In the early nineties, I used to have a boss, who had this infuriating, and morale-destroying habit of asking for my input and opinions on ‘decisions’ he needed to make, usually with some sort of statement about how he ‘valued my opinion’.

Until I wised up, I would often go to the time and effort of researching the question, and trying to give as informed of an answer as I possibly could, only to find out that he had already made his decision long before he asked me, and that the very act of asking me was only to confirm his previous choice.

When, after the second or third iteration of this particular scenario (generally after promises that he really did ‘value my opinion and take it into consideration’), I told him that I wasn’t willing to be used like that any longer: that if he needed supposedly ‘bad ideas’, he could get them from anyone. That was when he told me that he saw my position as being a case of narrenfreiheit. (German for ‘Court Jester’s Freedom’).

I can honestly say that if nothing else, that particular position was my first real lesson in how deep adult-level disrespect can actually go. This particular employer also liked to repeatedly state that people get exactly what they deserve in life.

The day I flat-out refused to share my opinion with him any longer, he was actually quite deeply offended that I would say that, and he saw it as a betrayal on my part.