I was seated next to the university President at dinner, when I visited a large state university. A Dean sat across from us. The President and Dean were talking about people and university politics that I and others at the table weren't familiar with. The rest of us sat quietly, and felt left out. Trying to transform the conversation into something of interest to all of us, I began to ask questions.
The President and Dean were heatedly regaling us with the crimes of a Professor who represented the faculty union. The President claimed that the Professor had threatened her, and that his behavior was unreasonable, unethical, and illegal. I asked for details.
The threat was that if the university didn't do something that the union wanted, he would tell the faculty about it.
That was the "threat"? The President explained that by threatening to tell the faculty that she wasn't meeting his demands, the Professor was threatening her. She took it personally, and she was outraged.
I told the President that if I were her, I would be glad to know what would happen if I didn't do what the union wanted. To me, it didn't seem like a dangerous threat, it seemed like useful information that could inform her decision. He was simply pointing out what leverage he had. I thought she should be grateful to him, rather than angry.
But the President had become so invested in demonizing the Professor, that she wasn't willing to try to see things any other way.