Power Trips

[CHARLIE]

One of my pet peeves are people that are on a "Power Trip" just because they can be. I've confronted some of them when I get the opportunity, but I doubt it does much good. They are everywhere and is probably caused by a flaw in their personality. Some example "Power Trippers" might be found in the teaching profession. They are the teachers that mistreat a student just because they can and the student is powerless to do anything about it. They are law enforcement people that mistreat and harrass young people or people that are down and out, just because they can and the people can't do anything about it. They are people in leadership roles in businesses that mistreat people they manage just because they can and the people can't do anything about it. They are people that work in our governments (city, state and federal) that mistreat people just because they can and the people can't do anything about it. They are "Big Fish in Big Ponds" and they are Big Fish in Little Ponds".  There is not much a person can do when they encounter a person on a "Power Trip" other than document and report the person to their boss if they have one.  Sometimes I'll just say to the person's face, if I get the chance, "Why are you being mean?"  I hope everyone tries not to ever slide into a "Power Trip" mode and always respect those that they have some kind of power over.  "Power Trippers" are nothing but bullys. Always be kind and try to give people the benefit of the doubt if you can.

I remember something Brother Tom told me years ago when we were attending Georgia Military College (Tom was the 3rd or 4th highest ranking Cadet Officer at the school at the time. I was a sargent at the time and never got any higher in rank either....well that's not true, I was promoted to Sargent First Class one Wednesday morning and busted back down to Sargent a couple of hours later. 8) for good reasons too). Anyway, Brother Tom told me there are two ways to punish someone. "You can make them clean the latrine or you can make them clean the latrine with a toothbrush, which is poor leadership."   It was only an example but stuck in my mind.

So, if you ever find yourself in charge of something or responsible for something where others have to come to you, respect those reporting to you and treat them kindly.

[Bro. Noble]

And then there is the teacher that tries to demonstrate how smart he/she is rather than teaching. 

And one that irks me the most------the guy that thinks he can make himself look good by making someone else look bad >:(

[scgargoyle]

I had a teacher (at a community college, no less) that was like that. I wrote an essay, and got a C on it. Most of the class got an F. I asked him why, and he waved his pipe, adjusted his tweed jacket with the leather elbow patches, and said, " Compared to Ernest Hemingway, you're writing is a C. That's not too bad." I proceeded to tell him in no uncertain terms that if I could write like Ernest Hemingway, I wouldn't be in your school, and I certainly wouldn't be in your class. I managed to survive his class, and move on.

[Faron]

The medical field is full of them.  Surgeons in particular.  Evidently the best attended classes in med school are "Posterior orifice 101 through 108". My wife has to contend with them on a daily basis. 

[Dan_Shade]

some of the "powertrip" people suffer from very poor communication skills.  I'd guess many of the surgeons that are like this.  I know a few surgeons that are very nice people. 

I had a few professors like that, Faron, i just kind of bent over and took it.  I've often fancied that when I get old and gray and am looking for something to do, i'll take those classes just to argue with the idiots, but then it won't matter, because it won't make a difference if they fail me.  I had a few english and history professors that still make my blood boil 15 years later, I guess i've always been too "practical".

So what brought this up, Charlie, get a speeding ticket or something?

[brdmkr]

I sometimes think that there are 2 kinds of power.  One comes by how much 'above' others a person places themselves.   Here, they reach new heights by pushing others down.  The other kind of power is seen in individuals who pull others to new heights with them.  You don't see power trips from that last kind, but you do tend to see success. 

[faronskid]

I had a teacher like this in high school.  His daughter and I did not get along so he used his authority to "get back at me" for his daughter.  It made school a little rough for a while but now his daughter is a worthless druggy who still lives at home and can't keep a job.    :D :D :D   

[Don P]

I got to deal with one today, happily for the last time. Due to the distance I had to use a new flooring guy. He's been nothing but a pain in the neck for all surrounding him. He treats his help so bad Michelle wouldn't come to work when he was there. After delaying his final coat for 2 months and jacking the price 50% because "gas went up" he finally shows today, gets his rig stuck in what was the nicely coming along front yard and finishes his work. He's the kind of small man that holds the client in disdain because the man is a doctor, he's not the only sub on the job that's acted this way. I informed one of them that we were on the doctors porch eating lunch while he was elbow deep in someones guts so he could pay us to enjoy his place, kinda changed that tone.

