Keeping yourself save from harm

“With great power comes great responsibility” is a quote from a Stan Lee character in a Spiderman comic. Sadly, many people in positions of authority abuse their role and make other people’s lives a misery.

It may therefore serve you well to avoid drawing attention to yourself, avoid any unnecessary encounters with them and keep contact to a minimum.

Being authentically human with someone who is inauthentic and inhuman (or who can switch into inhumane mode at any moment in time) can be risky. Sometimes playing the game and biting your tongue can save you, or save you a lot of trouble further down the line.

This is not to suggest that you bend to their will or allow their abuses to go unchallenged – it’s more an observation that once you’re caught up in an authoritarian system it can be hard to get out. (As many people in psychiatric care and the criminal justice system will testify.)

As ever, Self Detective is all about throwing information up into the air and seeing where it lands. You will no doubt have your own experiences and ideas on this subject. So, what do you think?