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Don't be tormented by petty tyrants.
Who's afraid of petty tyrant? Are you?
If you meet the petty tyrant on the road kill him.
This essay is NOT about real tyrants, vicious or ruthhless autocrats who rule their subjects by brutal and cruel methods. It's about petty tyrants who are tormentors with power to simply annoy people to distraction, bother or wear on their nerves. You have likely encountered or experienced the wrath of petty tyrants more than a few time..
I first became aware of the term "petty tyrant" in the early 1990s when I read Carlos Casteneda's book, "The Fire from Within." He stated, "A petty tyrant is a person who causes distress by imposing his/her will on others using psychological pressures rather than physical force."
Petty tyrants believe, even may be convincned, that they are superior beings. They want to operate from a position of authority. A classic example of this behavior is readily obvious in many black and white encounters where a white person feels that he knows more than a black person, even when it is obvious that this is not true . I still remember when I was in my upper teens, and a soldier in the segregated Army, observing a white lieutenant giving orders - rather than taking orders from - to a black captain.
During my more than four score years of living I have encountered many, I dare not guess how many, times petty tyrants. It is not unusual for a petty tyrant to attempt to direct or control the conversation, operation or transaction. He/she is a button-pusher, inferring that he/she is an authority on the focused matter or thinks that what he/she has to offer is more important than what another person thinks or has to offer. Operating from the petty tyrant stance he/she can push-buttons that readily get on people's nerves. I have known petty tyrants to cause people to become enraged, angry, stressed-out or fume in silent desperation.
How to handle or deal with a petty tyrant?
First, be awre that a petty tyrant does not have power over you, i.e., to upset you, regardless to his/her position, unless you give it to him/her.
Second, have the courage and strength to be unconcerned with his/her agenda when this is the responsible thing to do. But equally as important be willing to stalk him for your personal growth.
When facing a petty tyrant look into his eyes and fearlessly express self-confidence. This can boost your ability to deal effectively with him/her and other petty tyrants that you will encounter in the future.
You may have observed that some people who encountered petty tyrants were not emotionally distracted or upset by their assumed authority. This should enbolden you to be/do likewise.
Know that "petty," by definition, means trival, minor, unimportant or insignificant. So, do not empower a petty tyrant by agreeing with him/her that he/she is a superior being, hence superior to you.
I learned how to deal with petty tyrants more than a few years ago when i became aware and accepted, as a fact, that "I am a child of God." When I remind myself that "I am a child of God" I am able to face petty tyrants with confidence and assurance that I am not alone in my pursuit of living to the full, wth confidence that the power within me is greater than the power of a petty tyrant. I am not threatened by, what Carlos Casteneda calls, "psychological pressures," imposed by petty tyrants.
Finally, know that no petty tyrant can deprive you of your joy or sense of well-being unless you concede it to him/her and declare to yourself, "I will not concede it to him/her."
Copyright 2019 by Uriah J. Fields
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