I had plenty I wanted to say to this clown but his son was there and I just politely mentioned that we don't drive in peoples yards and bit my tongue. We were working up the hill framing at the next house. He asked if they were going to have wood floors. I think that little lie will go unpunished :D. He mentioned that business seems to be slowing down. Gee, ya reckon  :.

[Don_Papenburg]

I hope you told him the whole house would have hardwood  ,but the owner wanted someone better to install his floor. ;D

[SAW MILLER]

There are two important  things we should avoid as much as possible.

  # 1....Avoid thinking that you are Somebody!

# 2.....Avoid thinking you are Nobody!



I try to keep these in mind when dealing with people  no matter  who they are.

[CHARLIE]

1. When I was in Elementary school there was a policeman that was always there at the end of school to make sure children got safely across the street. He always had Juicy Fruit gum to give the children, and took time to talk to them. He was respected and loved and we all learned that police were the good guys. Conversly, when my children were in High School, there were some County Sheriffs that pulled kids over for no other reason but to harrass them and show them who was boss. The kids didn't have respect for the deputies and didn't trust them.

2. At Georgia Military I had an instructor, Major McGee, that berated me constantly. He divided the class into 4 sections, Creme de la Creme (the smart ones), Milk (the average ones), Buttermilk Bottoms (the dumb ones) and Blue John (Dumber than dumb). I was in the Blue John. I was berated and hit and called ignorant in front of my classmates.  He used to tell me, "Thats alright Cadenhead, pumping gas is an honest living."  To this day I literally dispise this person and if I ever see him....and he would be in his 70's...I'd knock him on his keester!

3. Many examples at the corporation I worked at and most were in upper management. They acted like Kings having their court.

I just don't have time for people on Power Trips. 

[Patty]

I heard a saying once that has helped me tremendously in dealing with these sort of pinheads.

"Don't give them that type of power over you."

I mean, I know they have power for that moment, such as a police guy or someone, but to allow their rudeness to fester in you and make you angry for many years is the power they have on you that you can control and eliminate. These types of folks just are not worth it, they are small minded and nasty and you have the power within you to elevate them or squish them. It is your own decision.

This is a tough lesson to put into effect, but it will do wonders for your psyche.

[sawguy21]

That is so true. I have met a number of people like that, we all have, and one in particular sticks in my craw. However, I would never give him the satisfaction of knowing that he got the better of me, he took a personal dislike to me and when he got promoted, he got me fired. He could not hide his pleasure but what goes around comes around, he eventually got fired and apparently had trouble finding a job locally in the industry.
Resentment is a cancer, it consumes from within and the only cure is the one thing that each of us has absolute control over. That one thing is our attitude.

[Lud]

Talk to folks like you'd want to be talked to .......
Treat folks like you'd want to be treated........
Tell the truth all the time....(so you don't have to remember who you lied to )

Told that to folks for years.  Outlasted the bastids that stuck it to me.  Ignore the climbing punks as much as you can.  You don't have to help dorkwad punks who only want to delegate.

They're not really people.

IMHO

[RichlandSawyer]

I am an electrical contractor and one of the companies i contract with is a worldwide corp and they have about 10,000 employees in des moines. I work in there buildings every night and because of the type of work we do my crew wears jeans, workboots and carhart jackets. Because of the way we dress in this business environment we get a lot of looks down from high noses. We've been asked on occasion to not use regular passenger elevators because we make people nervous. I've always gotten a chuckle when i step into an elevator in a building that is as secure as fort knox with cameras everywhere and the ladies in the elevator will clutch there purse a little tighter and move to the corner. The really funny part is my guys make 2 to 3 times more money per year than 95% of the employees of this company. When we get a new person on the crew they have a hard time with all the silly rules and degrading comments but those of us that have been there for years just take our $64/hour, apologize for our attire and go home smiling!

