre
level they occupy. This sometimes means leveling not only achievers
and the powerful but also those who are having too good a time, who
seem to be enjoying themselves too much, or who have too great a
sense of purpose, which levelers lack.
Be wary around such types, particularly in the workplace, because
they will make you feel guilty for your own impulse to excel. They will
begin with passive-aggressive comments that taint you with the ugly
word “ambition.” You might be a part of the oppressor class. They will
criticize you in ugly and hurtful ways. They may follow this up with
active sabotage of your work, which they justify to themselves as a
form of retributive justice.

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