[–] ColoradoJustice 2 points 3 points 5 points (+5|-2) ago
WTF is it with America and this "bullying" fascination?!
This isn't new!!! The people at the top are always dicks and constantly fighting amongst each other for dominance.
Bullies aren't interested in nerds or in geeks or in random acts of abuse (only if you get in their way)... Bullies are concerned with being #1.
This is like looking at the Koch brothers (who had to be given boxing gloves so they don't kill each other from the bar knuckle fighting they engaged in with each other) and pretending that those rich bastards are somehow "low status, depressed, or have low self-esteem".
Bullies are people of power! When will America learn this?
[–] conundrumbombs 0 points 4 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago
This makes a lot of sense, because all you have to do is state the inverse:
"Provocative new study finds victims of bullying have lowest self-esteem, social status, highest rates of depression."
[–] tonberry2 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
They are trying to argue against the belief that bullies are sick people with genetic illnesses and broken pasts. Their argument is that bullies are acting the way they do to improve their rank (or at least their belief that they are already in a higher rank). Anybody who has been bullied in high school usually figures this out about the people that pick on them; bullies are trying to achieve grandeur by demonstrating to themselves that they aren't as lowly as the people they pick on. This idea is what this study concludes as well:
The average bully isn’t particularly sadistic or even deeply argumentative,” he says. “What they really are is people driven for status.”
It's actually a great conclusion because it removes the nonsense conclusion that bullies aren't reponsible for their behavior because of poor genetics or what have you. They are choosing to be a-holes for personal gain.
[–] tolstoshev 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Hardly surprising: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100203084254.htm
[–] TheHemingWay 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I'm taking this to mean that it's acceptable for victims to humiliate their bullies now because fittest, bitch!
[–] jeegte12 ago
When was that not acceptable? Fight back against bullies. Is that not taught everywhere?
[–] TheHemingWay ago
Not in American public schools.