And this is what happens when you learn to perceive every slight discomfort as harassment and horrible trauma. A student showed up to the advisement office without an appointment and quietly sat in the chair, waiting for somebody to see him. An unhinged paper-pusher started freaking out and telling him (in a very insane and unprofessional manner) that she was being harassed and was calling the campus security.
The number of these useless bureaucrats on campus is growing. I wish people talked more about this very real problem of higher ed instead of focusing on some completely invented and irrelevant issues.
Clarissa's Blog 
Is it oversensitivity or just taking a pose of fragile baby who experiences discomfort as harassment and trauma to bureaucratically kick people who need something from you?
Many bureaucrats derive great pleasure from making people jump through hoops and saying “No”. They don’t produce anything and are at best, cogs. This woman has a master’s degree in teaching and yet all she is a glorified paper pusher who deals with students who have the potential to become something better. She feels above the students . She exercises her resentment selectively but can only confine herself to being bureaucratically unhelpful to most students. Add in vague racism and she saw someone she could shove harder with little to no consequence and then it backfired on her spectacularly.
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“Many bureaucrats derive great pleasure from making people jump through hoops and saying “No”.”
When I worked in a bureacracy that was not the case. Most of the time almost everybody was actually trying to help people get through the bureaucracy, which was not easy because it often took imagination and determination to find out what they really needed – since they didn’t know the system they didn’t know how to ask for what they needed and we had to help them so we could figure out where the glitch was.
The experience gave me a lot of help in figuring out how to get through bureaucracy with a minimum of trauma.
Of course there are bureaucrats who like to frustrate people, but IME they are a very small minority. Always approach bureaucrats with the idea that they want to help if you’ll let them.
A larger group of bureaucrats does not mind frustrating unpleasant people, especially those who automatically assume that the whole bureaucracy was built just to persecute them.
In the case referred to, it seems less a case of bureaucracy than a power freak who wants to tell people what to do (who comes to work with a tremendous amount of pent up anger she wants to unleash on someone, anyone).
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Good bureaucrats take the attitude you mention of wanting to help if you’ll let them. I’ve encountered some very pleasant bureaucrats who’ve managed to make me feel at ease even if they couldn’t exactly help me, for example, at the DMV. Most bureaucrats are neutral to me.
But I’ve certainly encountered enough bureaucrats that I understand the antipathy many people feel. I’ve seen enough people’s behavior change on a dime when they find out who I’m related to. Her behavior to me, was just beyond frustrating unpleasant people coming in with a chip on their shoulders.
How many people would you say ended up in bureaucracy who were ill suited, Cliff? I think a lot of people end up in customer service who are ill suited. I know I found it frustrating when I couldn’t find a way to help someone.
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I also had a great experience at the DMV. But the support staff in academia is hired in extremely bizarre ways. And as a result, they can’t fulfill their duties. I was shocked to discover what the hiring procedure is for our support staff.
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