Bullies *are* cowards

Edited on Fri Apr-14-06 12:19 AM by nicknameless
"All cruelty springs from weakness."
(Seneca, 4BC-AD65)

7. So true. Bullies *are* cowards.

IMO, the best online source of information on the issue of bullies and bullying is http://www.bullyonline.org
They address bullying in a variety of settings, such as school, workplace, family and neighborhood.
They provide an overwhelming wealth of info on the topic.

From myths about bullies (http://www.bullyonline.org/schoolbully/myths.htm)

a) bullies select a victim who is physically less strong than they are, for bullies are always cowards
b) bullies select victims who have a mature understanding of the need to resolve conflict with dialogue and who won't turn round and kick the bully
c) bullies select victims who have a low propensity to violence - which is what parents and society instil in and demand of children
d) targets of bullies go to enormous lengths to resolve conflict with dialogue not realising that bullies are too disordered, dysfunctional, aggressive and immature to respond to dialogue
e) targets of bullying go to enormous lengths to resolve the conflict with dialogue often without the assistance of adults and sometimes in spite of the adults who by their failures and inactions condone the bullying (bullies are adept at manipulating the perceptions of adults, especially those adults who lack knowledge, experience, wisdom and emotional maturity)
f) bullies are weak people - normal healthy people don't need to bully
g) bullies are dysfunctional, disordered, aggressive and emotionally retarded which they reveal by their compulsive need to bully
h) bullies are irresponsible people who refuse to accept personal responsibility for their behaviour and the effect of their behaviour on other people
i) bullies prey on people with a kind heart

Myth: Bullies are tough people
Truth: Bullies are weak, cowardly and inadequate people who cannot interact in a mature professional manner and have to resort to psychological violence (and, with child bullies, physical violence) to get their way. Only weak people need to bully.


http://www.bullyonline.org/workbully/serial.htm

Introduction to the serial bully

Embittered by an abusive upbringing, seething with resentment, irritated by others' failure to fulfil his or her superior sense of entitlement, and fuelled by anger resulting from rejection, the serial bully displays an obsessive, compulsive and self-gratifying urge to displace their uncontrolled aggression onto others whilst exhibiting an apparent lack of insight into their behavior and its effect on people around them.