The bully, the persecutor, the oppressor

A bully is a person who overbears another with threats and intimidation. They choose people who are open to threats and intimidation. The power differential often lives in seeming difference. Bigger, stronger, more able to access support, more money, more ability to pay for defence. For a bully to exist, they need victims. If you bend the knee to a bully, it is just the beginning of the bullying, not the end.

A persecutor is a person who pursues and harasses another unjustly. They usually have a belief in their superiority over the other at an existential level. Their dehumanising removes a sense of guilt and shame, which brings them into the territory of a psychopath.

An oppressor seeks to crush and destroy, for whatever reason, often steeped in a sense of superiority. They see their victims as nothings of any consequence, vermin to be destroyed. 

Someone can be all three – bully, persecutor, oppressor. 

Bullies who get away with bullying may become the persecutors and oppressors. 

Our work is not to be available for bullying of any kind. Learn self-defence. Speak up. Say no. Teach others to stand in defiance of the bully.

Then, to be constantly working against persecution. Any form of persecution, so that the persecutor doesn’t become an oppressor.

Photo Taken July 16th 2025, Article published August 23rd 2025