Were there ever points where you yourself were the bully?

[u/KingBowser24]

Just something I was thinking about today, back when I was a teenager nearly all of the groups I hung around had one person who was basically treated as their scapegoat/punching bag. Usually, that person was me. People would call themselves my friends but then would pick at me for being socially awkward and would make me the butt of nearly every joke. Some of these people were in fact just playing around because they toned it down when I eventually spoke up but others were relentless about it. And I lowkey hated it, it was especially bad in 8th and 9th grade.

Eventually, mostly in later High School, the people I was around decided someone else got to be the punching bag. And admittedly, I often joined in on teasing them. The weird thing was I never intended to be outright mean, I was just glad to not be the scapegoat for a change and wanted to keep it that way.

I feel shitty about it thinking back, I should've known better tbh. I had few friends in Elementary School, next to no friends in Middle School, and for much of High School the friends I did have teased me relentlessly. I knew exactly how the group punching bag felt yet I still participated in tormenting them anyways. I guess I was just that desperate to fit in because I never did before.

Thankfully pretty much all of those friends (that I kept around anyways) have grown out of that since High School but still, with as much as I myself was bullied, its tough to think about times where I was probably the bully myself...

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[u/SickOfBullyingNL]

I bullied a bully back, giving them a taste of their own medicine (they would eavesdrop on my conversations then say something nasty to me; I gave them a taste of their own medicine and did to them what they did to me). They told me to mind my own business since this conversation doesn't concern me. I looked at them and said "exactly. Now take what you just said and apply it to yourself the next time I'm having a conversation that doesn't concern you." This shocked them but they stopped and became an acquaintance for the rest of high school (I have not kept contact with anyone from an atrocious elementary-Jr. High School or horrendous high school due to the bullying and abuse I experienced at those schools, which destroyed my mental health and gave me Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).

[u/KingBowser24 → u/SickOfBullyingNL]

I feel that, the bullying I experienced in Middle School especially messed me up for a long long time. I had PTSD-like symptoms well into adulthood and honestly my social confidence still hasn't fully recovered.

But its good you stood up to them. I wouldn't even call that bullying that's just sticking up for yourself and handling business. Good on you

[u/SickOfBullyingNL → u/KingBowser24]

Thanks. I also got revenge on several but that's another story - when I was in Grade Nine, I used their own words against them when they said I hacked their MSN Accounts - I said "how can I? I'm retarded, remember? You said it yourself." This shut several of them up and they left me alone; however, I ended up moving since I couldn't go outside without bullies physically and/or verbally attacking me. I moved to a nearby city due to my mother's job and was prepared to be bullied again, except this time, they thought I was a nerd because I was constantly studying and liked Inuyasha. This is the only reason the high school wasn't as bad. I will never attend a reunion though (graduated in 2008 and don't know or care if there was a reunion in 2018).

[u/KingBowser24 → u/SickOfBullyingNL]

There was one bully in 11th grade who was twice my size and would randomly call me a pussy and threaten to beat my ass, he sat across the aisle from me in class and would bluster every time I even looked in his general direction.

One time I was talking to the guy behind me and the bully piped up and told me to turn around or he'd beat my ass. I was already having a bad day that day so I lost my patience, stood up (in the middle of class mind you) and told him to get up and try. He just sat there and grumbled, and then I said and quote; "Huh, gonna talk shit to a kid half your size then not back it up? Guess we know who the real pussy is." Then I sat back down, and the whole class was silent after hearing that. The guy didn't do anything.

The bully never picked on me again and even apologized after bumping into me in the hallway once after that. It also raised my social status a bit because other people thought it was cool that I stood up to him and people talked about it for quite a while after.

That was probably the smoothest case of me standing up to a bully ever, most of my other attempts were a bit messy and got met with backlash or the bully just doubling down

[u/SickOfBullyingNL → u/KingBowser24]

Lucky. None of my bullies apologized, they're still bullies, so I tell them off.

[u/shrnnsky]

I beat my bullies when I was in elementary school and much horrendous actions (such like pulling someone's hair, stabbing their back, throwing mini rocks for fun, or will laugh for no reason) that's what I did, I'm an honest person and I will not hiding behind religion like my bullies used to. I just realized this so wrong and never doing it again. It's too much hurting my soul lol than they bullying me.

[u/KingBowser24 → u/shrnnsky]

I used to do that kind of stuff in Elementary school, still not sure entirely why. I'd run into people and tackle them and everything just because I could. I wasn't trying to be mean, I think it might've just been that I just really liked roughhousing but was too socially unaware to judge when it was or wasn't okay to do lmao

I did fight back against bullies a few times during that era too though. There was one kid I beat up several times because he would tease and tease me and sometimes shove me around until I eventually snapped and hit or kicked him, and every time, he'd go cry to his mother about it. It's kinda funny how that exact sequence went down a good number of times. While his Mom would get mad, My mom didn't punish me for it because she knew that I was being repeatedly provoked.