Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious. George Orwell
Ryan Peterson is the host and a veteran radio broadcaster. Between 1989 and 2006, he worked at radio stations in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. In the early 2000s, Ryan was Program Director at a Wisconsin radio station and hosted a 3-hour daily Radio Talk Show before “Podcasting” became an entity.
Peterson is an excellent host with a radio broadcaster’s voice. The podcast is 90 minutes long and covers almost everything TPS except jealousy – a Freudian slip on my part. One of my things is the lack of understanding between jealousy and envy and the public’s use of them interchangeably. We discussed envy and neglected jealousy since it is a small source of TPS.
Jealousy involves 3 people and the jealous person is losing something to someone else. The envious person covets something they do not have. Consequently, a jealous person can also be envious, coveting what this winning person has (see Anatomy of the Tall Poppy Syndrome).
In an email exchange after the podcast, Ryan related the following story:
I was a Police Officer for a total of 16 years. I started as a part time patrol officer, then promoted to a Full Time Officer, then I became Sgt. That was 14 years of my Law Enforcement career and I grew and learned tremendously.
I was then promoted to Chief of Police in my small Wisconsin municipality. The first 6 to 9 months were great. I was learning how to be a Chief and people said I was doing great. Then, suddenly, I noticed a significant change in attitude. I’m not sure what really caused it, but there were a few people who were suddenly very ‘cold’ to me.
I seemed to be getting more and more scrutiny and criticism that I had never received before that. It got me very stressed out because I couldn’t really figure out what was going on, after having a good reputation and no causses for concern for the previous 14 years. I mean, I was a part time officer at first. Then hired on as a Full Time officer, then I became Sgt. And eventually promoted to Chief.
After those 9 months or so, and after a call with the Mayor, she asked several questions that had clearly been misinformation she received from others, I just had enough. She was told something by someone else and just believed it before asking what the true story was. She had misconceptions that she saw on TV about how a Police Department should be run. She didn’t want to hear why we train or do some of the things we do, and she had strange theories that were the way police did things in the 70’s.
Policing has changed a LOT since then. So, after that call, when I couldn’t convince her of anything, , I went home feeling defeated and had a talk with my wife. I am usually emotional with things like this and she is my calming voice of reason. She asked what I wanted to do. I said “I just want to go.” She said “Then do that.” So, I went into city hall with my resignation and put it on the City Administrator’s desk. That was it. I took early retirement and paid off some debt.
A few months later, I started my own Process Serving business and now, I’m more successful and stress-free now than I have been in nearly 20 years. I’m also making twice the money and working half the hours as when I was Chief. The stress of that job is gone and it has changed my life. So it all turned out for the best. Even though it took a while for me to realize that.
Using our anatomy blog from above we will dissect Ryan’s story. Since Ryan asked for my interview, I am going to assume Ryan’s character is impeccable (not necessarily so) and that he has not been involved in an egregious act or behavior. (The following discussion would be negated if Ryan did something egregious and some of his associates felt justified in cutting him down.)
Ryan had humble beginnings in his police profession. He began his law enforcement career on the bottom rung. Fourteen years later he became the Chief of Police. Shortly after his appointment, he noticed a few people’s attitudes towards him shifted negatively. I surmise this is bad envy on their part (he is no longer part of their tribe) and they think he has become too big for his britches.
Next, these individuals initiated false accusations (a time-tested technique from antiquity) against him making certain the mayor was enlightened. The situation placed her in a problematic situation. She can either believe her associates and erroneously not have Ryan’s back or harbor her own bad envy feeling threatened by his rise in status and power.
Ryan’s wife was out of the line of fire, emotionally detached and controlled. She saw the forest, not the trees, and supplied sound advice. Ryan followed her advice, moved on, and lived happily ever after.
Ryan’s account is similar to millions who are peer-to-peer victims of TPS. It is subtle and most do not understand “what just happened ?“. Many, like Ryan, get back up by their bootstraps and become more successful and happier.
My TPS tale closely parallels Ryan’s.