[sawguy21]

 :D :D :D Ya gotta love it.

[isawlogs]

Power trips .. know too much about them ,  : 
      You want to get me into your face , ask me to speak white .  >:( >:( >:( 

   Discrimination is one of the bigest power trips out there . One that hurts the most .  :-\ :'(

Aint no more need be said . 

[ScottAR]

Reminds me of my favorite commercial.  A Suit type walks into to a bar
and snubs the bartender.  He starts watching the tv at the bar and
the bartender is on it.  The bartender has hit it big on the stock market.

The suit looks at the bartender in disbelief and the bartender smirks as if
to say "Yeah that's me!"  Makes me happy just thinking about it.  ;D

I catch a snub every now and then at my job but I don't let it bother me.
The people that really have anything are usually very nice folks. 

Funny how that works. 

Edit:  I didn't know words came in colors...

[Faron]

I have always been proud of the way my wife has handled people in her job.  In leading various departments in the medical field, she always made a point of treating the housekeeping staff with the same respect she showed the CEO of the hospital.  When she began as director of a particular surgery department, the surgeons felt entitled to curse at the staff and generally throw fits whenever anything didn't go as they wanted.   >:(  She demanded that stop, and it did. In her office, if the cursing began, the conversation ended.   One particular doctor  asked, " Do you mean to tell me, that as much money as I bring to this place, I can't even curse at the nurses?!!"   :  She assured him that was the case, and she would be happy to write him up if he did.  It put a lot of pressure on her, as that money meant a great deal to the top leadership of the hospital, and they didn't really want to address the problem and rock the boat.  They couldn't seem to see the offending surgeons needed the hospital as bad as the hospital needed them.

[flip]

One of the reasons that power trippers don't respect others is because they don't respect themselves.  The power trip gives them, in their mind, the respect they can't get from within.  They are easy to diffuse if you recognize  the situation and don't get drawn into the fray.

[Norm]

Our main product line (sony medical) goes into the surgical suites at various facilities. I was amazed at how much pull some of the surgeons had on management. Luckily for us we seldom deal with them direct and usually have few problems but the nurses can tell some real horror stories.

I've always tried to treat people the same no matter what color collar they wear. Some of our local small towns are very clickish about what side of the tracks you grew up on. Luckily for me Bangor doesn't even have a set. :D

[CHARLIE]

There's lots of great comments on this thread concerning people on a "Power Trip".  Flip hit the nail on the head when he said, "Power trippers don't respect others because they don't respect themselves."  It seems they are trying to make up for their own inadequacies by degrading others in some way.

Flip's remark about them being easy to diffuse reminded me of another situation.

I had a good friend, Stan, at IBM. We hired on about the same time and our careers were pretty much parallel.  I called him "The Silver Tongued Devil" because he had a gift to gab and and could put words together to sound real smart. He was always pleasant and respectful to others. Sadly, he died at the age of 43 from skin cancer.  Anyway, there was a man from the Lab that always yelled and pointed his finger at people during meetings. He dominated them with his power trips and many times got his way by using intimidation. Well, in one meeting he yelled at the wrong person. He yelled at Stan. Stan stood up, looked down at him and yelled right back at him. That man never yelled in any other meetings that Stan was in attendance and always talked repectfully to Stan from that point on.  Stan told me later that sometimes you just have to treat people like they treat you to get their attention.  Of course, that only works if they are a peer.  If they are in a position of power (ie police, boss, teacher, politician, judge, etc) then there isn't much you can do.       

[isawlogs]

    there isn't much you can do.

  I almost did some time over it .....   :-\  So there is things one can do, is it right or wrong don't really know but at the time it sure felt good .  ;)

[Onthesauk]

A short report in the Seattle Times about a Benton County district judge who made a woman leave his courtroom because she wouldn't take off her knit cap.  Wears it because she is bald from chemo.  He says it shows a lack of respect for him and his court.

[Tom]

It must be a North West thing.  Where I come from, women are allowed, if not expected, to remain covered, even in Church.