Sheep are intelligent creatures, but they can be seen as being cliquey in the sense that the flock
sticks together against outsiders. People that mindlessly follow others are often called ‘
sheep’. So when someone insults one or several members of the flock/group, the ensuing incident is called Sheepgate.
When the unpopular girl in
class verbally attacked a group of friends for being
sheep, the flock’s reaction was swift and everyone was
talking about Sheepgate for weeks.