Who's the Bully?

Everyone has encountered a bully in their life. They range from the ones that just call you senseless names to those that use brute force to get your lunch money. Sometimes you meet them in school or the workplace. Other times you might be related to them. There are the few that use humor and play off what they said as a “joke”.

The “it’s a joke” statement is weaker than the American Dollar. If it’s so obviously a joke, there’s no need to say it’s a joke. It’s like when an older brother hit’s the younger brother too hard and the younger brother starts to cry. The older brother, to avoid the tattling that is about to happen, tries to sooth the pain with, “I was just playing…” It doesn’t make the punch hurt any less because the idea was to play. It still stings. I don’t get why people have a hard time seeing that words can sting just as much, no matter if the idea is to make people laugh at someone or together.

A bully tries to get into your head. They want to implant their vision of you inside your mind. They’ll do it by manipulation of you and your friends. If your friends fall for this manipulation, then they lack the social strength to withstand a bully’s barrages. They’ll turn on you to avoid being attacked. Creating a terrible situation that makes you think you’re wrong because “everyone” is against you. If you ever find yourself in that situation, remember that it’s easier for people to complain than complement. Ask businesses. Think about it, when was the last time you told a company they were doing an awesome job? When was the last time you told a company they were doing a terrible job?

It is easy to detect a bully by the way they speak. They use many areas to display their power. They’ll comment on how smarter they are than you based on where they went to school. How rich they are based on how much money they get. The idea that they’re better off than you based on degree and wealth is a pathetic marker of excellence and a great gauge of a bully. They may also use their position (work, school or if online popular status) to engage others to pour their dislike all over your every sentence or comment. A form of harassment that is ignored by anyone who is higher than said person. Why? Because if someone’s not punching you in the nuts, it’s not abuse.

When someone discusses a person they do not like, listen. You can tell a lot about a person based on how respectful they are to someone else, especially if that person is someone they don’t like. It’s not necessary to fawn over those you dislike, but it is equally unnecessary to refrain from hatred that suggests they’re the reason humanity sucks (even if it is true). Disliking someone because they spit in your cereal is one thing, but to dislike someone just because you don’t like their viewpoints is another. When discussing viewpoints it’s the viewpoints that are being discussed. If you go into the person’s looks, family or anything that’s personal and has nothing to do with what their viewpoints are, you’re a bully.

If the person’s intent is to harm someone with their words like a weapon, that is fine, because that’s what words tend to do. They also tend to be a double edge sword, at times. However, if the intent of the person using words is to murder someone’s reputation, that is not okay and that’s when they morph from a word fighter into a bully. Yes, it’s a fine line, but anyone welding words knows where that line is and if they lie and say they don’t, well then, they’re the epitome of a BSer.

When someone gets in front of an audience and seeks gratuitous applause for their lackluster thoughts and they bow to the will of the mob by feeding them bloody morsels of public figure’s reputation, that’s a bully. Mobs are only as smart as the emotional stability of the host.

Or in this case the feeder.

Bill Maher is the epitome of a bully.


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