When I was 15, I spent some time in a psych ward for teens. And let me tell you, some of the staff were clearly on power trips, loving every second of getting to enforce whatever rules they wanted, no matter how petty.
One of the male nurses, let’s call him “Mike,” was the epitome of a macho gym bro. He’d constantly berate us during gym hours for “having no stamina” or “giving up too easily,” all while flexing and telling us how it was done. Needless to say, none of us were fans of Mike.
One evening (of course, during Mike’s shift), two people from our ward were caught holding hands, which was against the rules. Mike’s brilliant idea for a consequence? Punish the entire group by sending all of us to bed at 7 PM and locking the living room.
We obviously didn’t think that was fair, so we had a long discussion with Mike about how it was cruel to punish 10+ people for something that had nothing to do with us. Mike, however, had no intention of listening and said, “I am above you, so I get to decide, and you have to follow my decision!” He then tried to explain that actions have consequences, and even he would get a ticket if he parked in a handicapped spot.
At that moment, a soft-spoken, shy patient who had never caused any trouble before and had been sitting quietly until then, spoke up. With deadpan delivery, she said, “Yeah, Mike. Then YOU get a ticket, and not the entire parking lot!”
Her comment was so blunt and unexpected, especially from her, that Mike was completely dumbfounded. He blinked, stuttered, then left the room for a couple of minutes, only to come back with a colleague. In the end, they “compromised” and sent us to our rooms at 9 PM, which—while not ideal—was still better than the original 7 PM punishment.
We all high-fived that girl afterward, and it became a running joke for the rest of our time there!
