I agree with everything you said.

That issue was my main and eventually only cause for gripe with Fred.

I just was determined to finish my contract and not be driven out due to one personality. But yes it was difficult.

However I will say that it's a full-blown phenomenon that I have seen before in this field. I wonder if others have too. Asian boss, kind of overwhelmed by the task of having to interface with foreigners. Western teacher, eager to fit in and feel important somewhere, cozies up to said Asian boss and slowly creates a niche for him/herself. The Asian boss gets to hide behind the Western teacher. The teacher gets to experience a degree of power and influence that he/she has likely never experienced before. And works hard to keep it.

I've seen this twice before in Asia, so three times in total. Counting milder cases, maybe a few more times. But extremely toxic cases like what goes on at Shifanfuxiao in Huludao, three times. If you find yourself working in a place like this, where, aside from that poisonous personality you greatly enjoy the work, what would you do? Leave for that reason alone? What do you say then, to your next employer?

QUESTION: Why did you leave your last position? ANSWER: Because there was an unscrupulous lunatic there determined to make life difficult for me and I couldn't take it.

Ummm, okay.... And what do you expect to find in the next place? It's easy to say, oh, it's unacceptable. No teacher should have to put up with that. But we all know that life gets complicated when you're a traveling teacher. Visas, contracts, resumes, travel funds, relationships.... not to mention the feelings inside. I didn't want to walk away feeling like I had given up.

Furthermore, I think it takes a backbone of steel to survive in ANY workplace, anywhere in the world. Let's face it-- humans are hunters by nature at some level. And civilization has taken that away from most people. So who do we prey upon now? We prey upon each other. And if you are the one who runs, you are conceding to being prey, at an energetic level, in your core. I won't do that. I will stay and fight even if I die in the battle.